Division of Property & Debt

New Mexico is a community property state.  This means that any property, debt or income accumulated during the marriage belongs equally to each of the parties.  Except for property purchased with separate assets, or debt incurred solely for the benefit of separate assets, it is irrelevant how or by whom the property or debt was acquired.  Regardless of how it was acquired, it remains community property and debt to be divided equally upon the dissolution of the marriage.  

Often times, the parties believe they are entitled to a greater share of the assets, or that the other party should take more of the debt because of misbehavior during the marriage.  New Mexico is a no-fault divorce state which means the misbehavior of the parties during the marriage has no bearing on the division of the property and debt on dissolution of the marriage.  Though it may seem unfair, it is the law.  Unfortunately, some folks are unable to accept this notion, and attempt to even the scores of marital misdeeds through the division of property and debt.  This makes for a long, stressful and expensive divorce as the emotional issues control the divorce rather than legally defined standards for dividing the community property and debt at dissolution. 

Once you have decided to get a divorce, you should begin to identify all of the property and debt of the parties.  This includes both community and separate property and debt.  A Property and Debt Worksheet is useful for beginning the process of identifying and later dividing the property and debt of the parties.