The incidence of domestic violence in the military has been so high that the Department of Defense has made special and concerted efforts to address this problem over the span of years. Rates of domestic violence are far higher among military families than among members of the general population. PTSD Common Element in Military Domestic…
Albuquerque Divorce Lawyer Blog
Taking the Kids Out of State for Summer Vacation Requires Planning and Agreement
Questions surrounding summer vacation start coming up frequently this time of year. One of the big and more common questions that arise is the respective parents’ rights to take the kids out of state for summer vacation. In short, can you take the kids out of state for summer vacation and if so, what is…
Holiday Travel Often Leads to Child Custody and Time-Sharing Disputes
Travel with the children can, in the absence of a parenting plan that deals with the issue of travel, cause conflict between the parents. The potential for conflict associated with travel with the children is especially high during the holidays. There are a number of things to keep in mind in planning for your holiday…
Violation of Child Custody During the Holidays has Serious Consequences
Child custody disputes get pretty heated during the holidays. For whatever reason, the holidays bring out the worst in some with respect to the kids. Many times one of the parties will try to change up the parenting plan and holiday time-sharing without the agreement of the other party. Other times, one or both parties…
Considerations Prior to Same-Sex Marriage in New Mexico
It has now been more than a year that the United States Supreme Court, in United States v. Winsor (June 26, 2013), held Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) unconstitutional and in effect paved the way for more and more states to legalize same-gender marriages and for the federal government to recognize…
The Process of Disposition of the Community Residence After a Divorce
Among the most contentious aspects of many New Mexico divorces is the disposition of the marital residence. There are numerous questions that will arise and with each question comes potential for conflict. There is frequently a dispute over who keeps the house. Just as frequently, this dispute is rendered moot because the parties (neither party)…
Joint Custody (Physical and Legal) and Child Custody Conflict in New Mexico
There is often a misconception about the meaning of joint custody. There is confusion as to how joint custody affects time-sharing, child-custody and child support. There is often further confusion between joint legal and joint physical custody. Hopefully, we can clear a few of these up here. Joint Child Custody and Child Support New Mexico’s…
Child Custody, Time-Sharing, Secondhand Smoke and the “Best Interests” of the Child
For many years now, we‘ve been hearing about the harmful effects of secondhand smoke. But can secondhand smoke have effects on your child custody and time-sharing in New Mexico? It appears that more and more family court judges are taking this into account in custody and time-sharing decisions due to the potential harm to the…
Grandparent Visitation in New Mexico Dictated by Best Interests of Child
When divorce leads to custody battles, many grandparents may be wondering whether they‘ll be entitled to visitation with their grandchildren. And it‘s not just divorce that leads to questions of grandparents‘ rights to visitation. In certain cases, mere legal separation or paternity issues can leave a grandparent wondering whether they‘ll continue to have visitation privileges…
Drug Use and Child Custody: An Inadvisable Mix
Drug use can have very negative consequences on a parent‘s child custody and time-sharing. In case of the use of illegal drugs or the abuse of prescription medications, the New Mexico Courts will err on the side of protecting the child. This means there is very little sympathy or latitude for parents that use illegal…