In re: Fujishima Family Trust

── In re: Fujishima Family Trust ── Court: Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals Date: April 24, 2026 Category: General NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAII REPORTS OR THE PACIFIC REPORTER Electronically Filed Intermediate Court of Appeals CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX 24-APR-2026 07:47 AM Dkt. 98 MO NO. CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX (consolidated with No. CAAP-24–0000807) IN THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF HAWAI#I IN THE MATTER OF THE FUJISHIMA FAMILY TRUST DATED SEPTEMBER 1, 2005 APPEALS FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIRST CIRCUIT (TRUST NO. 1CTR-XX-XXXXXXX) MEMORANDUM OPINION (By: Leonard, Presiding Judge, and Hiraoka and Wadsworth, JJ.) These consolidated appeals arise from two orders and judgments entered by the Circuit Court of the First Circuit (Probate Court) in trust proceeding no. 1CTR-XX-XXXXXXX, a trust-related dispute between Petitioner-Appellee Gary A. Powell, Executive Director of the Caregiver Foundation (Powell), in his capacity as Conservator and Guardian of Evelyn Fujishima (Evelyn), and Respondent-Appellant Eadean M. Buffington (Buffington), a now-former co-trustee of the Fujishima Family Trust, Dated September 1, 2005 (Fujishima Family Trust or Trust). In appellate case no. CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX, Buffington appeals from the Probate Court's: (1) August 16, 2023 Judgment on Order Adopting the Master's Recommendations in Part and Granting [in Part and Denying in Part] the Remainder of the Petition to Remove and Surcharge Trustees, for Accounting and Other Equitable Relief, Dated October 28, 2022 (First Judgment);  NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAII REPORTS OR THE PACIFIC REPORTER and (2) August 16, 2023 Order Adopting the Master's Recommendations in Part and Granting [in Part and Denying in Part) the Remainder of the Petition to Remove and Surcharge Trustees, for Accounting and Other Equitable Relief, Dated October 28, 2022 (First Order).1/ In the First Order and First Judgment, the Probate Court adopted in part recommendations made by the court-appointed Master Elizabeth H. Jackson, Esq. (Master) and granted in part and denied in part Powell's October 28, 2022 Petition to Remove and Surcharge Trustees, for Accounting, and Other Equitable Relief (First Petition). In CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX, Buffington contends that the Probate Court erred in: (1) not continuing a June 1, 2023 hearing on the First Petition "to allow . . . Buffington to unseal a settlement agreement in Civil No. 1CC181001980"; (2) imposing a $422,522.22 surcharge against Buffington where the court found this to be a contested matter but did not hold a "contested" (i.e., evidentiary) hearing and "failed to enter the requisite findings of fact"; and (3) concluding that there was an oral trust under Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) § 554D-407(b) (quoted infra) where there was no clear and convincing evidence to establish the Trust, and where the Probate Court "failed to enter the requisite findings of fact." In appellate case no. CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX, Buffington appeals from the Probate Court's: (1) October 31, 2024 Judgment on Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Order Granting [Powell's] Petition to Void the Fujishima Family Trust Dated September 1, 2005 [Dkt. 196], Filed September 17, 2024 [Dkt. 227] (Second Judgment); and (2) September 17, 2024 Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Order Granting [Powell's] Petition to Void the Fujishima Family Trust Dated September 1, 2005 [Dkt. 196] (FOFs/COLs/Order).2/ In the FOFs/COLs/Order, the Probate Court concluded that because Buffington unduly influenced Evelyn to execute the Trust, it was not