Marlene Sanborn

I became acquainted with Marlene through a business group of which we are both members. In this group I was very impressed with Marlene, her honesty, and her sincerity. When it became time to update our trust, we turned to Marlene. Marlene drafted a trust for our family, and we couldn't be happier with her professionalism and responsiveness. Marlene created a great product for us at a competitive price. I also became acquainted fwith several of Marlene's litigation clients. These clients had nothing but high praise for Marlene's aggressiveness and the results that she produced. I would highly recommend Marlene to anyone.

Marlene Sanborn provided us with a Family Trust, Wills, Durable Powers of Attorney, and Advanced Health Care Directives - everything we wanted exactly as we wanted it - and our copies came in a handy binder with explanations of what to do in case we need to make changes in the future. She explained the most complex legal issues simply so we came away not only with the documents we wanted but a more complete understanding of everything involved in estate planning.

I filed a complaint with the CA State Bar for the following reasons: non compliance with the court’s filing deadline, failure to disclose all the material facts, unauthorized work and fraud. I retained Ms. Sanborn for the following tasks: 1.) submit a Petition for Probate, 2.) attend the court hearing. Her retainer was $5000.00 dollars. She submitted the Petition one day before the hearing contrary to probate rules—at least 5 days prior to a hearing. The hearing was scheduled months into the future. Meanwhile, Ms. Sanborn stated that I needed to consider either litigation, ADR or an evidentiary hearing. I declined each option because my petition had not been read. Without my knowledge or consent, she made extensive preparations for an evidentiary hearing. I declined to pay for unauthorized work. She retained the $5,000.00, stating that she was due the additional funds, sent an IRS W2 form insisting I must complete. I neither paid for unauthorized work nor completed a W2.

One Star: Poor I hired Ms. Sanborn and furnished a $5,000.00 retainer as requested. Her task was to submit a probate petition and attend the court hearing. At the hearing the judge asked her where the petition was because he wanted to read it. Her reply: “It was submitted yesterday.” The judge continued the hearing date three months hence. Meanwhile, Ms. Sanborn stated that I needed to consider either litigation, ADR or an evidentiary hearing. I declined on the fact that my petition had not been read. Nonetheless, without my knowledge or consent, she made extensive preparations for an evidentiary hearing. Furthermore, she: 1.) padded the bill for the initial task, thereby retaining the $5000.00 retainer and 2.) charged me for the additional, unauthorized work. I declined to pay additional funds. She declared that the debt would be forgiven, sent an IRS W2 form, indicating that if I did not comply, I would be penalized by the IRS. I did not comply and was deemed dishonorable.