Kākoʻo
ʻOhana Support
2025 ʻOhana ʻĀina Workshop Series
Property Tax Exemption Workshop
Wednesday, July 23 from 5-7pm
Līhuʻe Public Library (4344 Hardy Street)
Registration is strongly encouraged, so that everyone has time to meet with a tax support person.
Join us on July 23 for our first Property Tax Exemption Workshop in a series of two this summer. Our goal is to create space for ʻohana to ask questions and talk story with tax office representatives about tax relief options, and to receive assistance with property tax exemption applications before applications are due on September 30. Mahalo to our partners at Līhuʻe Public Library and the County of Kauaʻi Real Property Assessment Section for making this community event possible. Our second Property Tax Exemption Workshop will be on Wednesday, August 13 at Waimea Public Library.
Have questions about tax exemptions? Not sure where to start?
The County of Kauaʻi Real Property Assessment Section website has a list of tax exemptions, along with descriptions and applications. You can also apply for a tax exemption online from the county website.
We collaborated with the County of Kauaʻi Real Property Assessment Section to create a handout about property tax exemptions, based on questions we have received from ʻohana (and asked ourselves!). Click the image of the handout to view and download.
Kīpuka Kuleana Estate Planning Workshop: April 26, 2025
We are grateful to all who made our first estate planning workshop so meaningful. Mahalo Hale Līhuʻe, Hā Coffee, Hawaiʻi People's Fund, our attorney partners Sam Suen and Melissa Summers-Day & Ethan Okura from Okura & Associates, our volunteers, and all of the wonderful community members who came out on a Saturday morning to talk story and learn with us.
During our first ever estate planning workshop, we invited our partners to share different estate planning tools be used to protect and pass down ʻohana ʻāina, from setting up wills and trusts to navigating probate to identify heirs. This was the first of hopefully many estate planning workshops for Kauaʻi ʻohana working to keep their lands in the family.
Click on the image above to view and download the estate planning presentation
We provide direct, tailored support to families
working to keep ancestral lands.
We work with ʻohana to craft respectful solutions tailored to particular ʻāina and circumstances, while also connecting area ʻohana to one another.
Below are some examples of land protection tools that we share with ʻohana. See our Resources page for more details.
Hoʻoponopono and guided facilitation/mediation: bring ʻohana together in discussions about ʻāina
Genealogy research: help ʻohana research their ancestry to qualify for the kuleana tax exemption, to claim land, and to register iwi kūpuna
Legal assistance: address probate, title issues, access challenges, quiet title/partition action, etc.
Tax relief: work with the County of Kauaʻi tax office to qualify for any tax exemptions or set up a payment plan
Conservation resources: protect ʻāina using tools like a cultural conservation easement and models like descendent-led nonprofit organizations
Family land trust set-up: keep land within the ʻohana for generations to come
Trust and estate planning: set up wills and trusts (revocable, irrevocable, etc.)
Homeowner's financial assistance: receive grant funds and loans through groups like Hawaiʻi Community Lending
Where families have lost lands, we connect them to resources for regaining ʻāina, sharing manaʻo from leaders like Keʻeaumoku and Uʻilani Kapu. We can also offer support in negotiating access and stewardship agreements, so that ʻohana can continue to care for ʻohana ʻāina without holding title.
