New Mexico Child Support Attorney On Your Side

The court will also make orders for other expenses for the child not specified on the worksheet, and base the percentage each parent pays according to their incomes on the worksheet. For example, on the worksheet parent incomes are combined into 100% of “combined income,” and each parent’s percentage of the combined income is the percentage they are held accountable for. So, if Parent 1 earns 70% of the combined income, and Parent 2 earns 30% of the combined income, Parent 1 will be responsible for 70% of out-of-pocket healthcare expenses, and Parent 2 30%. Recreational expenses may also fall under this category if the parties are on a “Worksheet B,” however on a Worksheet A the parent who is receiving child support is responsible for all recreational costs.

If you wish to run a child support calculation yourself, a link to the New Mexico Courts’ child support worksheet calculator is available on our “Forms and Resources” page. While calculating child support may seem straightforward, New Mexico statutes and case law have many details which can increase or decrease a party’s income, and increase or decrease expenses for a child. As such, meeting with an attorney is highly recommended to make sure you are calculating child support correctly. For example, a parent who is unemployed or “underemployed” could be held to a higher level of income on the worksheet than what is actually claimed – this prevents a parent from purposefully failing to get a job at an income they are capable of earning in order to avoid child support. A parent may avoid this “imputation” of income if they have sufficient evidence to show they are actively trying to obtain employment and for circumstances outside of their control are unable to do so. Whether or not a parent has children from a previous relationship could also affect child support calculations. If a parent is paying a prior child support order, that order will take priority over the younger child and the parent can reduce their income on the worksheet. However, a parent receiving child support for another child does not have that income added to their worksheet.

Although child support orders often go hand-in-hand with custody orders both in negotiations and in the courtroom, and the amount of child support is determined in part by the custody schedule, it is important to remember that the court views custody and child support as separate matters. The court will decide custody according to a child’s best interest, and then will determine child support based on the formula and legal arguments. The court is unlikely to change custody due to failure to pay child support, and the Court is unlikely to consider incomes when deciding what custody schedule is appropriate.