HOUSE BILL 448

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2017

INTRODUCED BY

Joanne J. Ferrary and Patricia Roybal Caballero

and Christine Trujillo and Elizabeth "Liz" Thomson

and Deborah A. Armstrong

AN ACT

RELATING TO DIVORCE; ALLOWING THE COURT TO AWARD PETS TO EITHER PARTY REGARDLESS OF VETERINARY OR OTHER RECORDS INDICATING OWNERSHIP.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. Section 40-4-7 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1901, Chapter 62, Section 27, as amended) is amended to read:

     "40-4-7. PROCEEDINGS--SPOUSAL SUPPORT--SUPPORT OF CHILDREN--DIVISION OF PROPERTY.--

          A. In any proceeding for the dissolution of marriage, division of property, disposition of children or spousal support, the court may make and enforce by attachment or otherwise an order to restrain the use or disposition of the property of either party or for the control of the children or to provide for the support of either party during the pendency of the proceeding, as in its discretion may seem just and proper. The court may make an order, relative to the expenses of the proceeding, as will ensure either party an efficient preparation and presentation of [his] the party's case.

          B. On final hearing, the court:

                (1) may allow either party such a reasonable portion of the spouse's property or such a reasonable sum of money to be paid by either spouse either in a single sum or in installments, as spousal support as under the circumstances of the case may seem just and proper, including a court award of:

                     (a) rehabilitative spousal support that provides the receiving spouse with education, training, work experience or other forms of rehabilitation that increases the receiving spouse's ability to earn income and become self-supporting. The court may include a specific rehabilitation plan with its award of rehabilitative spousal support and may condition continuation of the support upon compliance with that plan;

                     (b) transitional spousal support to supplement the income of the receiving spouse for a limited period of time; provided that the period shall be clearly stated in the court's final order;

                     (c) spousal support for an indefinite duration;

                     (d) a single sum to be paid in one or more installments that specifies definite amounts, subject only to the death of the receiving spouse; or

                     (e) a single sum to be paid in one or more installments that specifies definite amounts, not subject to any contingencies, including the death of the receiving spouse;

                (2) may:

                     (a) modify and change any order in respect to spousal support awarded pursuant to the provisions of Subparagraph (a), (b) or (c) of Paragraph (1) of this subsection whenever the circumstances render such change proper; or

                     (b) designate spousal support awarded pursuant to the provisions of Subparagraph (a) or (b) of Paragraph (1) of this subsection as nonmodifiable with respect to the amount or duration of the support payments;

                (3) may set apart out of the property or income of the respective parties such portion for the maintenance and education of:

                     (a) their unemancipated minor children as may seem just and proper; or

                     (b) their children until the children's graduation from high school if the children are emancipated only by age, are under nineteen and are attending high school; [and]

                (4) may make such an order for the guardianship, care, custody, maintenance and education of the minor children, or with reference to the control of the property of the respective parties to the proceeding, or with reference to the control of the property decreed or fund created by the court for the maintenance and education of the minor children, as may seem just and proper; and

                (5) may award pets to either party regardless of veterinary or other records indicating ownership.

          C. The court may order and enforce the payment of support for the maintenance and education after high school of emancipated children of the marriage pursuant to a written agreement between the parties.

          D. An award of spousal support made pursuant to the provisions of Subparagraph (a), (b), (c) or (d) of Paragraph (1) of Subsection B of this section shall terminate upon the death of the receiving spouse, unless the court order of spousal support provides otherwise.

          E. When making determinations concerning spousal support to be awarded pursuant to the provisions of Paragraph (1) or (2) of Subsection B of this section, the court shall consider:

                (1) the age and health of and the means of support for the respective spouses;

                (2) the current and future earnings and the earning capacity of the respective spouses;

                (3) the good-faith efforts of the respective spouses to maintain employment or to become self-supporting;

                (4) the reasonable needs of the respective spouses, including:

                     (a) the standard of living of the respective spouses during the term of the marriage;

                     (b) the maintenance of medical insurance for the respective spouses; and

                     (c) the appropriateness of life insurance, including its availability and cost, insuring the life of the person who is to pay support to secure the payments, with any life insurance proceeds paid on the death of the paying spouse to be in lieu of further support;

                 (5) the duration of the marriage;

                 (6) the amount of the property awarded or confirmed to the respective spouses;

                 (7) the type and nature of the respective spouses' assets; provided that potential proceeds from the sale of property by either spouse shall not be considered by the court, unless required by exceptional circumstances and the need to be fair to the parties;

                 (8) the type and nature of the respective spouses' liabilities;

                 (9) income produced by property owned by the respective spouses; and

                (10) agreements entered into by the spouses in contemplation of the dissolution of marriage or legal separation.

          F. The court shall retain jurisdiction over proceedings involving periodic spousal support payments when the parties have been married for twenty years or more prior to the dissolution of the marriage, unless the court order or decree specifically provides that no spousal support shall be awarded.

          G. The court may modify and change any order or agreement merged into an order in respect to the guardianship, care, custody, maintenance or education of the children whenever circumstances render such change proper. The district court shall have exclusive jurisdiction of all matters pertaining to the guardianship, care, custody, maintenance and education of the children until the parents' obligation of support for their children terminates. The district court shall also have exclusive, continuing jurisdiction with reference to the property decreed or funds created for the children's maintenance and education."

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