By Matthew M. Hart, Esq.

Last month I introduced readers to the Advance Health Care Directive (AHD), the document attorneys use to specify who will make your medical decisions when you cannot.  When I sit with my clients to discuss the AHD the big decision is who will make the decisions.  If my clients are married they usually choose their spouse.  Are you surprised I didn’t say, “they always choose their spouse?”

Part of my job is to gently help my clients face reality.  Although the spouse seems like the logical choice, what if my clients are in their 80’s and have only been married six months?  What if they have adult children in their 50’s and 60’s?  Sometimes, it will make more sense for that client to let the adult children make those final decisions instead of a new spouse.  What about the spouse who just can’t live without their mate?

When the critical time comes to make that tough decision, will the grieving spouse be able to set aside their emotions to make the decision?  Would it be more practical for an adult child to make that decision?  Although both of these situations are not too common, I have seen circumstances where the spouse wasn’t the best choice. When creating an AHD clients should take an honest look at who can make the final decision.

Next month I will talk about the issues around children and AHD’s.

Matthew Hart is a California Licensed Attorney who is an Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law Specialist certified by the State Bar of California.  He can be reached at 925-754-2000 or www.MatthewHartLaw.com and he has offices in Antioch and Walnut Creek.

Richard and Taylor Hobin in front of the law offices on A Street in Antioch.

By Connie Woods

Long time Antioch attorney, Richard Hobin was joined in his practic by his son, Taylor, last year.

Now known as Hobin & Hobin LLP, Attorneys at Law, the family owned business, is celebrating being in Antioch and serving Bay Area residents for over 38 years.

The father and son team are passionate about what they do, and have expertise in Real Estate Law, Business Law, Personal Injury Law, Wills, Trusts & Probate, Estate Planning, Trust Litigation, and Civil Litigation. As trial attorneys they have been a vital part of the Antioch community, helping local residents in their legal matters.

The Hobins perform a wide range of legal services in the areas of personal injury, wrongful death, civil litigation, criminal, family, real estate, business, wills and probate, and corporate matters. These services have ranged from a felony vehicular manslaughter trial; wrongful death and personal injury settlements and verdicts; multi-million dollar business transactions; real estate and construction defect litigation; lease termination and equipment auction of a computer cyber- space station; etc.

The patriarch of the law firm and family, Richard, began his law career after, first attending Oregon State University, being a Naval officer and fighting in the Vietnam War, and traveling through Europe. He then attended the University of California, Hastings School of Law, and after graduating and becoming licensed, opened a law office in Antioch. Over the years, he initially worked solo, then partnered with 23 other lawyers and staff, and in 2007 returned to solo practice, with paralegals and a great staff, in which his son later joined.

Taylor, passed the bar and joined the firm, last year, resulting in the name change from Richard Hobin Law to Hobin & Hobin.

Taylor also attended the University of California’s Hastings School of Law. He grew up in Antioch, attending Holy Rosary Elementary School, De La Salle High School, and then the University of San Francisco on a golf scholarship. At Hastings, Taylor worked as an editor, on the Constitutional Law Quarterly and won awards in legal writing as well as in moot court. Some of his published articles include “Wireless Internet Searches: How the Fourth Amendment Applies to Police Searches of Information Accessed Over a Wireless Internet Connection,” and an article entitled “Criminal.” Taylor handles a wide range of legal services and is also getting a Master’s Degree in Taxation. He is married and they have a baby boy, as of earlier this year. In his spare time Taylor plays and competes in golf.

Richard has been married for 32 years to his wife Debbie, who founded the high achieving Antioch Charter Academy. Richard is very active in the community, and has served as president of both the Delta Kiwanis and Delta-Antioch Rotary Clubs. He has also coached youth baseball, basket and golf teams and was District Chairperson for the Boy Scouts. Richard has also served as president of the Holy Rosary School Board, Delta Memorial Hospital Foundation, Annual De La Salle Golf Committee, and president of United Lutheran Ministries and St. Andrews Lutheran Church.

Richard is member of the American Trial Lawyers Association, Consumer Attorneys of California, Alameda/Contra Costa Trial Lawyers Association, and the Contra Costa Bar Association and feels privileged to help people in crisis.

Both attorneys are great role models in our community.

If you are interested in their services, contact the Law Office of Hobin & Hobin at (925) 757-7585, or by email to richard@hobinlaw.com or taylor@hobinlaw.com. They are located at 1011 A Street in Antioch. For more information visit their website at www.hobinlaw.com.

By Matthew Hart, Esq.

Last month I introduced the Durable Power of Attorney or DPA, for short. To recap, your agent with this power can do pretty much anything you can do financially, but they can do it in your name, such as take out a credit card in your name. Being an attorney, I am always concerned with checks and balances. As stated in the previous month’s column this power is critically needed by every adult but how do we keep bad things from happening?

First, you never put anyone in charge that you don’t trust, today to take charge of all of your money. If you hesitate at that thought, then you are considering the wrong person. Choosing the right person is critical.

Next, for the bulk of my clients I recommend a Springing Durable Power of Attorney. A springing DPA only “springs” into effect upon your incapacity. Therefore, even if your agent got a hold of a copy of your DPA they could not use it for bad things while you have capacity.

Contrast that to an Immediate DPA which takes effect the day it is signed. I have seen greedy children do a lot of damage with an immediate DPA therefore be sure you have a good reason to have an immediate DPA.

Next month I will address Bank DPA’s and Internet DPA’s.

Matthew Hart is a California Licensed Attorney who is an Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law Specialist certified by the State Bar of California. He can be reached at 925-754-2000 or www.MatthewHartLaw.com and he has offices in Antioch and Walnut Creek.

By Matthew Hart, Esq.

Last month, I painted a simple picture of how incapacity can strike any family, often at the worst time. Regarding financial matters, the main tool to combat the problem of incapacity is called a General Durable Power of Attorney or DPA for short.

The DPA is a critical document every adult, young or old, should have in place. It says in a nutshell who can sign financial documents for you.

However, the first warning I give to all my clients is that this is probably the most powerful document you will ever sign. Therefore, it is critical that it is drafted properly and understood properly by the client who signs it.

Most DPA’s give your agent, the person you choose to put in charge, any financial power you have. Some powers are scary like fact that the agent can take out loans in your name, credit cards in your name, sell your stuff and buy stuff. In addition, they can direct distributions from your IRA or 401k.

You might ask, with all those powers do I really want this document in place? The answer should be yes, as long as you have someone you trust to be your agent. As I stated last month, if your wife needed to sell or refinance your house, she would need your DPA to do it.

However, concern is warranted and things can go really wrong with a DPA. I will discuss some of the pitfalls of a DPA next month.

Matthew Hart is a California Licensed Attorney who is an Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law Specialist certified by the State Bar of California. He can be reached at www.MatthewHartLaw.com or 925-754-2000. He has offices in Antioch and Walnut Creek.

By Matthew Hart, Esq.

When people typically think of Wills and Trust Attorneys they think of death, taxes and all of the unavoidable situations. What I find surprising is, they rarely think of what would happen if they lost capacity. A simple picture to paint is a husband and wife who own a house and have 2.5 children. In that scenario both the husband and wife are owners on the house and both signed on the dotted line for the loan to buy the house.

Imagine if the husband lost capacity, perhaps an accident at work or a car accident on the way to the son’s baseball game after work. If the wife wants to do anything with the house such as sell it to move closer to family for support during a tough time with an incapacitated husband or even if she wanted to refinance to lower the rate during a difficult financial time, how can she do it? Both spouses signed for the loan therefore both signatures are required, but the husband has lost capacity.

That is why Estate Planning is needed. A simple, inexpensive Durable Power of Attorney would allow the wife to sign for the husband for financial matters when he has lost capacity. Next month I will dive deeper into what a Durable Power of Attorney is and how it can be used for good…and bad.

Matthew Hart is a California Licensed Attorney who is an Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law Specialist certified by the State Bar of California. He can be reached at 925-754-2000 or www.MatthewHartLaw.com and he has offices in Antioch and Walnut Creek.

By Matthew Hart, Esq.

Why do I need to meet with an Estate Planning Attorney? I get asked this question frequently by adult of all ages. There are two very important phases of your life. During these phases you will not have control over your money or health decisions. Therefore, it is very important to plan for these phases and that is where an Estate Planning Attorney comes in. The Estate Planning Attorney puts on paper who you want to make decisions for you when you cannot be in control.

The first phase can occur while you’re alive but have lost capacity. Losing capacity may be for a relatively short time such as after a car accident where you might be hospitalized for a few months and not able to care for yourself. Losing capacity may be permanent; the most typical situation described would be having Alzheimer’s or Dementia which is commonly associated with old age.

However, I have encountered younger people who have had traumatic brain injuries and other permanent debilitating health conditions which struck while they were in the prime of their life. The second phase is at your death, at the risk of stating the obvious you have no control over your money upon death. I will discuss next month how to plan for the first phase, incapacity during your lifetime.

Matthew Hart is a California Licensed Attorney who is an Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law Specialist certified by the State Bar of California. He can be reached at 925-754-2000 or www.MatthewHartLaw.com and he has offices in Antioch and Walnut Creek.

By Matthew Hart, J.D.

Greetings readers, my name is Matthew Hart and I am starting a monthly column in the Antioch Herald talking about all things regarding Wills, Trusts, Probate and the Law. I will take the opportunity in this first column to introduce myself and offer a little background about who I am.

I am an Antioch native. I have been married to my lovely wife Dr. Theresa Hart for almost 25 years and we have one daughter, Rebekah, who is 20. 

Although I have lived in Antioch my whole life, I commuted to San Francisco for 20 years, for the first part of my career.  In 2008, I was blessed to be able to open my own law practice here, in Antioch.

I am a Certified Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law Specialist by the State Bar of California. This specialization is distinguished by the fact that out of 182,000 active attorneys in California, only 984 are currently Certified Legal Specialists in the area of Estate Law.

Over the next several months, I will be writing a series of columns to cover the different areas of Estate Planning. Join me, next month to begin learning what you need to know in order to protect you and your family.

Matthew Hart is a California Licensed Attorney who is an Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law Specialist certified by the State Bar of California.  He has offices in Antioch and Walnut Creek and can be reached at either 925-754-2000 or www.MatthewHartLaw.com.

By Pat Forte, Attorney

A foreclosure is a legal process by which the lender tries to recover the balance of a loan by selling the asset used as collateral for the loan. If the lender is a mortgage company and that asset is your home, you need to take care of the problem right away.

There are various ways of dealing with foreclosures, and you need an attorney who knows the options available and will help you choose the most a suitable solution.

Once a foreclosure sale takes place, it is too late to do anything. The home is lost. Make sure you act before it is too late. The filing of a bankruptcy case will stop the foreclosure of your real estate.

– A Chapter 7 bankruptcy may only postpone the foreclosure temporarily.

– A Chapter 13 will stop the foreclosure indefinitely as long as you start fresh by making payments to the mortgage company and payments to the Chapter 13 trustee.

– The Chapter 13 plan payment will allow you to bring current all mortgage arrearages over a three- to five-year period.

Pat Forte is an attorney in Antioch. Contact him at (925) 757-3328.