Legal Question in Family Law in New Mexico
I've been married for 18 years and have not worked outside of the house during this time. My husband receives a union pension can I ask for a portion of that
1 Answer from Attorneys
New Mexico is a community property state. That means, that in general, you're entitled to half of all property accumulated during your marriage using community funds. Community funds means wages or other income either of you received during the marriage; the only exclusion is income from separate property that one of you brought into the marriage, or inheritances and a couple of other things. Your half of the community property would include half of his pension rights. These are divided during the divorce using a document called a Qualified Domestic Relations Order, or QDRO, which has to be worked out with the institution that is providing the pension, and approved by the court..