Legal Question in Family Law in New Mexico

Re: Modification of Child Support Order

First, gather your last 3 years of income tax returns and your last 3 to 4 months of pay stubs. Send a copy of those documents to her and make a request of her to send the same information to you. Send the letter by certified mail return receipt requested. (If the letter comes back to you as refused or undeliverable do not open it - just bring it to court when you go to court).

After you have obtained the information you can then calculate child support. NM child support is based upon gross income - that is income before taxes. Just take the gross and transform it into a monthly amount. (i.e., if she makes 24000 per year that is 2000 per month). You will also need to know what she is paying for day care and if there is health insurance you need to know how much it is for the child. Using the child support guidelines (available online at http://nmcourts.com or at your public library) you can calculate child support.

After you have determined the new amount then you send a copy to her and ASK if she will agree to the change without having to go to court. If she says no then you file a motion with the court. The motion is titled "motion to change child support" and then you put down in the motion the same thing you put in this note and you put in the new calculations. The judge will hold a hearing and child support should be changed if it needs to be. There are other matters you should discuss with an attorney but the basics of what you have to do are as I set forth above.

Good Luck.