Sterling & Tucker, LLP

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.

Michelle Scully Hobus is a partner in the law firm of Sterling & Tucker. Ms. Hobus’ love of helping others has directed her career path from California to Calcutta, and ultimately led her to Hawaii, and to Sterling & Tucker. Since joining the firm in 2004, Ms. Hobus has assisted clients in preserving their financial legacies with estate and disability planning. She also intimately understands the need for planning for young families who are just starting out or starting a family. Her focus is always client-centered and is a frequent presenter of Sterling & Tucker’s monthly educational seminars on Oahu. Ms. Hobus formerly served on the Board of Governors for the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Education

A four year Dean’s List student, Ms. Hobus received her Bachelor of Arts degree and graduated Cum Laude in 1988 from Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA. Following college Ms. Hobus spent a year with Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity in San Francisco, living and working with homeless women and children. After completing law school she once again worked with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, India. In 1992, Ms. Hobus received her Juris Doctor from University of San Francisco Law School. She was admitted to the California State Bar in 1992, and in 2003 to the Hawaii State Bar.

Personal

Originally an attorney with a California insurance and municipality firm, Ms. Hobus took a leave of absence from practicing law after a tragic event in her personal life. While living in San Francisco with her husband, a Punahou graduate who was also an attorney, she was wounded by a deranged former client who went on a shooting spree at the prestigious San Francisco law firm where her husband was working, and where she happened to be visiting. Her husband was shot and killed while saving Michelle’s life.

In the aftermath, Ms. Hobus dedicated herself to violence prevention and the passage of reasonable firearms legislation. She formed a nonprofit organization, Legal Community Against Violence and became involved with Handgun Control Inc. (The Brady Campaign) which brought her lobbying efforts to Washington, where she provided testimony before the United States Congress.

Ms. Hobus is the recipient of the Sue Kingsley Volunteer Award, Handgun Control, Inc in Washington, D.C., the Points of Light Award from San Francisco’s Points of Light Foundation, the Courage To Care Award, from the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence in Los Angeles and the Leadership Award from American Jewish Congress in San Francisco.

Kanani M. Makaimoku is partner in the law firm of Sterling & Tucker. Following law school, she worked for a year at a small family law firm. In 2006 Ms. Makaimoku joined the Domestic Violence Action Center as a Staff Attorney. In 2008 she was promoted to Managing Attorney, where she oversaw staff while maintaining a caseload of divorce, paternity and temporary restraining order cases. While employed at the Domestic Violence Action Center, Ms. Makaimoku developed a passion for working with survivors of domestic violence and other marginalized populations. Her desire to assist the traditionally underserved led her to devote her time as a volunteer to Volunteer Legal Services Hawaii (“VLSH”) in the Pregnant and Parenting Teens program, as well as providing legal advice to VLSH clients. Since 2012 Ms. Makaimoku has served as a volunteer mediator with the Mediation Center of the Pacific. She is also a member of the Prince Kuhio Hawaiian Civic Club and a regular donor at the Blood Bank of Hawaii. In 1991 Ms. Makaimoku was honored by the Honolulu Police Department with a Certificate of Merit following an incident in which she assisted her father in pulling a young child from a swimming pool. Her father rendered first aid and CPR, thus saving the young child’s life.

Ms. Makaimoku is a member of the Hawaii State Bar Association (“HSBA”) and the Probate and Estate Planning Section. She is also a member of the Hawaii State Judiciary’s Access to Justice Commission, where she serves on the Pro Bono Committee.

Education

Ms. Makaimoku is a proud Honors Diploma graduate of the Kamehameha Schools. A four year Dean’s list student at Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA, she graduated in 2002 magna cum laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Public Relations and a minor in Sociology. While in college she was active in multiple student organizations, including Alpha Chi National College Honor Society, Pepperdine University Hawaii Club and the Golden Key International Honor Society, where she also served as an officer. Following college, Ms. Makaimoku attended the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where she received her Juris Doctor degree in 2005. While in law school Ms. Makaimoku was active in student organizations ‘Ahahui ‘O Hawai’i and Advocates for Public Interest Law (“APIL”). As a law student she volunteered for the Judiciary’s Kids First program and held externships at the Hawaii Supreme Court with Justice Simeon R. Acoba and at the Family Court of the First Circuit with (Ret.) Judge Karen M. Radius.

Ms. Makaimoku was admitted to practice before all Hawaii state courts and the United States District Court for the district of Hawaii in 2005. Recently, Ms. Makaimoku appeared on KHON2.

Personal

In her spare time Ms. Makaimoku relishes spending time with her husband and two young sons. She also enjoys pleasure reading, spending time at the beach, watching movies and indulging in great food with friends and family.

Debbie Tanakaya has over fifteen years of experience as a state government attorney, mainly as a Prosecutor for the state and as counsel for the only state-operated psychiatric hospital in Hawaii.  Ms. Tanakaya comes to Sterling & Tucker, LLP with experience and knowledge about our state’s mental health laws and an understanding of the issues persons living with a mental illness and their loved one’s face.  She was also a civil litigator in Insurance Defense prior to joining our firm.

EDUCATION

Born and raised in Hawaii, Ms. Tanakaya graduated from Aiea High School. She then attended and graduated from the University of Hawai`i at Manoa with a Bachelor in Business Administration in Finance and a minor in Speech.  While attending the University of Hawaii, she participated in the College Program at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL.

Ms. Tanakaya is a Graduate of the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law, earning dual Juris Doctor and Master of Laws in Taxation degrees.  In law school she was a recognized student attorney with the Internal Revenue Service providing legal assistance and representation in the school’s Low Income Tax Payer Clinic, and was licensed in 2003 to the Hawaii State Bar.

PERSONAL

Ms. Tanakaya is currently giving back to her alma mater, Aiea High School as a Mock Trial coach for their Mock Trial team.  In her free time, Ms. Tanakaya and her husband can be found at the golf course or baseball field cheering on their two children. Her bucket list includes traveling throughout the country to visit all the baseball stadiums in the nation. During O-bon season, you can find Ms. Tanakaya playing the fue and taiko drums at bon dances across the island.  She also enjoys dancing the hula and just hanging out with her friends and family.

Michelle Tucker specializes in the concerns of clients ages 55 and older who are either in retirement or planning for retirement. She is well-versed in all of the critical aspects of retirement—wealth management, taxes, estate and long-term care planning and providing legacies for loved ones. As the co-founder and partner of the firm of Sterling & Tucker for over 25 years, she has helped families make the best choices for their retirement, grow and preserve assets, save on taxes, and then be able to pass their wealth as efficiently as possible to the next generation.

Have you accumulated enough to retire and be financially independent, and how do you manage your finances so that you will not outlive your resources? If you are like most people, you will retire only once, and mistakes in this process can be extremely costly. How often do you do something perfectly, when it’s the first time you have ever done it? By establishing a long-term relationship with Michelle, she can help manage your financial life not just when you retire, but for the rest of your life.

Most people want to minimize taxes. If you could be paying less income tax annually, Michelle will know it. In addition, she will help you avoid potentially huge estate taxes, income tax on IRAs, retirement distributions and inherited IRAs. She’ll help you make the most of your assets so you can enjoy what you’ve built over a lifetime and have a successful retirement. As life progresses, she’ll be a resource and guide for important decisions concerning your long-term care and the best ways to leave your wealth to those you love.

EXPERIENCE

Ms. Tucker is an estate planning attorney, a Certified Financial Planner, a CPA/Personal Financial Specialist, and a Registered Financial Consultant. Her professional capabilities together with the wisdom gained from over 30 years in practice, combine to bring positive change to the lives of her clients.

She is the first attorney in Hawaii to be certified by the American Bar Association (ABA) accredited Estate Law Specialists Board, Inc., as an Estate Planning Law Specialist, and is so certified by the Supreme Court of Hawaii. The Supreme Court grants Hawaii certification only to lawyers in good standing who have successfully completed a specialty program accredited by the ABA.

Ms. Tucker is an American Bar Foundation Fellow and a Charter Member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, and a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. She belongs to both the Hawaii State and American Bar Associations. She belongs to the Hawaii Society of CPAs and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants as well as the Forensic Accountants Society of North America and the American College of Financial Planners.

She contributes to local news publications, is a sought-after public speaker and has co-authored three books; “Guiding Those Left Behind”, “Total Wealth Management”, and “Estate Planning Basics in Hawaii”.

EDUCATION

Ms. Tucker attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa and received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1977 and a Juris Doctor from William S. Richardson School of Law in 1981. As a student, she received numerous local and national awards, and credits much of her success to her teachers at McKinley High School, and professors at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

PERSONAL

Ms. Tucker is the mother of four children and spends her free time exploring Hawaii’s breath-taking coastlines and mountain ranges.

Judith Lee Sterling is a founder in the law firm of Sterling & Tucker, and is currently retired. She received her bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from Ohio State University and a Master of Science degree in education from the University of Florida. Her major was in mathematics. She is a retired Certified Public Accountant licensed in the State of Hawaii since 1976.

Ms. Sterling received her Juris Doctor degree from the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and is admitted to practice before all the courts in the State of Hawaii, United States Federal Court and the United States Tax Court. She has been in private practice since 1981 and is now a retired member of the Hawaii State Bar Association.

Her dual disciplines enhanced her ability to handle the complex tax and financial issues that arose when working in the areas of estate planning and asset protection. She was formerly a frequent speaker on topics related to taxes, medicaid crisis planning, advanced estate planning issues, and has held seminars on the funding of trusts. She has been both host and guest on a weekly television talk show called “Let’s Talk Story Taxes, Accounting and Business Law”, and has been invited to speak as a guest on numerous radio programs on the subject of estate and tax planning. Ms. Sterling has also contributed to the Hawaii State Bar News, Pacific Business News and Honolulu Advertiser. She has been an Adjunct Professor in Accounting at Chaminade University and taught classes in accounting at Leeward Community College. She also co-authored three books: A Will is Not Enough in Hawaii, Total Wealth Management and Estate Planning Basics in Hawaii.

After suffering through a series of mini strokes, Ms. Sterling found her own estate planning documents take effect. Through years of helping families protect their wealth through a complete estate plan, Ms. Sterling found herself in the shoes of her clients. She was confident as she saw everyone at Sterling & Tucker pull together to handle a seamless transition in her absence. Although retired, Ms. Sterling is still involved in sharing her thoughts, ideas, and insight with the attorneys and staff, as they continually strive to serve their clients with the best of care.