Any deviation from the child support guidelines set forth in Section 40-4-11.1 NMSA 1978 and the basic child support schedule promulgated by the human services department [health care authority department] shall be supported by a written finding in the decree, judgment or order of child support that application of the guidelines and basic child support schedule would be unjust or inappropriate. A finding that rebuts the child support guidelines and basic child support schedule shall state the amount of support that would have been required under the guidelines and basic child support schedule and the justification of why the order varies from the guidelines and the basic child support schedule. Circumstances creating a substantial hardship in the obligor, obligee or subject children may justify a deviation upward or downward from the amount that would otherwise be payable under the guidelines and basic child support schedule. History: 1978 Comp., § 40-4-11.2, enacted by Laws 1989, ch. 36, § 1; 2021, ch. 20, § 2; 2023, ch. 106, § 2. The 2023 amendment, effective January 1, 2024, added references to the basic child support schedule that the human services department is required to update by rule; and after "Any deviation from the child support", deleted "guideline amounts" and added "guidelines", after "Section 40-4-11.1 NMSA 1978", added "and the basic child support schedule promulgated by the human services department", and after each occurrence of "guidelines", added "and basic child support schedule" throughout the section. Applicability. — Laws 2023, ch. 106, § 5, provided that Laws 2023, ch. 106, apply to all decrees, judgments or orders of child support made on or after January 1, 2024. Temporary provisions. — Laws 2023, ch. 106, § 4, effective January 1, 2024, provided that the initial child support schedule established by the human services department [health care authority department] shall: A. not decrease the yearly basic support obligation for any level of combined parental income by more than the dollar change in the federal poverty guidelines for one person since 2018; B. not increase the yearly support obligation for any level of combined parental income by more than one and one-half times the change in the consumer price index since 2018. Any increase in support obligation that is larger than the increase in the consumer price index since 2018 must be specifically supported by economic data and evidence; C. not change the format of the child support schedule in a way that would be inconsistent with Worksheet A or Worksheet B in Subsection M of 40-4-11.1 NMSA 1978; and D. be promulgated, published and available to the public through the New Mexico Administrative Code, the New Mexico supreme court's website and the human services department's [health care authority department] website no later than January 1, 2024. The 2021 amendment, effective July 1, 2021, required that a written finding that application of the child support guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate to state the amount of support that would have been required under the guidelines and the justification for the deviation from the guidelines; and added "A finding that rebuts the child support guidelines shall state the amount of support that would have been required under the guidelines and the justification of why the order varies from the guidelines". Deviation from the child support guidelines. - It is error to deviate from the child support guidelines in calculating the parties' gross incomes except as authorized by statute or appellate case law, and it is also error to deviate from the child support guidelines in any manner without providing written justification for such deviation. Jury v. Jury , 2017-NMCA-036. Where petitioner appealed the district court's denial of her motion to modify a 2010 child support decree that resulted from the dissolution of the marriage between petitioner and respondent, claiming that the district court's ruling resulted from its erroneous determination of the parties' gross monthly incomes and, by extension, child support obligations, reversal and remand for recalculation of the parties' gross monthly incomes was necessary to the extent that the district court improperly deviated from the child support guidelines in calculating the parties' gross monthly incomes and failed to specify the reasons for its decision in deviating from the child support guidelines. Jury v. Jury , 2017-NMCA-036. Child's income. — In allowing a credit against basic child support for off-schedule sources of income, such as social security benefits paid directly to the child, this section requires the trial court to exercise its discretion on a case-by-case basis, with the child's standard of living a crucial factor. Pederson v. Pederson , 2000-NMCA-042, 129 N.M. 56, 1 P.3d 974. Deduction of guardian fees from child support. — Guardian ad litem fees may not be deducted from child support. Grant v. Cumiford , 2005-NMCA-058, 137 N.M. 485, 112 P.3d 1142.
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