Patricia Askey Leong

Ms. Leong crafted my parents' trust documents in 2000 as well as amendments and restatements over the next 18 years. Then, in July 2022, due to a financial emergency, Ms. Leong was very responsive and timely in effecting the necessary paperwork to allow for a change in trustee. All was good until i...t was time to administer the trust following my mom’s passing in February. Two main issues arose during the trust administration. First, according to Probate Section 16061.7, the trustee is required to notify the trust’s beneficiaries within 60 days of the death of a settlor and provide specific details as well as a copy of the trust. Ms. Leong advised that this notification seemed unnecessary, and the notification, meeting the requirements of that code, was the first order of business of the attorney I hired to replace Ms. Leong. Second, Ms. Leong promised to respond to client communications “promptly” and took up to five business days to respond, even with follow-ups from the Client. When challenged, she did not accept responsibility and instead offered insincere apologies. The subsequent attorney I hired not only handled the legally required notification, but he also suggested drafting a waiver of a formal accounting to preserve the trust’s assets from large legal and CPA fees that would be required if a beneficiary insisted on that detailed accounting. Ms. Leong made no such suggestion. My goal was to bring this trust matter full circle, as Ms. Leong had drafted all the documents and knew the history. Unfortunately, in my opinion, this matter did not get the attention that it deserved, thus motivating me to change attorneys and incur additional expense that could and should have been avoided.