Question: Regarding the home exemption, I am considering putting my home in a trust. Will I lose my exemption?
Answer: Not necessarily, but you will have to reapply for the exemption because you would change the ownership title by placing the property in a trust, according to Honolulu’s Real Property Assessment Division.
“For changes in ownership or use of your property, it is required that you re-file your exemption. Depending on how your trust is named, there may be questions as to your qualification for exemption. To minimize any questions we might have, it is best that you send in a copy of your trust when you file your exemption,” RPAD says on its website. Read more at realproperty. Opens in a new tabhonolulu.gov Opens in a new tab.
Oahu’s home exemption reduces property tax bills for residential property owner-occupants. The exemption amount — $120,000 for owner-occupants under age 65 or $160,000 for those 65 and older — is subtracted from the property’s assessed value before the property tax is calculated.
Q: Regarding voting assistance available for the disabled, I guess I just sort of assumed that now that my grandma is in a care home, she wouldn’t be able to vote. Her mind is fine, but physically she needs a lot of help and can’t live on her own. Was I incorrect?
A: Yes. Physical infirmity should not prevent your grandmother from casting a ballot, even if she lives in a care home, as long as she able to make her own choices and is otherwise eligible to vote. The state Office of Elections has guidance on this topic on its website, elections.hawaii.gov Opens in a new tab, under the heading “Voter Accessibility.”
Q: Can I find out whether my data was compromised in the National Public Data breach?
A: Yes. Many consumers already have been alerted, because they subscribe to a credit monitoring service or identity-theft service that scans the dark web for clients’ stolen data and informs them when it is found. If you don’t subscribe to such a service, you can check yourself, without delving into the dark web, because cybersecurity companies have set up websites enabling individual, free searches. One site is NPDBreach.com Opens in a new tab, created and maintained by the Data Dividend Project and Atlas Privacy, which allows searches by name and ZIP code, or phone number, or Social Security number. Read the rules on the website and weigh your concerns before using it.
National Public Data is a consumer data broker that does background checks. Its huge breach exposed names, email addresses, phone numbers, Social Security numbers and mailing addresses, according to a notice on the company’s website. If your data is among the estimated billions of records exposed, many consumer protection experts advise freezing your credit, which should help prevent thieves from opening fraudulent credit accounts in your name. For details on how to freeze your credit, go to usa.gov/credit-freeze Opens in a new tab.
Q: Regarding the mobile driver’s license, will that work outside Hawaii?
A: “Yes, if the jurisdiction accepts mDL you can indicate you have one; however, you should always be prepared to provide a physical card,” according to the state Department of Transportation.
That’s true in Hawaii, too, where this newly approved form of digital identification has limited use. For example, you can’t present your mDL to police in a traffic stop, but you can use it to verify your identity in an airport security line.
Mahalo
Mahalo to Russell, who found and picked up my wallet at the Waimalu Plaza and actually drove to my house to deliver it to me. I hadn’t even known that it was missing because he brought it to my house so soon after. He would not accept any compensation. — Thank you, Karen
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
