Getting a Divorce in Nevada? Divorce Law Cheat Sheet for the State of Nevada
1. What are the residency requirements for filing for divorce in Nevada?
You or your spouse must have lived in the state for at least six weeks before filing. You must file in the county where the actions that led to your divorce took place, the county in which you or your spouse lives, or the county in which you and your spouse last lived together.
2. Does Nevada have a waiting period?
No, there is no waiting period for a divorce in Nevada.
3. Does the state have grounds for divorce?
Yes. You may file for divorce in Nevada based on these grounds:
- Your spouse is insane and has been for at least two years before you file. There must be professional evidence of your spouse’s insanity. You may be ordered to pay.
- Support for the care of your spouse.
- You and your spouse have lived separately for at least one year.
- You and your spouse are incompatible.
You and your spouse may seek a summary dissolution of your marriage, a faster and simpler divorce, if you meet these requirements:
- You and your spouse have lived separately for at least one year or you and your spouse are incompatible.
- You and your spouse have no children together or you’ve prepared an agreement for your child’s custody and support, and the wife is not pregnant.
- You have no community or joint property or you’ve prepared an agreement to divide your assets and debts.
- You both waive spousal support (alimony).
- You both waive rights to hearings and appeals.
- You both seek a divorce.
4. How does Nevada determine the division of property?
You and your spouse are encouraged to come up with a settlement on your own and present it to the court. If you can’t agree, the court will divide your property for you.The court will look at your community property “ anything you and your spouse acquired during your marriage — and divide it in any way that seems most fair.
Property that you had before you were married or income produced by that property remains your own separate property. Property you received as a gift or inheritance also is separate property.
If one of you contributed your separate property toward the acquisition or improvement of your community property (a down payment on something, for instance), the court may order the other to pay reimbursement. In this situation, the court will consider you and your spouse’s intentions when contributing your separate property and how long you were married.
Pension or retirement benefits also may be divided between you and your spouse. The court will look at how long during your marriage you were employed and accruing benefits. Any estimated increase in the value of those benefits as a result of a raise or promotion will not be divided.
5. Does Nevada require mediation before a divorce is granted?
Mediation is not generally a requirement in Nevada. In counties with a population of 100,000 or more, mediation is mandatory when there is a dispute over child custody or visitation (unless there is evidence of domestic abuse in your case).
6. How does the state determine child custody?
Legal custody and physical custody are two different things. Legal custody outlines how involved each parent is in the major decisions of a child’s life — where a child goes to school, what faith he or she is raised in and other biggies. Physical custody addresses where a child will live and with whom. Visitation is then negotiated based your physical custody arrangement.
Nevada’s goal for custody is to ensure that your child has a frequent and continuing relationship with each of you and to encourage you and your spouse to share the rights and responsibilities of raising your child.
Driving that decision is the best interest of your child. The court presumes that joint custody would be in the best interest of your child if you and your spouse agree to it. But to determine your child’s best interest, the court also will consider:
- Your child’s wishes, if the court decides he or she is old enough to establish a preference.
- You and your spouse’s wishes.
- Which of you is more likely to allow the other to have frequent and continuing contact with your child.
- The level of conflict between you and your spouse.
- You and your spouse’s abilities to cooperate to meet your child’s needs.
- You and your spouse’s mental and physical health your child’s physical, developmental and emotional needs.
- Your child’s relationship with each of you.
- Your child’s relationship with his or her siblings.
- Any history of parental abuse or neglect.
- Whether you or your spouse or any other person seeking custody has engaged in domestic violence against your child, the other parent or any other person living with your child.
In deciding whether joint custody is appropriate, the court also may order an investigation into your situations.
If they request it, the court may grant visitation to your child’s great-grandparents and grandparents or to a person with whom your child has lived and developed a close relationship.
In Nevada, if one parent denies the other visitation, the court presumes there is a good reason why. To grant visitation to that other parent, the court will look at:
- The love, affection and other emotional ties between the parent seeking visitation and your child.
- The ability and willingness of that parent to give your child love, affection and guidance; to serve as a role model for your child; to cooperate in providing food, clothing and other material needs for your child during visitation; and to cooperate in providing health care for your child.
- Your child’s previous relationship with that parent, including whether your child lived with the parent seeking visitation and whether your child was included in holidays.
- And family gatherings with that parent.
- That parent’s moral fitness.
- That parent’s mental and physical health.
- Your child’s preference, if the court decides he or she is mature enough to express a preference.
- The willingness and ability of the parent seeking visitation to encourage a close and continuing relationship between your child and his or her other relatives.
- How your child’s medical and health needs would be affected by visitation.
- Whether that parent seeking visitation has helped financially support your child.
- Any other factor the court decides is relevant.
7. How does the state calculate child support?
Nevada bases child support on a percentage of a parent’s gross monthly income. That percentage changes depending on how many children you have. In general, the court follows these guidelines (up to a maximum amount):
- for one child, 18 percent
- for two children, 25 percent
- for three children, 29 percent
- for four children, 31 percent
- for each additional child, an additional 2 percent
The court may adjust this sum based upon the following factors:
- The cost of health insurance.
- The cost of child care.
- Your child’s special educational needs, if any.
- Your child’s age.
- Whether you or your spouse is legally obligated to support anyone else.
- The value of any services you or your spouse provides for your child.
- If the wife is pregnant, any reasonable related expenses.
- The cost of transportation for your child to and from visitation if the custodial parent moved with your child.
- The amount of time your child spends with each of you.
- Any other necessary expenses for the benefit of your child.
- You and your spouse’s relative incomes.
Your support order will specify that one or both of you are required to provide medical support for your child (health insurance premiums, copays, deductibles, etc.) and any details about that responsibility.
8. How does the state determine and calculate alimony?
Alimony is not a standard part of a divorce case, but either you or your spouse may request it. In determining whether to award alimony and how much, the court will consider:
- You and your spouse’s financial conditions.
- You and your spouse’s property and its value.
- What contributions you each made to your property while you were married.
- How long you were married.
- You and your spouse’s incomes, earning capacities, ages and health.
- Your standard of living during your marriage.
- Your career before you were married.
- Whether you or your spouse has any specialized education or training or the level of marketable skills you each attained during your marriage.
- Any contributions you or your spouse made as a homemaker.
- The property awarded you in your divorce, excluding child support.
- You and your spouse’s physical and mental conditions as they relate to your financial condition, health and ability to work.
- Your spouse’s ability to pay.
- Whether you need to obtain training or education to get a job (the court may set a time frame for getting this education or training).
- Whether the spouse who would pay alimony obtained greater job skills or education during your marriage and whether the spouse who would receive alimony provided financial support during that time.
In addition to any other alimony granted by the court, you may be awarded money to provide for:
- Testing of your job-related skills.
- Evaluation of your job-related abilities and goals.
- Guidance in establishing a specific plan for training or education.
- Subsidization of an employer’s costs in training you.
- Help in searching for a job.
- Payment toward the cost of tuition, books and fees for education that will help you land a job.
Alimony ends if either of you dies or the one receiving it remarries.
9. Is there a waiting period before remarriage in Nevada?
No, you are free to remarry after the court delivers the final judgment ending your marriage.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Nevada’s state statutes can be found online at www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-125.html.
You can visit the Division of Welfare site here.
