The assets of RightStar, Hawai'i's biggest cemetery and funeral operator, will be auctioned Dec. 21 at Circuit Court in Honolulu.

They will include Maui Memorial Park.

People who have done, or expect to do, business with Maui Memorial Park probably should not notice any change. The businesses have been operated under the guidance of a court-appointed receiver for five years.

Retired Circuit Judge Marie Milks has been the receiver since 2008.

"We will continue what we have been doing," said Maui Memorial Park Director of Operations Steve Hawley.

Deputy Attorney General Bryan Fitzgerald, who is directing a suit for recovery against the cemetery's former owners and its trustees, said last week: "It is very encouraging to see what a great job Judge Milks has done. I think everyone pretty much agrees with that."

The story of RightStar has been long and complicated. An attempt to sell the businesses at auction in 2007 failed because no one came forward to meet the minimum bid of $25 million.

This month's auction is absolute, but any bidder must qualify to obtain a funeral home and cemetery operator's license.

The creditor, Vestin Mortgage Inc. of Nevada, carries the RightStar companies on its books at $14 million and has written down its loans to under $5 million. Hawley said he understands that Vestin may use its credit to bid for the company.

In Hawai'i, foreclosure auctions usually start on the courthouse steps. However, bids have to be confirmed later by the Circuit Court that authorized the sale. Often the real bidding starts at the confirmation hearing, when anyone can reopen the process by topping the winning bid by 5 percent.

In this case, bidders will have to show qualified financial statements and be approved for a difficult-to-get funeral operator's license before the sale is confirmed by the court.

Besides Maui Memorial Park, RightStar has Valley of the Temples and Diamond Head Mortuary on O'ahu, Homelani and Kona memorial parks on the Big Island and several companies that sell funeral plans in advance of death. The sale will be lock, stock, barrel and fee simple and leasehold real estate.

The Hawai'i operations were bought up and amalgamated by Loewen Group International, a Canadian company that was, briefly, the second-largest cemetery and funeral plan operator in the United States. Loewen failed, and its Hawai'i operations were purchased in 2001.

Besides the real estate and other tangible assets, RightStar had cash in trustee accounts that had been accumulated from people paying in advance.

The buyers, John Dooley, Katheryn Hoover and Richard Bricka, allegedly improperly withdrew millions from the trust accounts. The state sued for recovery of $20 million to $30 million, going after not only the owners but the trustees, who were alleged to have failed in overseeing the disposition of the trust assets.

The trustees include former Gov. John Waihee. That suit remains active.