Columns

  In nearly 30 years of reviewing opera for this and other columns, never have I been so carried away by the euphoria of experiencing this great art being professionally performed. But the other night, Aass I listened to Mozart’s brilliant overture, played by a group of first-class musicians, I was struck by how lucky we are to have the Chicago Lyric Opera to go to for performances of opera at the highest artistic level. Oh, sure, there’s room for criticism — mainly that Mozart scored the roles of Figaro and the Count for basses, and the Lyric used baritones, …

  As it gets closer to Veterans’ Day, we are reminded of our ancestors who sacrificed so much to serve in our Armed Forces. Sadly, the World War II generation is rapidly shrinking as they reach their nineties, and there are no combat veterans living who served in World War I. I hope that when you research your family, you try to go beyond just names and dates and attempt to create a story of their lives. Part of what we do is to supplement the lack of autobiographical narrative by finding genealogical items our ancestors left behind, and to …

    In the fourth installment of my ongoing series on how to deal with the looming crisis associated with long-term care costs for the middle class, I would like to talk about when it may be necessary to revise wills and trusts. Also, what should these revised wills and trusts look like? First of all, we should remember that during our maturing years, most people, especially those with children, will prepare wills and trusts that deal with what happens to their assets upon death. This is a very understandable and laudable goal, especially for those people that are afraid of …

  Back in 2008, the government-sponsored company known as Fannie Mae was taken over by the government because it was suffering so many losses as a result of being too easy on loan requirements and approval. Fannie Mae issues mortgage bonds to investors at a certain rate of return and then uses the money that it receives from the bond issuance to buy mortgages from companies at higher rates of return and keeps the difference as profits. Fannie Mae and it smaller sister company, Freddie Mac, own more than half of the $10 trillion residential mortgage market. Fannie Mae and …

Many homes are under-marketed not for lack of advertising or effort on the part of the broker to push the property properly. The main reason is a lack of sufficient information on the full range of features that a property possesses, often because the owner may think that a buyer doesn’t care about them. Many listing sheets leave out important features, instead enumerating the same items time and time again. Which items are you failing to mention on a listing description or online marketing? What will make your home stand out over the one down the street from you? One …

As I write this column my bags are packed and I’m heading out with the Veneti nel Mondo to visit the east side of Italy. I will also have the opportunity to visit the streets my parents walked when I go to Mezzaselva di Roana above Bassano Del Grappa. I will, of course, be reporting on my visit in future columns and might also share a few photos. I know I will have a great time meeting my cousins Flavia Mazzolini and her daughter Elena Migliorini when I visit Lago di Como and Lago Maggiore. My December and January column …

  So you’re thinking about buying a home but you don’t know where to begin. There are several tasks you need to tackle months before you start house hunting in earnest. Getting started early will ensure that no surprises arise to trip you up on the way to your purchase. Do you know how much you want to spend? Is your income where it should be? Check your credit rating if you’re seeking to finance your new property. For a small fee, you can pull your credit on your own from many different online website. Check your report and make …

  In many of my recent columns, I have discussed the rapid growth of familysearch.org. I have been working on so many areas of American records that I have forgotten to check on Italian civil records. All I can say is “Wow.” Let me first remind you of the project because it will explain why they’ve done what they’ve done. The LDS Church has microfilmed millions of records all over the world over many decades, including lots of Italian civil records and a small percentage of Italian Catholic records as well. In the 2000s, they began to digitize these films …

  Starting on Oct. 3, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is implementing new Tila-Respa Integrated Disclosure requirements, known in the industry as TRID. “So what’s a TRID?” you may ask. It represents the integration and rescheduling of an assortment of current mortgage documents in an effort to make things easier for consumers to understand while giving them an earlier account of what funds will be needed at closing. TRID requires that a “loan estimate” (terms, rates, costs, and payments disclosure) be sent directly from the lender’s or broker’s disclosure department to the costumer within three business days of the application …

  Many people ask, “What is guardianship in the state of Illinois?” Simply put, guardianship is the process of applying to a court to be able to legally assist an individual over the age of 18 if the person has a disability. A disabled person, for purposes of guardianship laws, is someone who cannot make basic life decisions or manage their own property or money. Due to the participation of the court system and the attorneys’ fees involved, it’s an expensive proposition and should be avoided at all costs using other methods of surrogate decision such as powers of attorney, …