Albuquerque Divorce Lawyer Blog

Prenuptial agreements (also called premarital or antenuptial agreements) have been recognized and enforced by the New Mexico courts for many years. However, in 1995 the New Mexico legislature passed the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, which provides specific rules for the formation and enforcement of prenuptial agreements and includes requirements that all prenuptial agreements must be in writing and its terms must be fair. Failure to follow the rules can result in difficulty enforcing the agreement in case of the later divorce of the parties. In case of a divorce, the validity of the agreement will affect the division of property and debt and alimony among other issues.

In order to avoid a determination that a prenuptial agreement is grossly unfair to one party, both parties should have legal representation when negotiating a prenuptial agreement, there should be full disclosure of both parties' income and assets and the prenuptial agreement should not be presented for negotiation to close the wedding date. Following these suggestions can help bolster the validity of the prenuptial agreement by showing that both parties were fully informed of their rights when signing the agreement and that neither party was pressured to do so.

Although the general rule underlying prenuptial agreements is that competent adults are free to enter into whatever contracts they choose, with some limitations. In New Mexico, prenuptial agreements can cover the following topics: 1) present and future rights and obligations with respect to property, including income or earnings; 2) the right to manage, sell and encumber property; 3) division of property upon the death of either party or divorce; 4) the making of a will and power of attorney; 5) ownership and distribution of the proceeds from a life insurance policy; 6) the choice of law that will govern the agreement; and 7) anything other topic that does not violate the public policy of New Mexico.

While the rules governing prenuptial agreements may seem straightforward, they can be tricky, especially a determination of whether or not a provision violates public policy. Therefore, it is very important that both parties contemplating entering into a prenuptial agreement consult with a New Mexico Divorce and Family Law Attorney who can advise each party of their rights under New Mexico law and help ensure that a prenuptial agreement will stand up in Court if it is ever challenged.

Sarah Armstrong
Albuquerque Attorney
www.CollinsAttorneys.com

Given the current state of the economy, many people in New Mexico and here in Albuquerque are considering or are in the process of filing for bankruptcy. These folks often have child support obligations. In fact, the child support obligations, and child support arrearages, themselves may add to the pressure to file bankruptcy. Some may erroneously believe that back child support is dischargeable in bankruptcy. It is not!

An individual filing bankruptcy is called the debtor and the bankruptcy petition lists all of the debts for which the debtor is responsible and asks the court to discharge their debts, which means that creditors can no longer try to collect those debts, or organize a repayment plan for the debts.

Again, not all debts are dischargeable in bankruptcy. This means that these debts are unaffected by bankruptcy. Section 523(a) of the bankruptcy codes provides a list of the types of debts that are non-dischargeable, which includes both child support and alimony/spousal.

The bankruptcy code takes the responsibility to support a family very seriously, which is why child support and spousal support are non-dischargeable. Part of the reason behind this heightened protection that children and former spouses are often in a very vulnerable financial position following a divorce. They are not like other creditors, i.e. credit card companies, that assume a certain amount of risk when they lend money. Further, children and ex-spouses often relied on that support for their very survival and without that support the government may have to step in and carry that burden through programs like TANF, food stamps and Medicaid.

Prior to moving forward with bankruptcy, it is critical to consult a New Mexico attorney particularly if the objective is to circumvent child support. In fact, if you are faced with this situation, you would be well advised to consult with both a New Mexico divorce and family law attorney as well as a bankruptcy attorney. Doing otherwise will surely result in disappointment with the results.

Sarah Armstrong
Albuquerque Attorney
www.CollinsAttorneys.com

One of the final steps in completing a divorce is the entry of the Marital Settlement Agreement. The Marital Settlement Agreement provides the formal division of the parties' property, assets and debt. It also addresses alimony, spousal support, taxes, and other financial issues affecting the parties.

In New Mexico, the Marital Settlement Agreement must be signed by both parties. The Marital Settlement Agreement is typically adopted as an Order of the Court through the Final Decree of Divorce. Problems often arise as a result of one or both parties' refusal to abide by the terms of the Marital Settlement Agreement.

In cases where the divorce was granted and the Final Decree of Divorce was filed in the New Mexico Courts, either party may file a Motion to Enforce the Marital Settlement Agreement in the court where the divorce was granted. The District Courts in Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Santa Fe and several of the other courts throughout New Mexico have a self-help divisions that will provide forms for this process in case the parties cannot afford legal counsel. The forms are also available online.

Problems often arise out of property and debt divisions from other States. Many New Mexico residents are faced with the breach of an out-of-state Marital Settlement Agreement. Unfortunately, enforcement of another state's orders can be complicated. An out-of-state Order addressing the division of property, assets and debt must typically be addressed in the court with original jurisdiction over those issues. Unlike many cases where a civil judgment may be domesticated in New Mexico for enforcement purposes, domestication of a family law Order is often not an option in family law.

The general rule is that the state court that grants your divorce maintains jurisdiction over the enforcement of any orders and decrees associated with the divorce. There are as always some exceptions. There is an exception for child support where the state in which the child resides may enforce child support obligations. Likewise, child custody jurisdiction may vest in another jurisdiction after the child has resided in the new state for 6 months. With those exceptions, the original court maintains jurisdiction over most matters related to the divorce such as the division of property and debt, spousal support and alimony.

In case of problems with enforcement, it will typically be required that a proceeding in the state of original jurisdiction be initiated. In that instance, it would be important that the obligations under the Marital Settlement Agreement be found by the Court to be a judgment. Once this is done, and the amount is fixed, the judgment may then typically be domesticated in New Mexico for future enforcement.

These issues can become very complicated very quickly. It is important to determine the proper way to proceed prior to seeking court relief. False steps could become extremely costly if the Court refuses to hear the claims due to lack of jurisdiction. It would be wise to seek the advice of a New Mexico divorce attorney when faced with this situation.

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Being served with divorce papers is extremely stressful and emotional. Often times, the person served has no idea what to do once served. Though the divorce process can be confusing, the initial steps are pretty straight-forward.

The first legal step in a divorce action in New Mexico is the filing of a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, which must be personally served to the opposing party. Once you have been served with the Petition, you have 30 days to file your response, which is called an Answer. At the Second Judicial District Court in Albuquerque, all responsive pleadings, including the Answer, must be filed with the clerk on the first floor of the Bernalillo County Courthouse. Likewise in the Thirteenth Judicial District in Rio Rancho, the Answer must be filed on the first floor with Sandoval County District Court Clerk.

If you are served with a Petition, it is a good idea to meet with a lawyer as soon as possible in order to discuss your rights and responsibilities during the divorce process. Even if you are unable to meet with a lawyer, it is imperative that you file an Answer to the Petition. If you don't, you run the risk that a default judgment will be entered against you. A default judgment means that the Court grants the divorce, including dividing property and debt and deciding child custody and child support, without your input.

The Petition itself is a pretty basic document that simply notifies the Court that the parties are incompatible and that at least the filing party wants a divorce. It will include information about when the parties were married, whether or not they have any children, whether or not one party is entitled to spousal support or alimony and will ask the Court to divide all community and separate property and debt.

Thus, your Answer can be pretty simple too. The Answer should include a line responding to every line in the Petition that states whether or not you agree with each and every statement in the Petition. The Answer does not need to include the details of why you agree or disagree or details about what you want in terms of property or custody. The final details of the divorce will be spelled out in the Marital Settlement Agreement and the Parenting Plan, both of which are filed later on. Keep in mind that your Answer is binding and may be used against you later. As such, you need to be very careful about what you admit or deny.

On the other hand, it is far better to leave details out of the Answer. The details are addressed later through litigation, discovery, mediation, settlement and so. These details are then set forth either by the parties through the Marital Settlement Agreement or Parenting Plan if they are able to work together, or the court if they are not. Even if you have to file the Answer without an attorney, you should definitely discuss the details of the Marital Settlement Agreement and Parenting Plan with a New Mexico divorce lawyer because these documents will affect your rights long into the future.

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Spousal support, which is also called alimony, is not mandatory in the State of New Mexico. In determining whether or not to award spousal support, the Courts in Albuquerque, and much of the rest of the state will typically refer to the Alimony Guidelines and Commentaries developed by the Second Judicial District Court.

The Alimony Guidelines provide a variety of considerations in the award of alimony including the length of the marriage, age of the parties, health of the parties, work histories of the parties and the earning capacity of each party. If the Court determines that spousal support it appropriate it will determine how long that support will be paid.

The New Mexico Court of Appeals recently reviewed the issue of spousal support in Pruyn v. Lam. The Pruyn case began in 2004 when the divorcing parties agreed to and filed a marital settlement agreement without the assistance of counsel. The Marital Settlement Agreement included a provision that the husband would pay the wife monthly spousal support beginning in the year 2005 and continuing until the year 2019.

The Marital Settlement Agreement stated that the spousal support/alimony was "Non-Modifiable" and set forth specific amounts to be paid to the wife each month over the term of the agreement. Nearly one year after the parties' divorce was complete, the husband filed a motion to modify the spousal support award based on a change in his financial circumstances alleging that he could no longer afford to pay the agreed upon spousal support.

After multiple hearings and motions, the trial court eventually granted husband's motion to modify support despite the language in the martial settlement agreement stating that the spousal support was non-modifiable. That decision relied on the language in New Mexico's Alimony Statute, NMSA §40-4-7(B), stating that an award of spousal support may be rehabilitative, transitional, indefinite and/or may be awarded as a single-sum to be paid in installments. The trial court appeared to find that the agreement of the parties was indefinite and therefore modifiable.

The New Mexico Court of Appeals overturned the trials court's decision and held that the Courts' power to modify spousal support is limited to cases of rehabilitative, transitional or indefinite support. The Court found that the spousal support award to the wife in Pruyn was a single-sum award due to its definite payment schedule over a defined period of time. Because it was a single-sum defined alimony award, the trial court did not have the authority to modify that provision of the marital settlement agreement.

Alimony and spousal support can be quite confusing. The alimony guidelines themselves can be somewhat confusing. Whichever end you are on, paying or receiving, you should consult with an attorney before entering into a Marital Settlement Agreement. Perhaps Mr. Pruyn's first mistake was failing to seek the guidance of an attorney. Marital Settlement Agreements are contractual in nature, and it is very hard to back out of one. Few judges will entertain the argument that you did not understand what you were doing because you did not have an attorney.

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Mediation is a relatively informal process in which a neutral third party facilitates communication between the parties to a divorce action or custody dispute, the goal being that the parties will resolve their issues themselves rather than having a judge decide those issues for them. A mediation is also often called a settlement facilitation and in several judicial districts around New Mexico, including the Second Judicial District in Albuquerque, there are services associated with the courts that can provide a mediation/settlement facilitation for little or no cost to the parties.

Often in a very contentious or complicated cases, the judge will order the parties to mediation/settlement facilitation in order to see if they can make some headway toward resolving their issues outside the Court. The mediation process is confidential and the rules of civil procedure prevent offers made during mediation from being used as evidence before the Court. Therefore, meditation/settlement facilitation can allow parties to freely discuss possible resolutions of their issues.

Child Custody Mediation is provided year-round at low to no cost depending on the income of the parties through the Court Clinic in Albuquerque's Second Judicial District Court. Settlement facilitation is broader in scope that child custody mediation. Settlement facilitation addresses all aspects of the divorce including the division of property and debt, the division of retirement accounts, the division of the community residence, and alimony, child support, and child custody. Divorce, custody and family law settlement facilitation is provided for free to the parties once per year during Settlement Week at the Second Judicial District Courthouse.

Parties can also arrange for their own mediation; most judicial districts around the state can provide a list of mediators in the area. The people, who act as mediators do not have to be attorneys, but they should be trained in the mediation process and, for maximum effectiveness, should also be familiar with family law issues.

The product of a successful mediation is usually a written agreement. This agreement that is often hand-written will be drafted into a Martial Settlement Agreement, which will then be submitted to the Court and incorporated in the final divorce decree. Thus, while parties do not have to be represented by counsel during the mediation process, a party should strongly consider having an attorney present because the decisions made at a mediation/settlement facilitation can have a serious impact on the property and custody rights at issue in a divorce proceeding.

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If alimony is an issue in your case, there are numerous options available to negotiate and satisfy the alimony obligation. Most of the time, alimony will be negotiated without the necessity of a trial. It should be pretty clear whether your case is an alimony case. If your case is an alimony case, then negotiation and settlement of this issue will likely be preferable to any outcomes you can achieve in a very unpredictable divorce trial.

Should the case proceed to trial, the Court will consider the length of the marriage, the relative income of the spouses, and other relevant facts in a determination of whether and how much alimony should be awarded. These considerations are set forth in the alimony statute as well as the Alimony Guidelines which are followed by the Second Judicial District Court in Albuquerque as well as most of the other district courts around the state. The statute and the guidelines should be consulted early in your case to avoid what could be a long, expensive and the end disappointing process.

Should the parties reach an agreement on alimony, then there are countless ways to structure to payment of alimony. In many cases the spouses may choose to simply follow the Alimony Guidelines by receiving their spousal support/alimony in the form of a monthly payment. However, the spouses can agree that the paying spouse will make a one-time, lump sum payment of spousal support/alimony in lieu of ongoing payments.

Lump sum alimony can itself be structured in a variety of ways. The spouses are free to offset spousal support/alimony against other assets. New Mexico's adherence to the principles of community property means the spouses are entitled to an equal distribution of the assets upon the dissolution of the marriage. Spouses often agree to incorporate a lump sum payment of spousal support/alimony into a community property settlement through an additional allocation of assets to the receiving spouse.

Likewise, as a community property state, New Mexico also holds spouses equally responsible for community debt, which basically includes all debt incurred during the marriage, which provides another option for the offset of spousal support/alimony. The spouse that owes the spousal support/alimony may take on a greater share of the community debt to satisfy a lump sum payment.

In sum there is some flexibility in granting spousal support/alimony and the challenge is to achieve a solution that meets the requirements of the law, while also meeting the financial needs and abilities of the parties. However, this flexibility quickly disappears should the parties proceed to trial. Family court judges have enormous caseloads. They have little time to address alternative means of alimony. Once the matter is before the court, there is typically only one option and that is monthly payments based upon the worksheets set forth in the Alimony Guidelines.

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In New Mexico, the divorce process begins with the filing of a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage with the District Court of the County where one or both spouses have lived for at least six months prior to that filing. In order for the Courts of New Mexico to have jurisdiction over the case, one of parties must have lived in the State for at least six months.

While there are multiple grounds on which the Court can grant a divorce, New Mexico has what is often referred to as a "no fault" divorce policy, which means that the Court will grant a divorce based solely on the incompatibility of spouses. The vast majority of divorces in New Mexico are granted on the basis of incompatibility.

The Petition is a basic document, in which one spouse requests the Court enter an order dissolving the marriage. The Petition must include the following information: the date of the marriage; the names and ages of any children born to the marriage; and the date of the separation of the spouses. Primarily, the Petition also asks the Court to: divide and distribute the spouses' community property and community debt; identify and award any separate property and separate debt; determine child custody of any children born the marriage; determine child support for those children; and, award spousal support, also called alimony, if appropriate.

In most cases, after the filing of the Petition begins the process, the other major documents left to be filed with the Court are called: the Marital Settlement Agreement, often referred to as an MSA; the Parenting Plan; and, the Final Decree. The MSA is a detailed agreement that identifies and divides the community property and debt of the parties. The Parenting Plan, which is often incorporated into the MSA, specifically outlines custody and visitation arrangements for any children born to the marriage and will include a Child Support Worksheet explaining how child support will be paid between the spouses. The Final Decree is the final order of the Court adopting the contents of the MSA and Parenting Plan and granting the spouses a divorce.

Of course, in a complicated and/or contentious divorce there can be countless other documents filed with the Court as the spouses try to settle the issues division of property and debt, alimony, child custody and child support. There may be many other issues along the way such as domestic violence and orders of protection.

However, every divorce action will begin with a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage and end with some final order of dissolution of the marriage. There are many possible roads from one point to the other. The shortest and least contentious route is generally the best for the parties, the children and if that is not enough, the parties' money.

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In New Mexico, alimony is often referred to as spousal support and the two names are often used interchangeably. The purpose of spousal support/alimony is not necessarily to equalize income. Nor is it to punish one or the other spouses as New Mexico is a no-fault divorce state. Instead, it is used to balance income. The New Mexico Courts order alimony to insure that the spouse with less income is able to maintain a lifestyle commensurate to that before the divorce.

Spousal support/alimony is not mandatory in New Mexico, but judges will often follow the Alimony Guidelines developed by the Second Judicial District Court in Albuquerque. Most New Mexico Courts will at least consult the Alimony Guidelines in the determination of spousal support. As such, the Alimony Guidelines will provide a pretty good idea of whether your case will warrant alimony from either party.

While there are several elements the Court considers when deciding whether or not to order spousal support/alimony, the threshold determination is the length of spouses' marriage. The Court will generally not order spousal support/alimony in cases where the parties getting divorced have been married for less than ten years, absent exceptional circumstances.

If the Court determines that the length of marriage warrants further review of a party's claim for spousal support/alimony, the Court will consider other factors such as: the current income of the parties; the income earning potential of each of the parties; and the age, health, and medical needs of the parties. Though length of marriage and the income of the parties are the dominant factors, there are numerous other factors that the New Mexico Courts will consider as set forth in the Alimony Statute, NMSA 40-4-7(E).

www.CollinsAttorneys.com