Grandparent Visitation
Section 40-9-2 — a petition after a divorce, a parent's death, or a child's removal from the grandparent's home
- In or after a judgment of dissolution, legal separation or parentage, the court may grant a grandparent reasonable visitation not in conflict with the child's education or prior established visitation.
- If one or both parents have died, a grandparent may petition.
- A grandparent may petition when the child lived with them for at least three months beginning before age six, or for at least six months beginning at six or older, and was then removed from their home.
Who handles this in New Mexico: Senior Citizens' Law Office and Pegasus Legal Services for Children; and legal aid programs, lawyer referral and the state offices, listed in the New Mexico directory.
The court weighs the child's best interests, the grandparent's past interaction with the child and with each parent, existing time sharing, the effect of visits on the child, any prior abuse or neglect convictions, and whether the grandparent was a full time caretaker. It may order mediation, and where visits are not in the child's interest, other reasonable contact by phone or mail.
Sources for this section (1)
- NMSA 1978, § 40-9-2 — Children; visitation by grandparent; petition; mediation
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.