Richard J. Sakoda is a partner in the law firm of Sterling & Tucker. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Washington in 1987 and his Juris Doctor degree from the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 1992.
Mr. Sakoda was admitted to practice before all Hawaii state courts and the United States District Court for the district of Hawaii in 1992. His private law practice is focused in the area of estate planning, probate, trust administration, special needs planning for disabled individuals and families with disabled children, Medicaid planning and estate and gift taxes.
He is a member of the American Bar Association (“ABA”), the Hawaii State Bar Association (“HSBA”), the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (“NAELA”), the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys (“AAEPA”) and the Hawaii Estate Planning Council (“HEPC”). Within those organizations, Mr. Sakoda belongs to the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of the ABA, the Probate and Estate Planning Section of the HSBA, the Elder Law Section of the HSBA, the Special Needs Law Section of NAELA, and the Trusts and Special Needs Trust Section of NAELA.
Mr. Sakoda is a frequent participant on Legal-Line (formerly Ask-A-Lawyer), for which he received an Outstanding Volunteer Award in 1998. He contributed an article on “Inheritance, Wills and Trusts” for the Hawaii Women Lawyer’s 1996 publication Our Rights, Our Lives: A Guide to Women’s Legal Rights in Hawaii.
In his leisure time, Mr. Sakoda enjoys spending time with his wife and two young sons.