Divorce in Nevada

Residency Requirements and Grounds for Divorce

Residency Requirements and Grounds for Divorce

Either you or your spouse must be a resident of Nevada for at least six weeks to file for a divorce. The person that files for divorce must also provide a witness who lives in Nevada and can testify that he or she knows that you or your spouse have lived in Nevada for at least six weeks.

In Nevada, there are three grounds upon which a divorce may be granted. They are:

Irreconcilable differences
Insanity for two years prior to the divorce action
Spouses living separate and apart for more than one year.

Allegations of such things as adultery, mental cruelty and such are not necessary in order to obtain a divorce in Nevada.

The legal divorce process begins when one spouse files a petition for divorce in any of the following counties:

Where the cause for divorce occurred
Where the nonfiling spouse resides or may be found
Where the filing spouse resides
Where the spouses last cohabited

In Nevada, there is not a waiting period before you can get a divorce. Most paperwork is reviewed and a divorce is granted within one to two weeks, if the paperwork is complete.

Dividing the Property

Nevada is a community property state, which means that any property acquired during the marriage is treated as being owned by both you and your spouse. The courts try to divide the community property equally. A spouse's separate property, which is property acquired before the marriage and property acquired by gift or inheritance, is awarded to that spouse.

Property that is considered "separate property:"

Assets you had before you married may be considered non-marital or "separate property" if you kept that property separated from property acquired during the marriage
The income produced by a separate property investment may also be non-marital property, as long as it hasn't been "commingled" - mixed together with marital property
Property you inherit from your family during your marriage will generally be considered your own separate property if it was willed exclusively to you and you did not commingle it with marital property during the marriage

You and your spouse may have a written agreement that indicates how matters should be handled if the marriage ends. The separation agreement is a contract listing and describing the spouses' decisions about ownership of real estate, dividing property, financial support and, if children are involved, even issues of custody and parenting time.

It is important to collect all the information you can about all your property, including when you purchased it, approximately how much it is worth, and details such as account numbers, serial numbers and so forth. Collecting this information before you see a Nevada divorce lawyer can save you a lot of time and money.

Alimony

A court may order alimony, as it deems reasonable, to either party in Nevada. In deciding whether to award alimony, a court will generally consider such factors as:

The relative earnings and earning capacities of the spouses
The ages and health of the spouses
The length of the marriage
Whether a spouse has been out of the work force for a long time
The relative education of the parties and the time necessary to acquire sufficient education or training to enable the party seeking alimony to find appropriate employment
The relative assets and liabilities of the parties
The relative needs of the parties

Alimony or spousal support is not based upon any asserted fault of either of the spouses. A court can order temporary maintenance while the divorce is pending.

Child Custody and Visitation

In Nevada, the court will make child custody decisions based upon the best interests of the child.

If parents do not decide on custody and visitation, a court will make the decisions for them. In making a custody decision, the court will consider the Nevada Child custody Guidelines. Some additional factors that the court may consider are:

Ability of each spouse to raise the children
What would be the most stable environment for the child

Custody rights may change due to many events such as a change in employment, residence or marital status.

Child Support

In Nevada, generally the spouse who has primary custody of a child is awarded child support. Ordinarily, the minimum per child is $100 per month and the maximum per child is $500 per month. The exact amount is calculated as a percentage of the non-custodial spouse's gross monthly income.

A deviation from this amount may occur if any of the following need to be compensated for:

Day care costs
Cost of providing medical insurance
Visitation expenses
Non-custodial spouse's responsibility to support other children

A Nevada child support order may be reviewed and adjusted, if warranted.

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