Learn How to File for a New Mexico Divorce

Are you about to file a petition for divorce in New Mexico? If you are, consider hiring a divorce lawyer instead of going the do-it-yourself route. No doubt the thought is attractive if you are worried about the legal costs, but consider the tasks ahead.

A divorce proceeding is not simple even if you and your spouse are not in conflict. You may both agree that a divorce is your best way out of an unsatisfactory marriage. Do not however underestimate the processes involved between filing and the final decree.

For starters, you must know in which jurisdiction your petition should be filed. Should this be your county or district's circuit court or superior court, or should you be approaching the family court?

All your personal and business paperwork needs to be readied before you file divorce papers. At a minimum, you need the deed or mortgage contract on the house, records of joint debt, checking account records, retirement plans, and even household expense accounts.

There are crucial decisions to be made for issues such as property divisions between you and your spouse. There are also some other issues such as alimony, child support and child custody, debt and others. Having thought them through, you must file your divorce papers. Of course, the court will decide on them later.

What you say in your petition will depend on the degree of understanding between you and your spouse. If you are both agreed on a peaceful and dignified divorce, you can file for a ‘no-fault’ divorce that is based on "irreconcilable differences". In this case, neither you nor your spouse is bringing any complaints on the other. If it is a 'no fault' divorce, then you can together decide which of you is going to file the initial petition. It doesn’t matter which of you files.

Is your spouse likely to contest the divorce? Or, is it you who is bringing them to the court’s attention? In such a case, there are specific charges that are mentioned to the court, and these charges make the spouse responsible for failure of the marital relationship.

In a disputed divorce, you must file legal petitions for temporary custody and support of children, if there are any. Often there are couples who fight over other issues as well, but children are usually the biggest issue.

You need also to keep a record of evidence that your spouse has been served with a copy of the divorce petition and related papers. Papers can be served at the office of his or her appointed lawyer or, with all possible dignity and decency at home – not publicly, like the office or the street.

Residency Requirements in the State

Residency requirements for a divorce in New Mexico are fairly simple and straightforward. At the time of the filing, either of you should have resided in the New Mexico state for at least 6 months. The same goes for armed forces personnel of the United States government, who are stationed in the state continuous for 6 months.

Grounds for Filing Your New Mexico Divorce

Your petition for dissolution of marriage has to be founded on valid grounds as recognized under the New Mexico law. The grounds for divorce must be supported by evidence or testimony. Do remember that in its absence, the case may be dismissed.

Whether you are petitioning the court for a divorce, or agreeing to one, make sure that you completely understand the grounds and their likely repercussions. If you both agree that divorce is the best solution to your mutual problems, and want the process completed as painlessly as possible, you can simply file for a ‘no-fault’ divorce.

Your only ‘no-fault’ based grounds in the state can be about as broadly interpreted as you like - incompatibility. It is something no one outside the two of you can either prove or disprove. All you have to do is assert it, and the court will at most ask for examples.

The grounds for filing an ‘at-fault’ divorce on the other hand can be many, such as:

•    Cruel and inhuman treatment
•    Adultery
•    Abandonment
•    Impotency
•    Insanity

As you may notice, cruelty as well as adultery may be open to pretty broad challenges unless they can be conclusively proved. Even abandonment is not as open and shut as it seems, because there is also the concept of “constructive abandonment” – legalese for just plain physical escape from a (presumably) abusive or an insensitive spouse.

As in other states, the two documents essential to a divorce suit are the Complaint for Divorce, which starts proceedings, and the Decree of Divorce, which comes at the end. In between, you and your spouse will exchange documents of disclosure, challenges and admissions, and take sworn depositions. This is the longest part of the divorce proceedings.

The court issues temporary orders until a final judgment, and there are mediations in between to see if the two spouses can be reconciled or not. In the final decree, the judge decides on issues such as restoration of premarital names, alimony, property division, child custody and support, and visitation rights.

Being a ‘community property’ state, New Mexico divides assets equally. The property that either party owned before the marriage is divided, as the marriage bond is broken. Please keep in mind that the court will decide only if you both fail to reach a settlement on property and debt issues. The same principles apply on child support issues as well.