A psychological parent is an adult who develops a strong, parent-like bond with a child without actually becoming the child’s legal parent. In many cases, a psychological parent is the child’s legal parent’s romantic partner. …
High Wage Earners in New Mexico
Not every child support case is the same. Sometimes, child support cases have very complex facts that can impact on the outcome. For example, if a party has an interest in a non-publicly traded company, …
Discovery Tools to Help With Child Support Calculations
In every family law case, your lawyer, and the lawyer for the other side, need to obtain the information necessary to assess the merits of the case, to prepare for settlement negotiations, and, if necessary, …
How to Change Child Support
A child support order is a court order. This means for any of the terms to be modified, a judge must approve an agreement or change the original order. You must request a modification from …
How to Change Primary Custody
A custody arrangement rarely works for every stage in a child’s life. Parents’ circumstances change over time, and children’s needs will evolve as they grow, all of which may require changes to a parenting plan. …
What to do When Grandparents Take Care of Grandchildren
Usually grandparents hold a very special place in the hearts of their grandchildren. There are times (and these times are becoming more frequent) where a grandparent’s care for a grandchild can open the door to …
The Kinship Guardianship Act and Its Impact on Children
The Kinship Guardianship Act is a tool that allows for a kinship caregiver to obtain custody of a child over biological parents. The importance of the statute cannot be overstated because NM recognizes the parental …
Abatement of Child Support – An Unused Tool
Generally, when a parent with a child support obligation falls behind in support, the parent owed the support can seek to recover through a contempt proceeding in the family court or can use the resources …
Is There Ever a Defense to Paying Child Support
If you receive a Family Court Summons for a Child Support Enforcement Proceeding, you must respond in person or if you live out of state by telephone (with approval of the court). The case will …
How to Get Out of Paying Back Child Support
Can you ever get out of paying back child support? The answer to this question depends on many circumstances. Let’s explore one of the more common defenses. Usually child support obligations arise under the Uniform …