FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Our initial consultation fee is $350 (includes tax) for 60 minutes.

Each case is different and the retainer fee will vary based on your circumstances.  The fee for your case will be discussed with you by the attorney during your initial consultation.

It depends on the circumstances of your case.  Basic costs you should anticipate and budget for are: filing fees ($137) and service fees ($35-$50).  Your case may also require the assistance of experts and other consultants such as therapists and accountants.  Those fees will vary depending on the services needed.  Typically, a therapist/custody expert will have a fee of $2,000 -$3,500.   An accountant, business evaluator or financial expert can charge hourly or flat fees starting at $1,500.  If a deposition is required, there will be fees owed to the court reporting service.

Please bring a completed New Client Intake Form and your consultation fee with you to your appointment.  It is helpful to have basic financial/property information available, but it is ok if this information is not available to you for the initial consultation.

Follow the link http://www.nmcourts.gov/ to the on-line case lookup service to monitor the status of your case.  Many of your questions concerning what has been filed or if a court date has been granted can be obtained from case look-up.  Of course, our office mails all correspondence and pleadings received/sent/filed by us to our clients so that you have an accurate case file to which you can refer.

You will always be notified by our office of court dates and major events in your case. If you do not hear from us, it means that there is nothing new to report to you.

While we welcome drop-in visitors to our office, you are free to contact us by e-mail or telephone to ask questions about your case.  If you have any questions or a new development, please schedule an appointment with the attorney to ensure that plenty of time is set aside for you to get answers to all your questions.

That is the million dollar question!  The length of time it takes to complete a case depends on many things, such as the cooperation, or lack thereof, of the opposing party, the Judge’s docket and the complexity of the issues in your case.  We strive to resolve cases as quickly as possible, but there are times when delays are out of our control.

Intimate partner violence can escalate when you are trying to leave the situation.  Therefore, it is important that you let us know immediately if you are experiencing abuse so that we are aware of that issue.  Restraining orders are available through the Third Judicial District Court and the forms are available on-line at http://www.nmcourts.gov/cgi/prose_lib/index.htm or at the Domestic Clerk’s Office in the courthouse at no cost to victims of domestic abuse.  La Casa, Inc. provides free representation to victims of domestic violence in restraining order proceedings. http://www.lacasainc.org/.  La Casa also provides emergency shelter to victims and counseling services for victims and children.  All of those services are free to you.  Contact them immediately if you are experiencing domestic violence so that they can support you through this difficult and scary time.

V.I.N.E. (Victim Information Notification Everyday) at www.vinelink.com is a real-time notification system that will allow you to anonymously register and be notified when there is any change in your offender’s status, including release from jail.  VINE Link checks the jail system every 15 minutes for updates on offender status.  The system requires that you register a P.I.N. (personal identification number) so that when a change in status occurs and you are notified, the system can verify that they have reached you to ensure that victims are receiving this vital information. You can choose to be registered by phone, cell phone, e-mail or all 3.  Your offender will never know that you have registered.  You can also call into the system as many times as you want to check your offender’s status or check their status on-line.  Your offender will never know how many times you have checked their status.

Go to http://www.nmcourts.gov/cgi/prose_lib/index.htm and follow the link to the New Mexico Child Support Guideline calculator to estimate your obligation or the amount you can expect to receive.  This is just an estimation for informational purposes and my change based on the circumstances of your case.

There are many factors that affect whether or not you are entitled to or obligated to pay spousal support/alimony.  To estimate a possible amount, go to http://www.nmcourts.gov/newface//alimony/alimony.html and follow the links to the Spousal Support Guidelines.   The factors of your case will be thoroughly discussed with the attorney regarding this issue in your consultation.

New Mexico is a community property state.  That means each spouse is entitled to a fair share of the assets.  Questions about what you can expect to receive or how your property and debts will be divided will be discussed in the initial consultation.