Legal Question in Family Law in New Mexico

Re: Child Support Lein, & he's not the father!!

This is a great question. My initial impulse was to say "Go see a lawyer!" I hope my answer to your question will steer you in the direction of good questions to ask of a lawyer in person.

First, my caveat, I am working from memory, at home and my answer may be off a bit. Liens - a lien cannot be filed without a judgment having been previously obtained. People cannot just go around filing liens on other peoples' property. So, my conclusion here is that your husband was sued by this lady and he either ignored the lawsuit and a judgment was taken against him or he took it to court and he lost. Our system of laws is set up so that he could not have been sued without him having been noticed about the law suit.

Next, you say, there is now a second mortgage he is responsible for paying his ex-wife for. This sentence while mostly gramatically correct conveys no useful information. Are you saying that he took out a mortgage to pay off the lien? If yes, then say that; if no, then please explain further. Last, where does the child custody battle come into play in this quesiton? Is your husband trying to get custody of the child that he says is not his?

As to paternity test you can have that performed now a days for about $60 per head (mom, dad & child = $180.00) through child support enforcement division of the state of n.m. and it takes 4 - 6 weeks; (you can find their telephone number at the state web site http://www.state.nm.us ). If there is NOT a case opened up with your husband's name on it then he can go to CSED and open a case (at no cash outlay) and ask that paternity testing be performed (at no cash outlay) to establish whether or not he is the father. (Frankly, I am surprised the judge didn't tell you this).

Last, (and this is my sage advice), go sit down with a lawyer and talk about this. Even if you have to pay for an hour of the lawyer's time (in your zip code that is about $90 to $150) that will be money well spent within your tight budget. Look in the yellow pages under 'family lawyers'. Or, go look at the NM state bar website http://www.nmbar.org and there is a tele number for lawyer referral. Call it, it's a free service.

Good luck