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Legal Information: New Mexico

Divorce

Updated: 
January 5, 2024

Can I get alimony? What factors will a judge consider?

Alimony, also called spousal support, is financial support paid by, or to, your spouse and can be awarded when an annulment, divorce, or separate maintenance is granted. The judge may award you alimony in a single payment (sum) or multiple payments (installments), including:

  1. rehabilitative spousal support for education, training, or work experience to help you increase your income and become self-supporting. Note: The judge may have a specific rehabilitation plan that you must follow in order to receive the alimony;
  2. transitional spousal support to add to (supplement) your income for a specific amount of time;
  3. spousal support for an unlimited (indefinite) amount of time;
  4. a single sum that your spouse must pay once or in several installments, which will stop only if the spouse who is getting the support dies; or
  5. a single sum that your spouse must pay once or in several installments, which does not stop even if the spouse who is getting the support dies.1

Typically, the types of spousal support described above in numbers one through four will stop when the spouse who is getting the support dies unless the court order says something different.2

To decide the amount of alimony and for how long alimony will be paid, a judge will consider:

  • the age and health of each spouse;
  • each spouse’s means of support;
  • the good faith efforts of each spouse to keep a job or to become self-supporting;
  • the reasonable needs of each spouse, including the standard of living during the marriage, the maintenance of medical insurance, and life insurance costs and availability;
  • the length of the marriage;
  • the amount of property each spouse was awarded in the divorce;
  • the type and nature of each spouse’s assets and liabilities;
  • any income-producing property either spouse has; and
  • any agreements the spouses made when considering divorce or separation.3

1 N.M. Stat. § 40-4-7(B)(1)
2 N.M. Stat. § 40-4-7(D)
3 N.M. Stat. § 40-4-7(E)