Chapter 40 — Chapter 40

(a) A child-custody proceeding that pertains to an Indian child as defined in the Indian Child Welfare Act, 25 U.S.C. § 1901 et seq., is not subject to the Uniform Child- Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act to the extent that it is governed by the Indian Child Welfare Act. (…

Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. (a) A court of this state shall treat a foreign country as if it were a state of the United States for the purpose of applying Articles 1 and 2 of the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. (b) Except as otherwise provided in sub…

A child-custody determination made by a court of this state that had jurisdiction under the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act binds all persons who have been served in accordance with the laws of this state or notified in accordance with Section 108 or who ha…

If a question of existence or exercise of jurisdiction under the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act is raised in a child-custody proceeding, the question, upon request of a party, must be given priority on the calendar and handled expeditiously. History: Laws …

(a) Notice required for the exercise of jurisdiction when a person is outside this state may be given in a manner prescribed by the law of this state for service of process or by the law of the state in which the service is made. Notice must be given in a manner reasonably calcul…

(a) A party to a child-custody proceeding, including a modification proceeding, or a petitioner or respondent in a proceeding to enforce or register a child-custody determination, is not subject to personal jurisdiction in this state for another proceeding or purpose solely by re…

(a) A court of this state may communicate with a court in another state concerning a proceeding arising under the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. (b) The court may allow the parties to participate in the communication. If the parties are not able to partic…

(a) In addition to other procedures available to a party, a party to a child-custody proceeding may offer testimony of witnesses who are located in another state, including testimony of the parties and the child, by deposition or other means allowable in this state for testimony …

(a) A court of this state may request the appropriate court of another state to: (1) hold an evidentiary hearing; (2) order a person to produce or give evidence pursuant to procedures of that state; (3) order that an evaluation be made with respect to the custody of a child invol…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in Section 204, a court of this state has jurisdiction to make an initial child-custody determination only if: (1) this state is the home state of the child on the date of the commencement of the proceeding, or was the home state of the child with…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in Section 204, a court of this state which has made a child-custody determination consistent with Section 201 or 203 has exclusive, continuing jurisdiction over the determination until: (1) a court of this state determines that the child, or the …

Except as otherwise provided in Section 204, a court of this state may not modify a child-custody determination made by a court of another state unless a court of this state has jurisdiction to make an initial determination under Section 201(a)(1) or (2) and: (1) the court of the…

(a) A court of this state has temporary emergency jurisdiction if the child is present in this state and the child has been abandoned or it is necessary in an emergency to protect the child because the child, or a sibling or parent of the child, is subjected to or threatened with…

(a) Before a child-custody determination is made under the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, notice and an opportunity to be heard in accordance with the standards of Section 108 must be given to all persons entitled to notice under the law of this state as …

(a) Except as otherwise provided in Section 204, a court of this state may not exercise its jurisdiction under Article 2 [40-10A-201 to 40-10A-210 NMSA 1978] of the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act if, at the time of the commencement of the proceeding, a pro…

(a) A court of this state which has jurisdiction under the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act to make a child-custody determination may decline to exercise its jurisdiction at any time if it determines that it is an inconvenient forum under the circumstances a…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in Section 204 or by other law of this state, if a court of this state has jurisdiction under the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act because a person seeking to invoke its jurisdiction has engaged in unjustifiable conduct, the …

(a) Subject to local law providing for the confidentiality of procedures, addresses and other identifying information in a child-custody proceeding, each party, in its first pleading or in an attached affidavit, shall give information, if reasonably ascertainable, under oath as t…

(a) In a child-custody proceeding in this state, the court may order a party to the proceeding who is in this state to appear before the court in person with or without the child. The court may order any person who is in this state and who has physical custody or control of the c…

As used in Article 3 of the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act: (1) "petitioner" means a person who seeks enforcement of an order for return of a child under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction or enforcement of a child-c…

Under Article 3 of the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, a court of this state may enforce an order for the return of a child made under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction as if it were a child- custody determination. …

(a) A court of this state shall recognize and enforce a child-custody determination of a court of another state if the latter court exercised jurisdiction in substantial conformity with the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act or if the determination was made un…

(a) A court of this state which does not have jurisdiction to modify a child-custody determination may issue a temporary order enforcing: (1) a visitation schedule made by a court of another state; or (2) the visitation provisions of a child-custody determination of another state…

(a) A child-custody determination issued by a court of another state may be registered in this state, with or without a simultaneous request for enforcement, by sending to the appropriate court in this state: (1) a letter or other document requesting registration; (2) two copies,…

(a) A court of this state may grant any relief normally available under the law of this state to enforce a registered child-custody determination made by a court of another state. (b) A court of this state shall recognize and enforce, but may not modify, except in accordance with…

If a proceeding for enforcement under Article 3 of the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act is commenced in a court of this state and the court determines that a proceeding to modify the determination is pending in a court of another state having jurisdiction to…

(a) A petition under Article 3 of the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act must be verified. Certified copies of all orders sought to be enforced and of any order confirming registration must be attached to the petition. A copy of a certified copy of an order ma…

Except as otherwise provided in Section 311, the petition and order must be served, by any method authorized by the law of this state, upon the respondent and any person who has physical custody of the child. History: Laws 2001, ch. 114, § 309.

(a) Unless the court issues a temporary emergency order pursuant to Section 204, upon a finding that a petitioner is entitled to immediate physical custody of the child, the court shall order that the petitioner may take immediate physical custody of the child unless the responde…

(a) Upon the filing of a petition seeking enforcement of a child-custody determination, the petitioner may file a verified application for the issuance of a warrant to take physical custody of the child if the child is immediately likely to suffer serious physical harm or be remo…

(a) The court shall award the prevailing party, including a state, necessary and reasonable expenses incurred by or on behalf of the party, including costs, communication expenses, attorney's fees, investigative fees, expenses for witnesses, travel expenses and child care expense…

A court of this state shall accord full faith and credit to an order issued by another state and consistent with the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act which enforces a child-custody determination by a court of another state, unless the order has been vacated,…

An appeal may be taken from a final order in a proceeding under Article 3 of the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act in accordance with expedited appellate procedures in other civil cases. Unless the court enters a temporary emergency order under Section 204, t…

(a) In a case arising under the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act or involving the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, the prosecutor or other appropriate public official may take any lawful action, including resort to a pr…

At the request of a prosecutor or other appropriate public official acting under Section 315, a law enforcement officer may take any lawful action reasonably necessary to locate a child or a party and assist a prosecutor or appropriate public official with responsibilities under …

If the respondent is not the prevailing party, the court may assess against the respondent all direct expenses and costs incurred by the prosecutor or other appropriate public official and law enforcement officers under Section 315 or 316. History: Laws 2001, ch. 114, § 317. ARTI…

In applying and construing the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act [40-10A-101 to 40-10A-403 NMSA 1978], consideration must be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact it. History: Laws 2001, …

If any provision of the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of that act which can be given effect without the invalid provision or …

A motion or other request for relief made in a child-custody proceeding or to enforce a child-custody determination which was commenced before the effective date of the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act is governed by the law in effect at the time the motion …

Chapter 40, Article 10B NMSA 1978 may be cited as the "Kinship Guardianship Act". History: Laws 2001, ch. 167, § 1; 2020, ch. 51, § 1.

A guardian ad litem appointed by the court in a proceeding pursuant to the Kinship Guardianship Act shall: A. in connection with a petition for guardianship, make a diligent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the petition, including visiting the child in the home, int…

In a proceeding for appointment of a guardian pursuant to the Kinship Guardianship Act: A. the court shall appoint a person nominated by a child who has reached the age of fourteen unless the court finds the nomination contrary to the best interests of the child; and B. the court…

A. Any person, including a child who has reached the age of fourteen, may move for revocation of a guardianship created pursuant to the Kinship Guardianship Act. The person requesting revocation shall attach to the motion a transition plan proposed to facilitate the reintegration…

A. A guardian appointed for a child pursuant to the Kinship Guardianship Act has the legal rights and duties of a parent except the right to consent to adoption of the child and except for parental rights and duties that the court orders retained by a parent. B. Unless otherwise …

The court appointing a guardian pursuant to the Kinship Guardianship Act retains continuing jurisdiction of the matter. History: Laws 2001, ch. 167, § 14.

A. A caregiver who executes a caregiver's authorization affidavit substantially in the form contained in Subsection J of this section by completing Items 1 through 4 of the form and who subscribes and swears to it before a notary public, is authorized to: (1) enroll the named chi…

History: 1978 Comp., § 40-10B-16, as enacted by Laws 2020, ch. 51, § 4; repealed by Laws 2023, ch. 90, § 29.

History: 1978 Comp., § 40-10B-17, as enacted by Laws 2020, ch. 51, § 5; repealed by Laws 2023, ch. 90, § 29.

History: 1978 Comp., § 40-10B-18, as enacted by Laws 2020, ch. 51, § 6; repealed by Laws 2023, ch. 90, § 29.

History: 1978 Comp., § 40-10B-19, as enacted by Laws 2020, ch. 51, § 7; repealed by Laws 2023, ch. 90, § 29.