Estate planning accomplishes a number of important goals for individuals, families, and businesses. Having a plan is imperative, but what that looks like will be different from person to person depending on the circumstances. Many people look at estate planning as a means to pass down assets and money earned over your lifetime. While this is true, it’s only one small piece of a much larger puzzle. An effective Read More

Working your way through the real estate market and finding the perfect home for you and your family is truly a dream. You and your loved ones have worked hard to get to this point and getting the keys to the home your family will live in for years to come can be one of the most fulfilling tasks in life. It’s important not to get ahead of yourself, however, as there are numerous aspects to the homebuying process Read More

When your financial circumstances have led you to the point of considering bankruptcy, it’s important to be aware of how the entire process works – even before you file. Bankruptcy courts are meticulous in scrutinizing filers to ensure nobody defrauds the process. The court will take an overview of a filer’s assets and income in order to decide whether they qualify for Chapter 7, Chapter 13, or neither. One way Read More

Have you heard of a Transfer on Death Instrument (TODI)? A lot of people in Illinois don’t actually know about these despite Illinois being one of the few states that actually allow them. A TODI is a tool that allows you to pass certain assets through your estate without having them go through probate. This means you can legally transfer assets to an individual or legal entity without having to spend the time and Read More

“Equity” has become a buzzword in recent years when talking about opportunities and wealth. A lot of people spend their time chasing equity as a means to build something worthwhile in their lifetime. One of the best and surest ways to build equity in your life is by becoming a homeowner. Rent is a 100% Interest Payment You are more than welcome to stick to renting and saving up money, but this is quite honestly Read More

You found your dream home. You work with the seller and secure a mortgage from the bank. Now you have the keys and a monthly mortgage payment – you’re all set, right? Not quite. We’ve found many homebuyers end up being completely unaware of some of the additional costs associated with buying a home. We won’t call them “hidden” costs because they’re a part of paying for homes across Illinois, but we want to make Read More

Okay, you may have seen that headline and raised an eyebrow a bit. There’s no “deadline” for filing for bankruptcy, right? Technically, no. There are no deadlines for filing for bankruptcy as a whole (there are deadlines embedded in the process, however). Still, if you’re considering filing for bankruptcy there are reasons you shouldn’t wait any longer. At Velazquez Consumer Law, LLC we’ve been working to make Read More

Look, we know we’re not the first to tell you that the economy isn’t in great shape. Inflation is up and it’s leaving many companies and people to pinch pennies as we head toward the end of 2022. There are some signs that the worst may be behind us, but experts don’t believe inflation is going anywhere anytime soon. The chances of the government stepping in and handing out another stimulus check are slim to none – Read More

When you tune into just about any finance news network or read an article on a finance news outlet, you’re going to see a lot of talk about interest rates. There have been several changes to federal interest rates in 2022, but we want to tackle that conversation head-on. Unfortunately, we are hearing from many people who want to buy a home but are being scared off by all the hype surrounding “high” interest rates. Read More

Your estate plan should be viewed as a living, breathing plan. It’s not something you can sit down with an attorney one time and sort out. There will be necessary maintenance over time, and while the general rule is you should update your estate plan every three to five years, the “back to school” season is another great opportunity to take a look. It’s not just an easy reminder on the calendar – your estate may Read More