Divorce, Sanford Style: Social Media and Mediation – The Mark Sanford divorce saga has gone back behind closed doors: After a surge of attention to the South Carolina congressman’s rambling Facebook post on Friday about his private life, a family-court judge said today that Mr. Sanford and his ex-wife, Jenny, have agreed to mediation on parenting issues and other concerns.

First rise in foreclosure auctions in nearly four years – Foreclosures are up for the first time in nearly four years. But housing experts aren’t worried.

Wells Fargo finds mortgage myths hamper home purchases – Getting a mortgage in the United States may be easier than many borrowers think, according to a survey released Monday by Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N), the largest U.S. mortgage lender.

More mediation ordered over potential Detroit bankruptcy deal – A federal judge on Thursday ordered ongoing mediation in Detroit’s historic bankruptcy over a potential settlement between the city and one of its fiercest creditors, while adding holdout creditor Financial Guaranty Insurance Co to the list of parties whose attendance is required.

Social Security and Divorce: Can You Collect Benefits on Your Ex’s Earnings Record? – If you’re divorced and juggling expenses, being able to boost your income with a spousal benefit can be a real plus. But no matter what your marital status, it pays to do some serious thinking about the best time for you to file. Your health, family longevity, and overall retirement plan are all factors to consider. If you can wait a few years to collect a larger benefit, that’s probably the smartest choice for the long term.

US foreclosure activity rises for second straight month in August: RealtyTrac – U.S. foreclosure activity jumped in August for the second consecutive month as banks started the process on more properties and scheduled more housing auctions, industry firm RealtyTrac said on Thursday.

Mediators discuss alternative to court – Imagine your neighbor suing you over a barking dog, or your landlord refusing to return your deposit. What if you don’t have time or money to go to court? Mediation is the answer for many people because it is often cheaper and faster than litigation.

Ask Carrie: Social Security and Divorce: Can You Collect Benefits on Your Ex’s Earnings Record?  – The first requirement is that your marriage must have lasted for at least 10 years. Interestingly, it doesn’t matter if your ex has since remarried—you’re still in the picture benefits-wise.

Real estate Q&A: Foreclosure may wipe out lien holder’s claim – Liens have priority in the order in which they are recorded, so if the lender recorded its mortgage before your judgment, it can foreclose your lien along with his ownership (as long as it followed certain procedures in the foreclosure process, such as including your lien in the lawsuit).

Silicon Valley tech titans beg for more mediation time in wage-fix lawsuit – Some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley have filed a court motion asking for more time in mediation before going to court to fight former employees who claim they were put on secret no-hire blacklists by their bosses.

Average US 30-Year Mortgage Rate Holds Steady – The average 30-year U.S. mortgage rate this week remained at a 52-week low of 4.10 percent for the third straight week.

Retirement has changed but ERISA still holds up – ERISA. Forty years after its enactment and still standing. In light of its evolution, one could say that ERISA should stand for the Employee Responsibility Income Security Act due to the shift of the burden of providing an adequate retirement income from the employer to employees, most of whom have little or no experience with determining how much they need to save or how to choose a suitable mix of investments.

Should Your Startup Offer Employee Benefits? – In years past, companies of all shapes and sizes needed to offer a good employee benefits program, with which to attract the best candidates.  That was even true for early-stage startups, since that was one of the hooks to get someone to leave their big company jobs and rich benefits packages.

7 Ways Divorce Affects Kids, According To The Kids Themselves – If you’re a parent considering divorce, fear of the unknown can drive you nuts. How will this affect the kids, you wonder. Will their grades slip? Will they hate me for putting them through this mess? Is this going to scare them off marriage and commitment for the rest of their lives?

Breaking Down Debt: How 4 Different Loans Affect Your Mortgage-Worthiness – Want to get a new mortgage? Then, your credit score is a really big deal — it can make or break your mortgage payments, and ultimately determine whether or not you get the house you want.

Mediation Perspectives: Innovative Approaches in the Colombian Peace Process – The Colombian peace process has advanced steadily without major interruption since it was formally launched in Norway and peace talks between the Colombian government and the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) began in Cuba in late 2012. As with most peace processes, the Colombian process has evolved over time and in stages, with adjustments to the methodologies, focus, and engagement of the stakeholders. A number of these modifications are breaking new ground, particularly with regard to the roles of civil society and the design of strategies for dealing with the past.

Dogs, Divorce, and Pre-pups – Like, we didn’t see this coming? Pets are becoming the center of custody struggles among divorcing couples.

US foreclosures down by one-fifth – There were 45,000 foreclosures in the United States in July, down by more than 20% on last year, but double the average before the housing market crash

What’s Divorce Like At 48? An Opportunity – What is divorce at 48? An opportunity. Grieve, heal and then run with it.

Don’t do systematic investment in short-term debt funds – This works only for longer-tenured ones such as income funds, as the element of interest rate risk is reduced

You Thought the Mortgage Crisis Was Over? It’s About to Flare Up Again – We are nearly eight years removed from the beginnings of the foreclosure crisis, with over five million homes lost. So it would be natural to believe that the crisis has receded. Statistics point in that direction. Financial analyst CoreLogic reports that the national foreclosure rate fell to 1.7 percent in June, down from 2.5 percent a year ago. Sales of foreclosed properties are at their lowest levels since 2008, and the rate of foreclosure starts—the beginning of the foreclosure process—is at 2006 levels. At the peak, 2.9 million homes suffered foreclosure filings in 2010; last year, the number was 1.4 million.