Getting Divorced
Section 40-4-5 — six months' residence before filing, on four grounds including incompatibility
On either spouse's petition, a district court may decree a dissolution of marriage for incompatibility, cruel and inhuman treatment, adultery or abandonment.
Who handles this in New Mexico: New Mexico Legal Aid, statewide intake and New Mexico Courts HelpLine; and legal aid programs, lawyer referral and the state offices, listed in the New Mexico directory.
The court has jurisdiction when, at the time of filing, either party has resided in New Mexico for at least six months immediately before the filing and is domiciled in the state: physically present with a residence here and intending in good faith to stay permanently or indefinitely.
A service member continuously stationed at a New Mexico base for six months is treated as domiciled in the state and county of the base, and the section makes room for residents stationed elsewhere who intend to return.
Sources for this section (2)
- NMSA 1978, § 40-4-1 — Dissolution of marriage
- NMSA 1978, § 40-4-5 — Dissolution of marriage; jurisdiction; domicile
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.