A boutique Cuenca practice for English-speaking expats. Visa, family, wills, and property law in Ecuador. Honest fees. 200+ visas filed.
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ELG is a boutique Cuenca practice built on one promise: you always know who is handling your matter, what it costs, and where it stands. Visa work is billed 50/50, half to begin and half on completion. Other matters are scoped in writing before we start. Most people come for a visa and stay for what comes next: the will, the property, the family matter. We are built to be the firm you keep.
Local attorneys and a bilingual visa team who work with Migración and the notaría every week. You get people who do this constantly, not occasionally.
Visa work is billed 50/50: half to begin, half on completion. Other matters are quoted in writing before we start.
Send a question and hear back within one business day, in English or Spanish. You are never left guessing where your matter stands.
Visas renew, families grow, estates evolve. We expect to know you for a decade, not a quarter.
Most expats arrive with a visa question and discover they also need
a will, a property review, or family-law advice. ELG handles all
four. The same small team can connect the dots across your matters.
See all four practices →
Pensionado · Investor · Professional · Rentista · Naturalisation
Temporary and permanent residency, dependents, renewals, and the path to Ecuadorian citizenship. 200+ visas filed across every common pathway.
Retirees, remote workers, returning Ecuadorians with foreign spouses or children, investors.
Marriage · Divorce · Custody · Adoption
Family matters under Ecuadorian law, in plain English: registering a marriage from abroad, divorce even if you married overseas, and the paperwork of building a life here.
Couples, parents, and individuals dealing with marriage, divorce, custody, or adoption under Ecuadorian law.
Wills · Powers of attorney · Succession · Cross-border estates
An Ecuadorian will that complements (not contradicts) your home-country instruments. Powers of attorney that hold up at the notary on a hard day.
Retirees with property in Ecuador, parents of mixed-citizenship heirs, returning Ecuadorians with foreign assets.
Purchase · Sale · Title review · Disputes
Title due diligence done before you sign, not after. We read the registro carefully and quote a fixed fee for the closing work.
Buyers, sellers, and landlords navigating Ecuadorian property registers and municipal paperwork.
I can't say enough good things about my experience with Betsy and her team. Betsy guided me through the process while I was still in the States and when I arrived in Cuenca she held my hand through the process and even fixed something I made a mistake on. She did not miss a beat. 2 months to the day and I just received my Visa and Cedula. As far as I'm concerned Betsy has a super hero cape!
From your first call to your cédula in hand, the same people stay with your matter.
Attorney · Family, wills, property & business
Sabrina is our generalist attorney and the person expats most often work with after settling in Ecuador. Wills, family matters, property purchases, corporate structures, apostilles for documents sent home. Direct, unhurried, bilingual.
Attorney · Property, family & succession
Wolfram covers property purchases and sales, family matters, and succession. He's the one you want reading the escritura before you sign, or planning how a family's assets move to the next generation. Bilingual, patient, and comfortable explaining any procedure step by step.
Visa lead · Immigration
Betsy has processed hundreds of Ecuadorian residency visas for expats. She's your first point of contact for any visa question, free consultation or otherwise. If she can't help, she'll say so early. If she can, she'll tell you what it costs before you commit.
If your question isn't here, send it directly. We reply within 1 business day.
Everything on the Ecuador side. We give you the exact list of documents to gather and apostille at home, then we take over: translation, filing, government appointments, and follow-through. You won't set foot in an Ecuadorian government office unless the law requires you in person.
Visa work runs on a 50/50 split (half on engagement, half on completion). For other matters (family, wills, property) we use written estimates, retainer, or hourly billing depending on the type of work. Fees are discussed in writing before we begin.
Yes. 15 minutes, no card, no obligation. We use it to decide together whether your matter is one we can take on.
Of course. Spanish is a first-class language at ELG, not a translation layer. Some clients prefer to work entirely in Spanish, and we are glad to.
Most matters start with a video call. When we meet in person, we set a time and place in Cuenca that suits you, an office or a quiet café.
Notes on Ecuadorian visas, families, wills, and property, written for readers who need a plain answer.
Ecuador continues to be a top destination for expats thanks to its quality of life, affordable healthcare, and use of the US dollar. However, 2026 brings important changes to Ecuador’s visa system that every applicant must understand before applying. Some of these updates affect how visas are submitted, others affect income and investment requirements, and …
Divorce laws can feel complicated when you’re living abroad, but the process in Ecuador is often more straightforward than most expats expect - even if the marriage took place in another country. Many foreign residents are surprised to learn that they can get divorced here, and today I’m breaking down exactly how it works. Prefer …
I’m Attorney Sabrina Candela, and today I want to share a topic that surprises nearly every expat couple I meet: the importance of registering your foreign marriage in Ecuador. If you were married abroad, chances are you already submitted your apostilled marriage certificate for your visa or cédula. That’s great… but here’s the truth most …
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Two minutes of context. We reply within 1 business day, EN or ES.
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