Bifurcated Divorce in Albuquerque, New Mexico

 

A divorce casts a shadow over one’s life, and is continually recognized as one of the most difficult life experiences that one must overcome. Few and far between are the days when someone skips into my office bubbling with excitement for answers to legal issues surrounding their divorce.

No two divorces are the same. Some marriage are long. Others are short. Some have children. Others have pets. Some have enormous community debt. Others have enormous community property. Some divorces are amicable. Others are wildly contentious.

The degree of conflict and time that each divorce takes generally depends on the number of issues that arise during the divorce.

Parties with little debt, property and no children will encounter less issues and potential areas of conflict when compared to a marriage with high debt, large amounts of property, children and alimony.

Although every divorce is different, every divorce requires one to complete a Marital Settlement Agreement (“MSA”) that distributes the assets and liabilities that the parties accumulated during the marriage. The Top Five common areas of disagreement with the typical MSA include:

1. Alimony/Spousal Support

Under most circumstances, alimony becomes an issue when the parties were married for five years or more. Next to child support, Alimony is probably the most dreaded portion of a divorce. For more information on Alimony, click here: Calculating Alimony.

2. Retirement Accounts

Generally speaking, under New Mexico law, any retirement accounts that are accumulated during the marriage are split 50-50.

3. Who keeps the marital home?

Generally speaking, any equity or debt accumulated towards the marital home is split 50-50. Typically, the parties will either sale the home and split the equity/debt, or one party will refinance the home and buy out the other parties’ equity/debt in the home.

4. Who takes the Medical and/or Student Loan Debt?

Under most circumstances, medical and student loan debt is treated the same as any community debt accumulated during the marriage.

5. Who takes the animals and/or home furnishings?

As mentioned above, every divorce that passes through a New Mexico courthouse must include a MSA that distributes all of the assets/liabilities that were accumulated during the marriage. Nevertheless, issues that involve dollars and cents are generally much easier to resolve compared to issues involving the custody and timesharing of children.

Every divorce that involves children must include a Parenting Plan that determines issues such as custody, timesharing, visitation and child support. Emotionally it is far easier to separate an IRA, bank accounts and debt than it is to separate yourself from a child. Because of this fact, most divorces that begin on amicable footing turn ugly when the parties disagree on the custody and timesharing arrangement required with each Parenting Plan.

The top five problem areas of a Parenting Plan include:

1. Will the parties share legal and physical custody?

Under NM law, the courts presume that it is in the best interests of the child for the parent’s to share legal and physical custody. Legal custody means the right to make decisions on behalf of the child involving education, religion, medical, extra curricular, etc. Physical custody means the time that the child spends with each parent.

2. What time will the child spend with each parent?

3. What time will the child spend with each parent during vacations and holidays?

4. Who claims the child as a tax dependent each year?

For more information on this issue click here: Claiming children as tax dependents.

5. Child support

For more information on this issue, click here: Calculating Child Support.

Bifurcated Divorce Involving Children in Albuquerque New Mexico

 

With a handful of divorces involving children, at times the parties agree on all of the financial issues contained in the MSA, yet disagree on the elements necessary to finalize the Parenting Plan.

In these situations, some judges allow the parties to enter a Bifurcated Final Decree of Dissolution of Marriage. A “Bifurcated Divorce,” essentially means that the case splits and the court issues a Final Decree of Dissolution of Marriage that adopts the MSA as a court order and the court “reserves” on the remaining issues within the Parenting Plan. In other words, the parties are legally divorced, but the court retains jurisdiction over the parties to resolve the outstanding issues of custody, timesharing and child support.

Some judges, however, are reluctant to grant a bifurcated divorce.  These hesitant judges believe that parties that are granted a bifurcated divorce – and therefore no longer have the incentive of being granted a divorce to reach a resolution – are far more likely to stretch out issues of custody, timesharing and child support.

(505) SANCHEZ IS HERE TO ANSWER ALL OF YOUR BIFURCATED DIVORCE QUESTIONS

 

Do you still have questions regarding the potential for a bifurcated divorce in Albuquerque, New Mexico?  Divorce cases often require the experience hand and knowledge that comes with years of courtroom practice.  Matthew Legan Sanchez has the experience needed to handle your unique divorce  case.  Sanchez can be reached by calling (505) SANCHEZ.