Legal Question in Family Law in New Mexico
My husband and myself have taken care of my 15 year old stepson for the past two years without any help or support from his mothe who has full custody of him. My husband says we have no right to get child support from her because of this even though she has absolutly no desire to take care of her son. Furthermore, my husband is 100% disabled and is also sick. If he passes he says his on shouldnot go to his mother but I have no legal rightto him. Any advice on how to work this situation out?
1 Answer from Attorneys
You should file a motion to modify child support and a motion to modify the parenting plan and custody of the child. The modification of the custody would be to place legal custody of the child with the father. Modification of the parenting plan would be to have the court recognize that the child is living full time with the father. When that is done the court will then re-calculate child support and order the mom to pay child support to the dad. On top of all that - and you do not have to wait for that to be done - have dad make a new will and in the will he can set forth his wish that the son not be allowed to live with his mother in the chance that something bad ever happened to dad. The dad can write all the detail he wants in his will about why the son should not go and live with the bio-mom. The dad can then add that it is his express desire that the son lives with you until he emancipates because of all the reasons he then sets forth in his will. And, he can write all he wants about what a great step-mother you have been and how it is his belief that you will continue to be a wonderful step-mother to the child.
Give those steps a try and I bet that will help get your issue resolved. Your local court house may have a self-help center (also called a ProSe center) to help people file motions on their own. If they do have one (the clerks office can tell you) then go and use that self help center to this this matter moving along.
Good Luck
John