With the recent birth of our wonderful daughter, my original idea of living fast and dying young…read moresort of didn't make sense anymore, so I thought maybe living slow and dying really old would be a better way to go now. When you have a kid, suddenly you realize that it matters if you're no longer around and you want to make sure that your little ones are taken care of should you go on that journey to the big farm with lots of room to run around and lots of squirrels to chase and all the other things that my mom said our childhood dog experienced when he mysteriously disappeared one day. So I began researching Estate Planning firms here in Hawaii. I went to a seminar. I started trying to find as much info as I can. There are places to do it online, are they good? I don't know, but I don't trust them. What if I have questions? What if they're not familiar with Hawaii law? I figured I wanted someone local. I called a few places in Oahu (I'm based in Oahu). One place didn't even respond. I called them again, they didn't even bother calling me back. I'm going to leave a review on them. Another place quoted an amount close to $5K for an estate plan with a trust which seemed more than it should. But then after doing searches in google I found Hawaii Trust & Estate Counsel and man I'm glad I used these guys. They are based in Big Island and Maui but they also cover Oahu. They are a small office which is what I wanted. John Roth is the founder of the company and if you look at his bio on their website, he's a local Oahu boy and he's got tons of experience with estate planning. Also listed on their page is info on his dad who was a professor at UH with tons of awards and a specialty in estate planning. These guys know their stuff! I expected developing an estate plan would be a huge chore, but it was so easy going and working with John was great. He's extremely easy to work with and he's very calm and low-keyed in a way that I really liked. The seminar I had gone to about estate planning from another company really spent a lot of time scaring me about how much things would cost if I died without an estate plan. John was a lot more matter of fact and reasonable about why an estate plan might help and he really took the time to explain things to us and to also suggest what would be best for our situation. Price was a lot more reasonable than the quote I got from the other place. The logistics of meeting with John was probably the best thing. I was expecting I'd have to take time off of work to meet, but because John is based on another island, you pretty much just contact them through email or phone, and based on John's scheduled visits to Oahu (he comes twice a month or more as his parents still live here), you can book at time at whatever location YOU want to meet. I communicated with his assistant Krystal via email who was very professional and timely. We were able to book a time on a Saturday which was perfect for us and it was at our house which was even better. The first meeting was around an hour and we decided on all the things we wanted. We agreed to do an estate plan. Later I had a few questions so I emailed and got quick responses. After a couple of weeks everything was ready and again we scheduled a time based on when John was back in Oahu. We met during lunch at our house so I could just drive home from work with my wife and an hour later we had all of our documents signed and ready to go. John is also a notary public so all your signatures can be notarized by him which makes things even easier. I can't stress enough how happy we are we used this company. John is a fantastic lawyer and such a nice guy. They're a small company so I felt like they really could give me personal support rather than a company that churns these things out. I had a list from several websites and the seminar I went to about all the things that should be in a good estate plan, and everything was included in our estate plan. It is great peace of mind knowing our daughter will be taken care of!

Hawaii Trust and Estate Counsel set up our living trust and then worked quickly to complete the…read moreforms before we unexpectedly had to be off island. We are very appreciative.

She handled our dispute with our gym over their discriminatory practices against our autistic son…read more Everything was handled in a timely and professional manner, and ended well for us. Our son is now able to enjoy his gym time happily and without harassment thanks to her.

Without a doubt KARLY is outstanding and very professional and successful she represented me and…read morethe outcome was very satisfied .it's a blessing to have met her .i truly recommend her and wish you the best in case you need her services Thanks Sincerely JUAN

Person who answered my call and my request for family law as they advertise, blew me off and said…read more"they don't have time for that"! Felt very cold. I wouldn't recommend, not because they couldn't help, but because of the lack of professionalism and compassion.

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My attorney Peter Olson was professional, dedicated, and incredibly skilled. His dedication went…read morefar beyond what was expected of him. He made me feel comfortable and took the reins. He fought very hard for my case, was very responsive, and achieved a winning outcome. I would not hesitate to hire him again, and strongly recommend his service to others.

Peter was simply fantastic. From the very beginning he reassured us and was the calm we needed…read morewhen we felt lost and unsure. He kept in contact throughout the process and was always there whenever we needed him. Each time we spoke we truly felt that we were being heard. He took his time to dedicate himself to the facts of the case and delivered in every way we could have hoped for. Even before the outcome, we already referred our dear friends because of how we felt taken care of knowing he would be the same for them in their time of need. Above all we valued his straight forward honesty and professionalism.

She was very helpful and didn't try to charge us for anything we didn't need! I would highly…read morerecommend her if you aren't sure if you need assistance with estate planning documents!

Kristen helped us with some legal documentation. She was very clear in her communication and turned…read morethe documents around quickly. I will definitely use her legal services again if needed.

He did the job at first but there were so many red flags when talking to him. So I wanted emails to…read morehave notes, it cost me more I think. He didn't keep up with things despite changing the paperwork himself?! On 2 different occasions. And gaslight me at one point.. he charged so much and it almost didn't seems worth it. I was very disappointed at the end of my legal needs, and now have to finish things myself

Here's the deal: he's competent. He does the job. But, he is insulating, passive-aggressive or,…read morejust, aggressive. I would never recommend him as there are clearly other competent people who don't have the terrible attitude he does. His assistant, Naomi, however is great and professional in a way that Paul is certainly not. So, if you want to get the job done and be insulted at the same time - he is your guy!

Still 5 stars all the way!!…read more I'm based in Oahu, but they cover Hawaii island, Maui, and Oahu. It's now been almost 6 years since we did our first estate plan with Hawaii Trust & Estate Counsel way back in 2019, and we had to make some updates to our estate plan. As usual, their office staff was fast to respond, and it was an easy task to setup a video call to go through our changes. Eventually we got everything decided on what we wanted updated. We met with John during one of his visits to Oahu and went through all the signatures and updates, such a great an easy process! They also are helping us put our house deed into a trust. I like that they're a smaller company and that they're fairly young compared to myself, as I'd like my daughter to be able to work with them if she should need to in the hopefully far far far distant future haha.

Oh my gosh! My wife and I were so pleased after our meeting…read morewith John Roth at Hawaii Trust & Estate Counsel. John is very knowledgeable, honest and helpful. First rate!

I wish I did my research before hiring this firm. She was supposed to represent my son for custody…read more Ended up using all my completed exhibits and just re did the forms I already completed all myself. I spoke to her assistant who was really great more than her. she ended up screwing us at the end and asked the judge to dismiss the case which I asked her not to do! She was briefed the day before and at court acted like she didn't know what was going on. I had to call her the day before court! She didn't even reach out herself! she took $4,600 payment a did nothing! The mother of his children is still now able to jump on a plane with the children at any time things go bad. All for nothing!

Finest Law Firm in Hilo, when the other firms will only look for headline cases to enrich…read morethemselves and their egos. The Law Offices of Kathleen Kentish Lucero, Mrs Kentish Lucero, Mrs Sha, Mrs Correa will look out for you.