A special administrator may be appointed:
(1) Informally by the registrar on the application of any interested person when necessary to protect the estate of a decedent prior to the appointment of a general personal representative or if a prior appointment has been terminated as provided in section 560:3-609; and(2) In a formal proceeding by order of the court on the petition of any interested person and finding, after notice and hearing, that appointment is necessary to preserve the estate or to secure its proper administration including its administration in circumstances where a general personal representative cannot or should not act. If it appears to the court that an emergency exists, appointment may be ordered without notice.Rules of Court
Special administration, see HPR rule 56.
Circuit court properly denied appellant's petition for appointment as special administrator where appellant was not an "interested person", as defined in § 560:1-201, who could petition the court under this section; appellant had no familial relationship to decedent's family, did not have a property right or claim against decedent's estate, and did not have priority under § 560:3-203 to be appointed as personal representative of decedent's estate.88 Haw. 148,963 P.2d 1124.