How mediation has put Detroit bankruptcy on the road to resolution – When Detroit filed for bankruptcy, the case was expected to mirror others around the country: contentious with several years of pitched courtroom battles ahead.

Life After Divorce: Who Gets Custody of the Friends? – If there’s one life event that’ll shake out who your real friends are, it’s divorce. Still, many are caught by surprise when friendships crumble and people they thought they could count on seem to be taking sides, especially if it’s not their side. It’s hurtful and can make you do all the wrong things.

How to Tell Good Debt From Bad Debt – More than $856 billion of this is from credit cards — the average individual credit card debt is more than $15,000 — and more than $1 trillion comes from student loans (the average loan total is more than $32,000). So, if you’re looking back fondly at that New Year’s resolution you made several weeks ago to get out of debt for good, you shouldn’t feel alone. But you don’t have to remain part of this crowd. Folksinger/songwriter Woody Guthrie famously made and kept New Year’s resolutions. You can do the same regarding your debt.