Most states have child support guidelines in their statutes—often in the statutes collected in the state’s family code. These child support guidelines provide percentages and methods of calculating child support payments based on the number of children; the parents’ incomes and financial resources; the income and needs of the custodial parent; the needs of the children, including any special needs; and the standard of living for the children before the parents’ divorce or separation. The child support guidelines are just guidelines, and the court generally has discretion to order more or less child support based on the best interest of the children.

In New Mexico, child support guidelines are established by state statutes to ensure that children receive adequate financial support from their parents following a divorce or separation. These guidelines are found in the New Mexico Statutes Annotated (NMSA), specifically in the New Mexico Child Support Guidelines under the Family Law Code. The guidelines provide a formula for calculating child support payments that take into account factors such as the number of children, the gross incomes of both parents, and the amount of time the children spend with each parent. Additional expenses for the children, such as health insurance, work-related childcare costs, and extraordinary medical expenses, are also considered. While these guidelines serve as a standard framework for determining child support, New Mexico courts have the discretion to deviate from the calculated amount if it is deemed to be in the best interest of the children. This discretion allows the court to address unique circumstances and ensure that the children's needs are met while also considering the standard of living they would have enjoyed had the family remained intact.