Child Support
Section 40-4-11.4 — a change of more than twenty percent after a year is presumed substantial
In any action to establish or modify child support, the guidelines in the section and the department's support schedule are applied, and the amount they produce is a rebuttable presumption. Every decree that deviates from the guideline amount states the reasons.
Who handles this in New Mexico: New Mexico Legal Aid; and legal aid programs, lawyer referral and the state offices, listed in the New Mexico directory.
A court may modify support on a showing of material and substantial changes in circumstances since the existing order, including a child's health care needs.
A presumed change. There is a presumption of material and substantial change if applying the guidelines would move the existing obligation up or down by more than twenty percent and the petition is filed more than one year after the existing order.
Every support order provides for an annual exchange of financial information between the parents on either one's written request.
Sources for this section (2)
- NMSA 1978, § 40-4-11.1 — Child support; guidelines
- NMSA 1978, § 40-4-11.4 — Modification of child support orders; exchange of financial information
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of November 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed New Mexico attorney.