Retired judge nominated for trusteeship
By Walter Wright
Advertiser Staff Writer
Retired Circuit Court Judge Patrick Yim, whose 1997 report on Bishop Estate helped lead to the removal of its trustee Lokelani Lindsey, has been nominated to become a trustee himself — of the Queen Lili'uokalani Trust.
Yim, 60, will succeed First Hawaiian Bank, which recently announced it wanted to help promote Native Hawaiian economic self-reliance by withdrawing after 65 years as trustee of the $320 million trust in favor of a trustee of Hawaiian ancestry.
The remaining two trustees, Thomas Kaulukukui Jr., a retired state circuit judge, and David Peters, a former aide to U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye, are both Native Hawaiians. Under the rules of the estate, the remaining trustees nominate a person to fill any vacancy.
Each of the three trustees was paid $150,000 last year — more than the $100,000 that trustees of the massive Kamehameha Schools now receive under a revamped pay scale approved by both the Internal Revenue Service and state probate court.
The Queen Lili'uokalani Trust is the second-largest ali'i trust behind Kamehameha Schools, formerly known as Bishop Estate.
The trust was established in 1917 — the year of Queen Lili'uokalani's death — for the benefit of children of Native Hawaiian ancestry. It operates Queen Lili'uokalani Children's Centers throughout the state, benefiting about 5,000 poor and orphaned children. The trust employs 182 staff members and maintains 11 offices statewide.
The trust's largest single asset is land — 6,294 acres on the Big Island, mostly in the Kona area. It also owns valuable parcels in Waikiki — the land under the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort, Pacific Beach Hotel and Radisson Waikiki Prince Kuhio hotel, for example — as well as elsewhere on O'ahu.
Kaulukukui on Friday announced the nomination of Yim, for an appointment to be made by the Probate Court where Yim once served as a judge.
"Pat Yim is the right person for the trust at this time," Kaulukukui said. "Pat's expertise in fiduciary responsibilities, business, child and family matters are at the heart of what we are and do," Kaulukukui said.
Former Bishop Estate Trustee Oswald Stender has said Yim's fact-finding report on Bishop Estate in November 1997 prompted his decision to seek the removal of fellow trustee Lindsey. Yim had been appointed by the probate court to investigate allegations of problems on the Kapalama Heights campus.
His report concluded Lindsey "created an oppressive and hostile atmosphere" at Kamehameha Schools.
The report was submitted in the court hearing that resulted in Circuit Judge Eden Elizabeth Hifo's May 1999 decision removing Lindsey as a trustee for the estate.
Yim, an 'Aina Haina resident, was educated at Boston University School of Law, 1967; the University of Hawai'i, 1964; and St. Louis School, 1959. In addition to serving as a circuit judge (he retired in 1994), Yim also worked as a city deputy prosecutor and a National Labor Relations Board field attorney.
He is married to Santa Marie DeCecco, and is the father of three children, Laura, Eli and Matthew.
Reach Walter Wright at wwright@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8054.
