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New Mexico Child Support Laws

New Mexico child support is based upon guidelines and worksheets for the calculation of child support. Separate worksheets are provided for determining child support amounts for parents with visitation and for parents with shared responsibility. Shared responsibility or joint custody is defined as each parent having the child in their home at least 35% of the time during a year. The New Mexico child support guidelines are presumed to be correct unless there is a showing that the amount of support would be unjust or inappropriate, specifically

• any extraordinary uninsured medical, dental, or counseling expenses for the child of over $100.00 per year;

• any extraordinary educational expenses for the child; and

• any transportation and communication expenses for long-distance visitation or time sharing.

A substantial hardship for either parent or the child may also justify an adjustment of the amount of the New Mexico child support payment.

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