I. PURPOSE OF PETITION
Petitioners, including Hawaiian beneficiaries and community supporters, respectfully request formal review and investigation into whether Kamehameha Schools’ land management and development practices align with the charitable purpose expressed in the Last Will and Testament of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop.

Kamehameha Schools has publicly stated its intent to develop Keauhou Bay as a luxury bungalow resort:
https://www.ksbe.edu/keauhou-bay
and represents that such development is financially necessary. Petitioners therefore seek transparency and accountability regarding whether such actions are consistent with the Will’s stated purpose of advancing education for the Hawaiian people:
https://www.ksbe.edu/about-us/about-pauahi/will

Petitioners respectfully request judicial review of the trust’s financial disclosures, land stewardship practices, trustee decision-making, and land title history related to Keauhou II and other lands held by Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate.

Petitioners further allege that unresolved historical and genealogical questions concerning the descendants of King Kamehameha V are directly relevant to any lawful examination of succession, title, and stewardship of these lands. Public sources present conflicting accounts that warrant formal review.

Petitioners further allege that under HRS §172-11, title derived from Land Commission Awards and Royal Patents must rest upon a valid and lawful foundation. The absence of any disclosed chain-of-title or historical title analysis renders the FEIS legally deficient.

Petitioners further allege that these issues are material under HRS §1-1, which recognizes Hawaiian custom, history, and usage in the application of law, and under HRS §532-8, which reflects Hawaiʻi’s public policy favoring inheritance by descendants. Accordingly, unresolved questions of lineage and succession must be examined before development proceeds.

 
II. KEAUHOU II, ROYAL PATENT NO. 7844, AND UNRESOLVED HEIRSHIP
Petitioners allege that Keauhou II originates from Royal Patent No. 7844, issued to King Kamehameha V (Lota Kapuāiwa), raising material questions concerning lawful chain of title and succession.

Royal Patent documentation:
https://kipukadatabase.com/Docs/RPG/7844.pdf

Land Commission Award Index:
https://ags.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/1929_index_of_lca.pdf (p. 1226 in index / p. 1237 PDF)

Publicly available genealogical sources identify two individuals as possible daughters of Kamehameha V:
• Keanolani Kamehameha – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keanolani
• Ancestry record – https://www.ancestry.com/genealogy/records/keanolani-kamehameha-24-yt7vhb
• Sarah Kapamaikela Makahilahila Kamehameha – https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/KWJC-386/sarah-kapamaikela-makahilahila-kamehameha-1868-1951

Petitioners do not assert conclusions regarding heirship. Rather, Petitioners assert that the existence of Royal Patent ownership combined with conflicting genealogical records creates a reasonable basis to request formal investigation into:

• Chain of title for Keauhou II and other lands traceable to Royal Patents or LCAs
• Lawfulness of post-1872 transfers following Kamehameha V’s death
• Whether succession interests were inadequately examined or excluded
• Whether Kamehameha Schools’ current control is consistent with lawful title history and trust obligations

Petitioners therefore request that any title audit include formal analysis of Royal Patent No. 7844, LCAs, succession records, and historical lineage evidence.

 
III. DIRECTIVES IN PRINCESS PAUAHI’S WILL
Petitioners rely on the directives of Article 13 of the Will: https://www.ksbe.edu/about-us/about-pauahi/will and
https://kaiwakiloumoku.ksbe.edu/article/heritage-center-the-last-will-and-testament-of-bernice-pauahi-bishop

The Will establishes:
• Education as the primary purpose of the trust
• Trustee authority to lease or sell land only for that purpose
• Annual reporting and accountability to the judiciary
• Priority support for orphans and indigent Hawaiians

"Thirteenth. I give, devise and bequeath all of the rest, residue and remainder of my estate real and personal, wherever situated unto the trustees below named, their heirs and assigns forever, to hold upon the following trusts, namely: to erect and maintain in the Hawaiian Islands two schools, each for boarding and day scholars, one for boys and one for girls, to be known as, and called the Kamehameha Schools.

I direct my trustees to expend such amount as they may deem best, not to exceed however one-half of the fund which may come into their hands, in the purchase of suitable premises, the erection of school buildings, and in furnishing the same with the necessary and appropriate fixtures furniture and apparatus.

I direct my trustees to invest the remainder of my estate in such manner as they may think best, and to expend the annual income in the maintenance of said schools; meaning thereby the salaries of teachers, the repairing buildings and other incidental expenses; and to devote a portion of each years income to the support and education of orphans, and others in indigent circumstances, giving the preference to Hawaiians of pure or part aboriginal blood; the proportion in which said annual income is to be divided among the various objects above mentioned to be determined solely by my said trustees they to have full discretion.

I desire my trustees to provide first and chiefly a good education in the common English branches, and also instruction in morals and in such useful knowledge as may tend to make good and industrious men and women; and I desire instruction in the higher branches to be subsidiary to the foregoing objects.

For the purposes aforesaid I grant unto my said trustees full power to lease or sell any portion of my real estate, and to reinvest the proceeds and the balance of my estate in real estate, or in such other manner as to my said trustees may seem best.

I also give unto my said trustees full power to make all such rules and regulations as they may deem necessary for the government of said schools and to regulate the admission of pupils, and the same to alter, amend and publish upon a vote of a majority of said trustees.

I also direct that my said trustees shall annually make a full and complete report of all receipts and expenditures, and of the condition of said schools to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, or other highest judicial officer in this country; and shall also file before him annually an inventory of the property in their hands and how invested, and to publish the same in some Newspaper published in said Honolulu; I also direct my said trustees to keep said school buildings insured in good Companies, and in case of loss to expend the amounts recovered in replacing or repairing said buildings.

I also direct that the teachers of said schools shall forever be persons of the Protestant religion, but I do not intend that the choice should be restricted to persons of any particular sect of Protestants."

Petitioners assert that the ordinary meaning of “support” includes basic necessities of life in addition to education, and that the Will reflects a purpose centered on beneficiary welfare, dignity, and advancement.

Petitioners further assert that aspects of current operations — including luxury bungalo resort development decisions, tuition structures, and representations of financial necessity — raise reasonable questions regarding compliance with the Will’s directives and warrant formal review.

Petitioners respectfully call for all development activities on lands held by Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate to be temporarily halted pending completion of a full, independent investigation into whether such activities are consistent with the express purposes and directives of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop’s Will and with the trustees’ fiduciary and legal obligations

 
IV. LEGAL DUTIES OF TRUSTEES
Trustees are bound by fiduciary duties recognized under trust law and Hawaiʻi statutes, including:

• Duty of good faith and fidelity to trust purposes
• Duty of loyalty to beneficiaries
• Duty of prudence
• Duty to preserve trust property
• Duty to inform and account

Relevant statutes include:
• HRS §560:7-303 – Duty to inform and account
https://law.justia.com/codes/hawaii/2020/title-30a/chapter-560/section-560-7-303/
• HRS §560:7-302 – Standard of care
https://law.justia.com/codes/hawaii/2020/title-30a/chapter-560/section-560-7-302/
• HRS §554D-105 – Trustee conduct controlled by trust terms
https://codes.findlaw.com/hi/division-3-property-family/hi-rev-st-sect-554d-105/

Where trustee conduct appears inconsistent with the Will’s purpose, such conduct raises legitimate fiduciary questions requiring formal investigation.

Laws and Legal Duties Trustees https://www.estateplanning.com/duties-and-responsibilities-of-a-trustee

Are Required to Follow These duties are recognized under the Uniform Trust Code (UTC §§801–813) and longstanding trust law applied by courts:

• Duty to administer the trust in good faith and in accordance with its terms and purposes (UTC §801)
• Duty of Loyalty — trustees must act solely in the interests of the beneficiaries and avoid self-interest (UTC §802)
• Duty of Impartiality — trustees must treat beneficiaries fairly and not favor institutional interests over beneficiaries (UTC §803)
• Duty of Prudence — trustees must manage trust assets carefully and responsibly (UTC §804)
• Duty to control, protect, and preserve trust property (UTC §809)
• Duty to keep beneficiaries reasonably informed (UTC §813)
• Duty to provide reports and accountings upon request (UTC §813)
• Duty to follow the settlor’s intent (core trust law principle recognized in Restatement (Third) of Trusts §76)

These duties are enforceable under general trust law and are routinely applied by courts when evaluating whether trustees have breached fiduciary obligations. Trustees administering a trust in Hawaiʻi are bound by statutory fiduciary duties under the Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes, including the duty to administer the trust in good faith and in accordance with its terms and purposes, the duty to act solely in the interests of the beneficiaries, the duty to exercise reasonable care, skill, and caution, and the duty to provide meaningful information and accountings to beneficiaries.

Hawaiʻi law requires trustees to keep beneficiaries reasonably informed and to respond to requests for information and accountings (HRS §560:7-303 – Duty to inform and account, https://law.justia.com/codes/hawaii/2020/title-30a/chapter-560/section-560-7-303/

Trustees are also required to observe a prudent standard of administration when managing trust property (HRS §560:7-302 – Standard of care and performance, https://law.justia.com/codes/hawaii/2020/title-30a/chapter-560/section-560-7-302/

In addition, Hawaiʻi law affirms that the terms of a trust control trustee conduct and that trustees remain bound to act in good faith and in furtherance of the trust’s purposes even where statutory default rules might otherwise apply (HRS §554D-105, https://codes.findlaw.com/hi/division-3-property-family/hi-rev-st-sect-554d-105/ 

V. LAND SALES AND COMPLIANCE WITH THE WILL

Although trustees may sell land, the Will limits this authority to actions taken “for the purposes aforesaid,” meaning educational and beneficiary support purposes only.

Petitioners therefore assert that ALL land sales must be examined to determine:

• Whether sales furthered educational access
• Whether sales harmed Hawaiian communities
• Whether sales reflected loyalty to beneficiaries
• Whether trustees exercised discretion consistent with fiduciary duty

Because the Will does not authorize land sales for purely commercial purposes, these issues warrant investigation.

 
VI. REQUEST FOR INVESTIGATION

Petitioners respectfully request formal investigation into:

• Compliance with Princess Pauahi’s Will
• Adequacy of trust accounting and reporting
• Lawfulness of land title history of ALL Royal Patent and Land Commission Award land
• Trustee compliance with fiduciary duty
• Whether beneficiaries are being served consistent with the trust’s purpose

These issues are of substantial cultural, historical, and legal importance and warrant transparent, independent review.

Petitioners respectfully call for all development activities on lands held by Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate to be temporarily halted pending completion of a full, independent investigation into whether such activities are consistent with the express purposes and directives of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop’s Will and with the trustees’ fiduciary and legal obligations.

PUBLIC EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE
The page https://bigislandsupport.com/tracing-ancestry-and-land-titles/ was created to promote public education regarding genealogy and land history in Hawaiʻi  for the Hawaiian people, and supports the broader concerns raised in this petition regarding transparency and accountability.