Who can succeed to a DHHL lease and how claim priority works

Juan Garcia detailed the categories of "qualified relatives" eligible to succeed to DHHL leases and the ancestry thresholds that apply. He listed primary categories that qualify at the 25% Hawaiian threshold — "a 25% Hawaiian spouse, a 25 Hawaiian child, a 25% Hawaiian grandchild, a 25% Hawaiian brother or sister" — and then described other relatives who must be at least 50% Hawaiian (parents; widows and widowers of children; widows and widowers of siblings; nieces and nephews). Garcia clarified that a niece or nephew eligible for succession is "the child of the lessee's sibling or the child of the lessee's spouse's sibling."

On priority, Garcia said the department gives precedence to a spouse first; if no spouse, to children; if no children, to grandchildren; then to siblings. "The other qualified relatives hold equal priority," he added. He also explained that when multiple claimants share the same priority and cannot determine a single successor, the department will recommend that all claimants receive equal successorship interests and illustrated this with the example of four children submitting claims.