0001| AN ACT | 0002| RELATING TO DOMESTIC AFFAIRS; AMENDING SECTION 40-4-7 NMSA 1978 (BEING | 0003| LAWS 1901, CHAPTER 62, SECTION 27, AS AMENDED) TO PROVIDE FOR CHILD | 0004| SUPPORT IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES. | 0005| | 0006| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO: | 0007| Section 1. Section 40-4-7 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1901, Chapter | 0008| 62, Section 27, as amended) is amended to read: | 0009| "40-4-7. PROCEEDINGS--SPOUSAL SUPPORT--SUPPORT OF CHILDREN-- | 0010| DIVISION OF PROPERTY.-- | 0011| A. In any proceeding for the dissolution of marriage, | 0012| division of property, disposition of children or spousal support, the | 0013| court may make and enforce by attachment or otherwise an order to | 0014| restrain the use or disposition of the property of either party or for | 0015| the control of the children or to provide for the support of either | 0016| party during the pendency of the proceeding, as in its discretion may | 0017| seem just and proper. The court may make an order, relative to the | 0018| expenses of the proceeding, as will ensure either party an efficient | 0019| preparation and presentation of his case. | 0020| B. On final hearing, the court: | 0021| (1) may allow either party such a reasonable portion | 0022| of the spouse's property or such a reasonable sum of money to be paid | 0023| by either spouse either in a single sum or in installments, as spousal | 0024| support as under the circumstances of the case may seem just and | 0025| proper, including a court award of: | 0001| (a) rehabilitative spousal support that provides | 0002| the receiving spouse with education, training, work experience or | 0003| other forms of rehabilitation that increases the receiving spouse's | 0004| ability to earn income and become self-supporting. The court may | 0005| include a specific rehabilitation plan with its award of | 0006| rehabilitative spousal support and may condition continuation of the | 0007| support upon compliance with that plan; | 0008| (b) transitional spousal support to supplement | 0009| the income of the receiving spouse for a limited period of time; | 0010| provided that the period shall be clearly stated in the court's final | 0011| order; | 0012| (c) spousal support for an indefinite duration; | 0013| (d) a single sum to be paid in one or more | 0014| installments that specifies definite amounts, subject only to the | 0015| death of the receiving spouse; or | 0016| (e) a single sum to be paid in one or more | 0017| installments that specifies definite amounts, not subject to any | 0018| contingencies, including the death of the receiving spouse; | 0019| (2) may: | 0020| (a) modify and change any order in respect to | 0021| spousal support awarded pursuant to the provisions of Subparagraph | 0022| (a), (b) or (c) of Paragraph (1) of this subsection whenever the | 0023| circumstances render such change proper; or | 0024| (b) designate spousal support awarded pursuant | 0025| to the provisions of Subparagraph (a) or (b) of Paragraph (1) of this | 0001| subsection as nonmodifiable with respect to the amount or duration of | 0002| the support payments; | 0003| (3) may set apart out of the property or income of | 0004| the respective parties such portion for the maintenance and education | 0005| of: | 0006| (a) their unemancipated minor children as may | 0007| seem just and proper; or | 0008| (b) their children until the children's | 0009| graduation from high school if the children are emancipated only by | 0010| age, are under nineteen and are attending high school; and | 0011| (4) may make such an order for the guardianship, | 0012| care, custody, maintenance and education of the minor children, or | 0013| with reference to the control of the property of the respective | 0014| parties to the proceeding, or with reference to the control of the | 0015| property decreed or fund created by the court for the maintenance and | 0016| education of the minor children, as may seem just and proper. | 0017| C. The court may order and enforce the payment of support | 0018| for the maintenance and education after high school of emancipated | 0019| children of the marriage pursuant to a written agreement between the | 0020| parties. | 0021| D. An award of spousal support made pursuant to the | 0022| provisions of Subparagraph (a), (b), (c) or (d) of Paragraph (1) of | 0023| Subsection B of this section shall terminate upon the death of the | 0024| receiving spouse, unless the court order of spousal support provides | 0025| otherwise. | 0001| E. When making determinations concerning spousal support to | 0002| be awarded pursuant to the provisions of Paragraph (1) or (2) of | 0003| Subsection B of this section, the court shall consider: | 0004| (1) the age and health of and the means of support | 0005| for the respective spouses; | 0006| (2) the current and future earnings and the earning | 0007| capacity of the respective spouses; | 0008| (3) the good-faith efforts of the respective spouses | 0009| to maintain employment or to become self-supporting; | 0010| (4) the reasonable needs of the respective spouses, | 0011| including: | 0012| (a) the standard of living of the respective | 0013| spouses during the term of the marriage; | 0014| (b) the maintenance of medical insurance for the | 0015| respective spouses; and | 0016| (c) the appropriateness of life insurance, | 0017| including its availability and cost, insuring the life of the person | 0018| who is to pay support to secure the payments, with any life insurance | 0019| proceeds paid on the death of the paying spouse to be in lieu of | 0020| further support; | 0021| (5) the duration of the marriage; | 0022| (6) the amount of the property awarded or confirmed | 0023| to the respective spouses; | 0024| (7) the type and nature of the respective spouses' | 0025| assets; provided that potential proceeds from the sale of property by | 0001| either spouse shall not be considered by the court, unless required by | 0002| exceptional circumstances and the need to be fair to the parties; | 0003| (8) the type and nature of the respective spouses' | 0004| liabilities; | 0005| (9) income produced by property owned by the | 0006| respective spouses; and | 0007| (10) agreements entered into by the spouses in | 0008| contemplation of the dissolution of marriage or legal separation. | 0009| F. The court shall retain jurisdiction over proceedings | 0010| involving periodic spousal support payments when the parties have been | 0011| married for twenty years or more prior to the dissolution of the | 0012| marriage, unless the court order or decree specifically provides that | 0013| no spousal support shall be awarded. | 0014| G. The court may modify and change any order or | 0015| agreement merged into an order in respect to the guardianship, | 0016| care, custody, maintenance or education of the children whenever | 0017| circumstances render such change proper. The district court shall | 0018| have exclusive jurisdiction of all matters pertaining to the | 0019| guardianship, care, custody, maintenance and education of the | 0020| children until the parents' obligation of support for their | 0021| children terminates. The district court shall also have | 0022| exclusive, continuing jurisdiction with reference to the property | 0023| decreed or funds created for the children's maintenance and | 0024| education." |