File for Divorce in New Mexico

The following information pertains to divorce, child custody and other major aspects of divorce for the state of New Mexico:

Condition for Residency

To file for residency in the state of New Mexico, the person applying must have been a resident for at least 6 months. They should also own a house there. The divorce can be filed in the county where one of the spouses lives.

Reasons for the Divorces

You must establish proper grounds for divorce before you can file. There are two major reasons for divorce in New Mexico:

1. No Fault Reasons

2. General Reasons

Principle of Child Custody

Keeping the best interests of the child in mind, joint or sole custody can be awarded to the parents. Joint custody is mostly preferred, where the child stays with each parent at least 35% of the year. This depends mainly upon:

Other factors that are kept in mind when deciding about joint custody are as follows:

Rules for Property Distribution

As Mexico has a rule of "community property", it makes division of property easier. Any property acquired before the wedding will be treated as individual property, provided that this statement is in writing. Individual property also includes all gifts and inheritances. All other property is taken under the quasi-community property rule and will be divided equally between the former spouses, without taking grounds for divorce under consideration.

Rules for Spousal Support

Depending on the following factors, either of the partners may be ordered to pay sustainable alimony to the other:

Child Support Guidelines

Child support guidelines are provided in the New Mexico Statutes and will be followed unless there is a need for deviation. Each or one parent may be ordered to pay child support. Worksheets, especially for joint custody are available for the parents. Who pays child support greatly depends upon the financial conditions of the parents. Unless there is a hardship, the parent will be paying the support. Hardships include:

If child support is not being paid, the state of New Mexico may order that the relevant parents' wages be held and first the support be paid out of them.

Mediation In Case Of Divorce

If the divorce was filed in a county where there is a program for domestic meditation and counseling, the couple may be referred there before the case is processed.

Filing Pro Se Divorce

There is no need of a lawyer when applying for divorce in the state of New Mexico. A divorce case which is filed without any help of an attorney in any of the states is known as Pro Se Divorce.

Literally, Pro Se is a Latin phrase and it means "on her or his own". Process of getting the divorce without the help of lawyer may vary from one State to another. These types of divorces are perfectly legal and enforceable in New Mexico, and are actually very convenient. Usually, once settlements have been made regarding property distribution and custody matters among the spouses in case of a mutual divorce, Pro Se Divorces are filed.

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