N.M. Stat. » Chapter 40 — Domestic Affairs
New Mexico Statutes

N.M. Stat. § 40-1-7 (2026)

Incestuous marriages

✓ laws through the 2025 session (retrieved May 2026)
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section NM-LEGnmonesource.com JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

All marriages between relations and children, including grandparents and grandchildren of all degrees; between brothers and sisters of full blood or of half blood; between uncles and nieces; and between aunts and nephews are declared incestuous and absolutely void.

History: Laws 1876, ch. 31, § 1; C.L. 1884, § 992; C.L. 1897, § 1425; Code 1915, § 3430; C.S. 1929, § 87-106; 1941 Comp., § 65-107; 1953 Comp., § 57-1-7; 2013, ch. 144, § 5.

ANNOTATIONS

Compiler's notes. — Prior to Comp. Laws 1884, this section contained the words "and first cousins" following the word "nephews." Those words were deleted to accord with Laws 1880, ch. 37, § 1, which repealed "such parts of all laws as prohibit the marriage of cousins of any degree."

The 2013 amendment, effective June 14, 2013, defined incestuous marriages, added the title of the section; at the beginning of the section, deleted "Sec. 6"; after "children, including", deleted "grandfathers" and added "grandparents"; after "all degrees; between", deleted "half"; after "brothers and sisters", deleted "as also"; after "of full blood", added "or of half blood"; after "uncles and nieces" added "and between"; and deleted the former second sentence, which extended the section to illegitimate children to legitimize them.

Marriage valid where celebrated. — New Mexico's public policy against incest did not preclude the district court from awarding a mother primary physical custody of her children, after taking into account her plans to marry her uncle, where that choice was in the best interests of the children, and mother and uncle intended to reside in California. Leszinske v. Poole, 1990-NMCA-088, 110 N.M. 663, 798 P.2d 1049, cert. denied, 110 N.M. 533, 797 P.2d 983.

Law reviews. — For article, "Annulment of Marriages in New Mexico: Part II - Proposed Statute," see 2 Nat. Resources J. 270 (1962).

For article, "New Mexico's 1969 Criminal Abortion Law," see 10 Nat. Resources J. 591 (1970).

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 41 Am. Jur. 2d Incest §§ 1, 7.

Incestuous marriage, attack after death of party, 47 A.L.R.2d 1393.

55 C.J.S. Marriage § 16.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 4 cases, 1957–2013 · leading case: Leszinske v. Poole, 798 P.2d 1049 (N.M. Ct. App. 1990).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Leszinske v. Poole, 798 P.2d 1049 (N.M. Ct. App. 1990). · cites it 8× “1984) (defining incest to include marriage or sexual intercourse between uncle and niece and making incest a crime); see also NMSA 1978, § 40-1-7 (Repl.Pamp. 1989) (declaring marriage between uncles and nieces incestuous and void).”
State v. Reed, 306 P.2d 640 (N.M. 1957). · cites it 6× “, upon which the prosecution was based, did not provide a specific penalty for its violation, the offense was punishable under § 40-1-7, 1953 Comp., which provides for imprisonment in the county jail, or by fine, or by both.”
Griego v. Oliver, 2014-NMSC-003, 5 N.M. 320. · cites it 2× “The consanguinity provisions contained in NMSA 1978, Section 40-1-7 (1876, as amended through 2013) that void marriages between a male and certain female relatives and between a female and certain male relatives also suggest that the Legislature did not intend to permit…”
Griego v. Oliver, 2014-NMSC-003. · cites it 2× “The consanguinity provisions contained in NMSA 1978, Section 40-1-7 (1876, as amended through 2013) that void marriages between a male and certain female relatives and between a female and certain male relatives also suggest that the Legislature did not intend to permit…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.