What property and debts get divided?
New Mexico is a community property state. That means that each spouse is entitled to receive one-half of all property acquired during the marriage, including retirement benefits. It also means that each spouse is responsible for taking on one-half of all debt, including debts that he or she didn’t know about. Rarely does each and every piece of community property get split down the middle or each debt get split 50-50. The Court is required to make an “equitable” or “fair” division of the property and debts. Usually, the value of all the property is added up as are all the debts. The debts are subtracted from the assets, and whatever is left over gets divided.
