Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
The New Mexico Supreme Court recently launched a website that allows many couples to file for divorce in less time and often using less money.
Marion Payton, court executive officer at the 10th Judicial District Court in Tucumcari, said the website at newmexico.tylerhost.net/srl designed for pro se, or self-represented, divorce litigants launched Oct. 29.
Payton compared the website to the popular TurboTax tax-filing program. It guides users through a series of questions so they can automatically create free legal forms, including a custody plan and marital agreements over property. The forms then can be printed and submitted to the district court for a $137 fee.
The website also allows a user, who create a username and password, to save the documents online and work on them at a later time.
She said the website by Tyler Technologies was the brainchild of retiring New Mexico Supreme Court Senior Justice Petra Maes, who wanted to streamline the legal process for divorce litigants.
Payton said two fellow district-court workers tested the website using dummy divorce filings and found no problems.
She said a divorce litigant should expect to spend about two hours online and perhaps more, depending on how many children and how much property are involved, to create the legal documents.
Payton said her office is encouraging litigants to use the online program, especially because clerks are not allowed to provide legal advice.
“We would prefer people use it,” she said.
Payton said the state also is looking at launching a similar website that can generate legal guardianship documents, possibly as soon as next year.