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DHHL explains successor designation rules for project leases and applicants
Summary
Juan Garcia, DHHL Homestead Services Administrator, outlined how beneficiaries must designate successors in writing, the 50% and 25% Hawaiian blood‑quantum thresholds for applicants and project‑lease successors, and the public notice windows if no designation is filed.
Maui — At a DHHL Maui orientation, Homestead Services Administrator Juan Garcia reviewed the rules and deadlines beneficiaries must follow to designate a successor for an application or existing lease.
Garcia said a successor designation must be filed in writing with DHHL and acknowledged by the department. For applicants and lessees who have not accepted a project lease, qualified relatives must meet at least 50% Hawaiian blood quantum and be at least 18 years old to be named as a successor. If a beneficiary accepts a project lease, the department allows certain successors (spouse, child, grandchild, sibling) who meet a 25% Hawaiian threshold to be designated for the project lease; all other relatives remain at the 50% threshold.
“If you haven’t done it yet, we have a table here today that you can file or get information of designation,” Garcia said, and he urged beneficiaries to file or update designations at their local DHHL district office.
Garcia explained the public‑notice fallback when a designation is not on file: DHHL is required to publish notice in general‑circulation newspapers and qualified relatives may submit a successorship claim after publication. The time windows differ by status: an applicant’s qualified relative has 180 days from the last publication to file a claim; for a lessee the qualified relative must file within 120 days from the first publication. Garcia underscored that spouse priority governs the department’s priority order if multiple qualified relatives apply.
DHHL staff said they will help beneficiaries complete designations and that forms and additional assistance are available at the Maui district office and at the orientation tables following the presentations.
What’s next: beneficiaries should confirm or update successor designations with DHHL before awards and consider using the forms available at DHHL district offices or the orientation tables.
