N.M. Stat. § 40-4-7
Proceedings; spousal support; support of children; division
of property.
A. In any proceeding for the dissolution of marriage, division of property, disposition
of children or spousal support, the court may make and enforce by attachment or
otherwise an order to restrain the use or disposition of the property of either party or for
the control of the children or to provide for the support of either party during the
pendency of the proceeding, as in its discretion may seem just and proper. The court
may make an order, relative to the expenses of the proceeding, as will ensure either
party an efficient preparation and presentation of his case.
B. On final hearing, the court:
(1)
may allow either party such a reasonable portion of the spouse's property
or such a reasonable sum of money to be paid by either spouse either in a single sum
or in installments, as spousal support as under the circumstances of the case may
seem just and proper, including a court award of:
(a) rehabilitative spousal support that provides the receiving spouse with
education, training, work experience or other forms of rehabilitation that increases the
receiving spouse's ability to earn income and become self-supporting. The court may
include a specific rehabilitation plan with its award of rehabilitative spousal support and
may condition continuation of the support upon compliance with that plan;
(b) transitional spousal support to supplement the income of the receiving
spouse for a limited period of time; provided that the period shall be clearly stated in the
court's final order;
(c) spousal support for an indefinite duration;
(d) a single sum to be paid in one or more installments that specifies definite
amounts, subject only to the death of the receiving spouse; or
(e) a single sum to be paid in one or more installments that specifies definite
amounts, not subject to any contingencies, including the death of the receiving spouse;
(2)
may:
(a) modify and change any order in respect to spousal support awarded
pursuant to the provisions of Subparagraph (a), (b) or (c) of Paragraph (1) of this
subsection whenever the circumstances render such change proper; or
(b) designate spousal support awarded pursuant to the provisions of
Subparagraph (a) or (b) of Paragraph (1) of this subsection as nonmodifiable with
respect to the amount or duration of the support payments;
(3)
may set apart out of the property or income of the respective parties such
portion for the maintenance and education of:
(a) their unemancipated minor children as may seem just and proper; or
(b) their children until the children's graduation from high school if the children
are emancipated only by age, are under nineteen and are attending high school; and
(4)
may make such an order for the guardianship, care, custody, maintenance
and education of the minor children, or with reference to the control of the property of
the respective parties to the proceeding, or with reference to the control of the property
decreed or fund created by the court for the maintenance and education of the minor
children, as may seem just and proper.
C. The court may order and enforce the payment of support for the maintenance
and education after high school of emancipated children of the marriage pursuant to a
written agreement between the parties.
D. An award of spousal support made pursuant to the provisions of Subparagraph
(a), (b), (c) or (d) of Paragraph (1) of Subsection B of this section shall terminate upon
the death of the receiving spouse, unless the court order of spousal support provides
otherwise.
E. When making determinations concerning spousal support to be awarded
pursuant to the provisions of Paragraph (1) or (2) of Subsection B of this section, the
court shall consider:
(1)
the age and health of and the means of support for the respective
spouses;
(2)
the current and future earnings and the earning capacity of the respective
spouses;
(3)
the good-faith efforts of the respective spouses to maintain employment or
to become self-supporting;
(4)
the reasonable needs of the respective spouses, including:
(a) the standard of living of the respective spouses during the term of the
marriage;
(b) the maintenance of medical insurance for the respective spouses; and
(c) the appropriateness of life insurance, including its availability and cost,
insuring the life of the person who is to pay support to secure the payments, with any
life insurance proceeds paid on the death of the paying spouse to be in lieu of further
support;
(5)
the duration of the marriage;
(6)
the amount of the property awarded or confirmed to the respective
spouses;
(7)
the type and nature of the respective spouses' assets; provided that
potential proceeds from the sale of property by either spouse shall not be considered by
the court, unless required by exceptional circumstances and the need to be fair to the
parties;
(8)
the type and nature of the respective spouses' liabilities;
(9)
income produced by property owned by the respective spouses; and
(10)
agreements entered into by the spouses in contemplation of the
dissolution of marriage or legal separation.
F. The court shall retain jurisdiction over proceedings involving periodic spousal
support payments when the parties have been married for twenty years or more prior to
the dissolution of the marriage, unless the court order or decree specifically provides
that no spousal support shall be awarded.
G. The court may modify and change any order or agreement merged into an order
in respect to the guardianship, care, custody, maintenance or education of the children
whenever circumstances render such change proper. The district court shall have
exclusive jurisdiction of all matters pertaining to the guardianship, care, custody,
maintenance and education of the children until the parents' obligation of support for
their children terminates. The district court shall also have exclusive, continuing
jurisdiction with reference to the property decreed or funds created for the children's
maintenance and education.