New Mexico memorandum opinion considers relocation and joint-custody modification

In Davis v. Voss, the New Mexico Court of Appeals affirmed a custody order that provided for a change in primary physical custody if the mother relocated. The court's October 19, 2026 memorandum opinion was not selected for publication and is subject to the citation restrictions identified in Rule 12-405 NMRA.

The parents already shared joint legal custody. The mother sought to relocate with the child while retaining the shared arrangement; the father sought primary physical custody if she moved. The appellate court concluded that the trial court's oral findings showed consideration of the applicable best-interest factors and that it did not simply defer its decision to the guardian ad litem.

The opinion said that the additional factors in section 40-4-9.1 governing whether to grant or terminate joint custody were not required where the parent sought to modify an existing joint-custody order, rather than a grant or termination of joint custody. It relied on prior decisions for that distinction. The court also said the trial court had not applied a presumption against relocation and affirmed the order.

The court stated that the mother's right-to-travel argument was not preserved but addressed it briefly in its discretion. The result is tied to the existing joint-custody arrangement, the arguments presented and the trial court's findings; it does not resolve every relocation or custody dispute.