New Mexico has child support guidelines that parents and judges can rely on to calculate the appropriate amount of support in a specific case. The guidance is that children legally have a right to help from both parents.
How to Calculate Child Support Under New Mexico’s Guidelines
If you live in New Mexico, however, unlike most states, you will not find an official online calculator for child support. However, the state has an online Child Support Worksheet you can use to estimate the essential support you are required to share.
A New Mexico guide lists many factors to consider, including:
- Income of both parents
- The number of children requiring support
- The total number of days each child spends in each parent’s home
- The monthly cost of the children’s health and dental insurance and
- Childcare expenses are related to work.
Find out more about New Mexico child custody and child support laws, including what counts as income for supporting purposes.
Are Other Child Support Calculators Accurate?
Be wary of websites claiming to have New Mexico child support calculators. Sadly, there’s no assurance that these calculators are accurate and up-to-date. New Mexico periodically updates its child support guidelines, but you typically wouldn’t know if any of those sites had kept pace with what’s new.
The most accurate amount of child support you may pay or, conversely, may get is best calculated using official state resources (in the links above). Be warned, however, that this will not be exact. As explained below, the judge can order a different amount in your case.
When Child Support Can Diverge from the Guideline Calculation
The amount of child support calculated by the guideline formula is presumed by law in New Mexico to be the correct amount of support. It permits judges to order a different amount of support when the guideline amount would be “unjust or inappropriate,” causing undue hardship to the parent paying support (the “obligor”), the parent receiving support (the “obligee”), or the child.
A judge must also include the guideline amount and provide a rationale for any upward or downward adjustments in all child support orders.
How to Apply for Child Support in New Mexico
When filing for divorce in New Mexico, you may ask for child support simultaneously.
You may agree upon an amount of child support as part of a divorce settlement. You’ll need to submit your agreement for a judge’s approval. If you cannot agree, a judge will determine for you.
You may also be able to petition for assistance from New Mexico’s Child Support Services Division (CSSD). You can apply online, or you can apply at your local child support office. And if you’re unmarried to the other parent of your child, CSSD will facilitate court determination of your child’s paternity and then support.
How to Collect Child Support in New Mexico
Almost all child support orders in New Mexico incorporate an income withholding feature, in which the support is taken directly from the obliger’s paycheck.
If you struggle to collect support payments, CSSD prevents court-ordered child support from evading. The agency has several ways to collect child support depending on how much the other parent owes, including:
- Licenses suspension (such as driver, professional, or hunting and fishing)
- Getting hold of tax refunds
- Putting a lien on financial accounts and property
- Limiting passports, and
- Issuing bench warrants.
How to Adjust the Child Support Amount
Either parent can ask CSSD to re-evaluate a child support order every 3 years. If less than three years have passed since your last order, you must demonstrate that a significant change in circumstance has occurred since your previous order, for example:
- Job loss
- Incarceration
- A change in either parent’s income
- A variation in expenses for children
- A change in the health care needs of a child, or
- A modification in the custody or visitation schedule.
You may also file your motion to modify child support with the court (for an example, see here). You’ll need to tell the judge what relief you seek and why.
A change is considered significant in cases were applying the guidelines to the facts of the case would cause a 20% increase or reduction in an existing child support order, and the existing order continues for at least this period.
Get Help with Your Child Support
Computing child support is complex. Many New Mexico Courts provide self-help on numerous legal topics, including child support.
If you and your co-parent cannot agree on child custody, support, or both, you may need a lawyer’s help. An experienced attorney can answer your questions, work with you to negotiate an appropriate arrangement for you and your child and represent you in court if necessary.
