Marital Settlement Agreements and Creditors' Claims

As part of my divorce mediation practice in New Mexico, I see a lot of "marital settlement agreements" (MSAs) and understand the pitfalls they can entail.  For example, under NMSA Sec. 42-10-2 and 42-10-3 certain assets such as annuities, money purchase plans, profit sharing pans, and individual retirement accounts are ordinarily exempt or protected from creditors' claims, through attachment, garnishment or other legal process--however, that protection can be waived if the parties are not careful.  A recent N.M. case addresses this head one.

Foreclosure Mediation - Limitations and Concerns*

As part of my New Mexico mediation practice, I find I am increasingly being referred residential foreclosure mediation cases.  This is no accident as today, an increasing number of states and/or individual state courts are utilizing foreclosure mediation programs to manage the current "foreclosure crisis." Some states with such programs, either state-wide or local include: Connecticut; Delaware; Florida—various judicial districts; Kentucky—Jefferson County; Maine; Maryland; Michigan; Nevada; New Jersey; New Mexico—First and Thirteenth Judicial Districts; New York; Ohio—various counties; Oregon; Pennsylvania—various counties; Rhode Island—Providence. 

A recurring and thorny dilemma for mediators today is how to conduct and what are the proper parameters for a foreclosure mediation or settlement facilitation.