Men Receiving Alimony and Child Support in Albuquerque, New Mexico

MEN RECEIVING ALIMONY AND CHILD SUPPORT IN ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO: THE TIMES ARE A-CHANGING

According to recent data, women are the primary breadwinner in 40% of the households where both spouses work and there are children under 18.

The number of fathers that are staying home to care for children is also rising. In 1989, 10% of fathers were stay-at-home parents. In 2015 almost 20% of fathers are staying at home to care for the couples’ children.

The times they are a changing – and these evolving gender roles are in turn changing how courts decide legal issues such as Alimony and Child Support.

There’s a popular yet faulty misconception that Alimony and Child Support are reserved for women only. Many men speak about Alimony and Child Support with a tone of scorn and derision reserved for the most loathsome of enemies. Some comments suggest that Albuquerque, New Mexico’s Alimony and Child Support laws unfairly target men. However, as our nation continues to evolve, with an increasing number of women acting as the primary money maker for families, men are increasingly requesting and then being awarded Alimony and Child Support after the Divorce.

Let’s take a look at Albuquerque, New Mexico laws surrounding Alimony and Child Support.

Spousal Support/Alimony:

New Mexico is a state that awards Alimony based on a number of factors that do not include gender.

At its core, Alimony is financial support that is intended to ease one’s financial transition from marriage to being divorced.

Need and length of marriage are the two most important factors that New Mexico courts consider when determining if Alimony is appropriate.

Besides need and length of the marriage, New Mexico Courts also consider the following factors:

(1) The age, health, and means of support for each party;

(2) Each parties’ current and future earnings, and earning potential;

(3) The good faith efforts of the party to maintain employment;

(4) The reasonable needs of each party;

(5) The amount of the property awarded or confirmed to each party;

(6) Assets;

(7) Debts; and

(8) Income from property owned.

As you can see, gender is not a factor that New Mexico court’s consider. Both men and women are eligible to receive alimony and the sex of the party requesting alimony is irrelevant.

New Mexico courts consider the factors above, using each parties’ income within the worksheet that I have attached below. This worksheet provides New Mexico judges with a guide to determine the appropriate amount of monthly support.

Despite these guidelines, your assigned judge ultimately has the power to determine the amount and the length of alimony. Nevertheless, the following worksheet provides the formula that Albuquerque, New Mexico judges created to use as a guide to determine the proper amount of alimony, based on each parties’ gross income.

Child Support

In New Mexico, each divorce involving children must contain an agreement on child support. The amount of child support that a parent is required to pay is based on the time that each parent has with the children (“Timesharing”), each parent’s gross income, and other monthly expenses such as insurance premiums, childcare expenses, etc.

Women across the nation are out-earning their male counterparts, with men electing to stay home and care for the children. In the process, fathers are increasingly becoming the child[ren]’s primary caregivers that are responsible for taking care of the child[ren]’s day-to-day care and well-being while mothers are at work. In other words, more men are baking the break while women are out making the bread.

For parents going through a divorce, the care that each parent provided the child[ren] during the marriage is considered the “status quo.” This “status quo” will heavily influence the court’s decision on which parent will be awarded primary physical custody of the child[ren] – in the event that the parents are unable to agree on the appropriate parents timesharing. Because of this fact, more men are being awarded primary physical custody because they acted as the child[ren]’s primary care-givers during the marriage.

The two major factors affecting child support are Timesharing and Gross Income. In situations where the mother earns more money than the father, and the father has primary custody of the child[ren], the mother will be required to pay child support.

Similar to Alimony, Albuquerque, New Mexico courts do not care about one’s gender when awarding Child Support. As stated above, the amount of Child Support that one is required to pay is largely determined by the time that each parent has with the child[ren], and the amount of money that each parent makes.

The calculation regarding Timesharing is relatively straightforward. A parent that has the child[ren] for less than 35% of the time (i.e. less than 128 days a year) will pay a higher percentage of child support that is based on a Worksheet A. The percentage of child support is higher with a Worksheet A because the court presumes that the primary-custodian (i.e the parent with 65% of time or more) is covering the majority of the child’s everyday living expenses.

On the other hand, New Mexico courts will use a Worksheet B if both parents have the child[ren] for 35% of the time or more (i.e. each parent has the child for 128 days or more in the calendar year).

The amount of child support that one is required to pay is lower with a Worksheet B, because New Mexico court’s assume that the parents are sharing the duties, responsibilities, and expenses of parenting.

The second major factor affecting child support is Gross Income. Calculating Gross Income is more complex and multifaceted than parents Timesharing where a parent either has the child for 128 days or more each year, or does not.

New Mexico law defines “Gross Income” as income from any source. This broad definition essentially means a parent’s fixed monthly income, or income that a parent receives on a fixed basis. This income includes a parent’s salaries, wages, tips, commissions, bonuses, dividends, fixed profit on rental properties, severance pay, pensions, interest, annuities, social security benefits, worker’s compensation, unemployment/disability benefits, and significant in-kind benefits (such as Basic Housing Allowances).

New Mexico’s definition of Gross Income does not include the following: income received from means-tested public assistance programs (i.e. TANF, welfare), child support received for the support of other children, the income of one’s current spouse, and court ordered child support payments for prior born children. Finally, Gross Income does not include any gifts that one receives.

As New Mexico’s economy continues to grow and evolve, the number of men that receive Alimony and Child Support will continue to rise. This increase will largely be created by women’s increased earning power, and men increasingly acting as the children’s primary care-givers.

(505) SANCHEZ IS HERE TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT MEN RECEIVING ALIMONY AND CHILD SUPPORT IN ALBUQUERQUE,  NEW MEXICO

Do you still have questions about men receiving alimony and child support in Albuquerque, New Mexico?  Child custody and divorce in Albuquerque, New Mexico often requires the experienced hand and knowledge that comes with years of courtroom practice.  Matthew Legan Sanchez has the experience needed to handle your unique case.  Sanchez can be reached by calling (505) SANCHEZ.