Can Divorce Rates Predict the Housing Recovery?

Heather Hendrickson, an attractive 41-year-old mother of two, got divorced, declared bankruptcy and saw the foreclosure process start on her home -- all within the last year.

Back in the '80s when we were in high school together, she was the "it" girl. By 2006, her smile graced real estate ads all over Westport, Conn. Hendrickson (pictured at left) had opened her own firm that grew to more than 20 employees. Her handsome husband and the father of her two children was a builder. They were in the zone. Then things startled to unravel fast.