Divorce Laws in Nevada
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If there is one state in America associated with quick marriages and even quicker divorces, it is Nevada. On the average there are over 120,000 marriages performed every year in Nevada. Most popular are the drive-though chapels that can be found in Las Vegas.
To get a divorce, you only have to be a resident of Nevada for six weeks. Nevada was one of the first states to have such lax divorce laws. An entire industry sprung up around the concept that women or men could spend a six week vacation in Nevada then file for divorce. They still qualified even if they weren’t married in Nevada or planned to leave after the six weeks. That six week rule still applies to this day.
Types of Nevada Divorce
The easiest way to dissolve a marriage in Nevada is with an uncontested divorce. The requirements for an uncontested divorce are if there are no minor children involved or any babies on the way, if there is no community property, if the couple has been living in different residences for up to a year, if they’ve worked out any support arrangements and, most importantly, if both spouses want the divorce to go through.
A contested divorce sets up a legal battle requiring a court trial. That’s when one side of the marriage wants to put up a fight as to the reasons for the divorce or with issues regarding custody or alimony payments. These types of divorces are more costly because of the number of billable hours a divorce lawyer can rack up.
A no-fault divorce can be awarded only when the judge deems that the couple is completely incompatible or they’ve lived apart for an extended period of time. A fault divorce is only granted when one spouse can prove the other is actually insane and has been for at least two years.
Nevada Property Distribution
Nevada has deemed itself a communal property state. This means that if an agreement can’t be reached between the spouses, the court with divide all the property and assets 50/50. This applies only to the assets obtained during the course of the marriage. A judge can consider different factors such as if one spouse paid for improvements on a house or boat.
Nevada Alimony Laws
A Nevada divorce judge can award alimony payments to either spouse. One of the factors they consider is if the spouse who is going to pay the alimony actually improved their financial status due to education or training that happened during the marriage. This matters especially if the person receiving the alimony was the one who paid for the school or training. The perfect example is when a wife works to pay for a husband going to medical school.
Nevada Child Custody Laws
The primary concern with awarding custody in a divorce case is what the best interests of a child are. To determine that, a judge will consider what the child wants, where is the better living space for them, how much disruption will a change of environment cause, how the parents are getting along and whether or not there has been any record of abuse.