1) How long does it take to get a divorce?
2) How much is a divorce going to cost?
3) How do I get custody of my child(ren)?
4) Do you offer free consultations?
5) Can I move out of state with my children?
6) How much do I have to pay for Child Support and Alimony?
7) How does physical abuse by my spouse against me affect the court’s custody determination?
8) Can I be on my spouse’s health insurance after our divorce?
9) Do I have any interest in a house/car for which I am not on title?
10) My spouse moved into my house that I purchased prior to marriage.  Does my spouse have any interest in this house?
11) Why is it important to file quickly or file first?

1) How long does it take to get a divorce?

Each case is different and the length a divorce takes depends on the complexity of the case and the acrimony of the parties.  Generally speaking, there are two (2) types of divorce in Nevada: uncontested and contested.  An uncontested divorce means that the parties agree to all of the outstanding issues (eg. Child Custody, Child Support, Division of Marital Assets, Spousal).  Otherwise, the situation is a contested divorce as the parties are not in complete agreement and the case must litigated in Family Court.

In an uncontested divorce, our office takes about a week to prepare the proper documentation to be submitted to the court.  Once the court receives our uncontested divorce package, the judge usually takes about three to four weeks to sign off on the Decree of Divorce.

A contested divorce will take longer unless the parties settle out of court as most cases do.  If a case does go to trial, it will be probably be approximately a year before your divorce is finalized.

2) How much is a divorce going to cost?

The cost of each case is determined mainly by how adversarial the parties are.  If the parties cannot agree on the issues in their case, the costs for attorneys’ fees will increase proportionately to the amount of work that is done.  And, since the divorce process is litigation (lawsuit), the amount of work one parties’ attorneys’ must perform is largely dependent on the other party.  The more litigious your spouse, the more attorneys’ fees it will cost you as our fees in an uncontested divorce are hourly.

3) How do I get custody of my child(ren)?

Please see Child Custody section of our website.

4) Do you offer free consultations?

No, we do not offer free consultations. Our firm is committed to providing our clients a exceptional service and value to our clients and potential clients. Accordingly, this service must be paid for, and the better family law attorneys charge for this service. It's the old adage: you get what you pay for.

5) Can I move out of state with my children?

Generally speaking, in order to move out of state with your children, you must either get the written consent of your spouse or a court order.  These cases are known as a Relocation or simply “Relo.”  A Relo can occur during the divorce process or after the divorce is complete.  Since one spouse typically will not give their written consent, the case must be litigated before a Family Court Judge.  In a Relo, the Judge will look at many factors, the most important being who has primary physical custody, the motives of the party seeking the Relo (ie. is it for a new career opportunity, to be close to family), and whether a reasonable alternative visitation schedule can be fashioned.  For a complete assessment of the chances for success of a Relo, please schedule a consultation with an attorney.

6) How much do I have to pay for Child Support and Alimony?

These answers can be found in the Child Support and Alimony sections of our website.

7) How does physical abuse by my spouse against me affect the court’s custody determination?

Pursuant to statute, domestic violence by one spouse against another spouse or any children of the marriage is a factor that rebuts the presumption of joint physical custody and award the other party primary physical custody.  For a complete discussion, please see the Domestic Violence sections of our website.

8) Can I be on my spouse’s health insurance after our divorce?

The answer is no.  I have not found a health insurance provider that allows for the ex-spouse to be on the policy once a Decree of Divorce is entered.  The best thing to do is to check with your current health insurance provider.  Some clients want their spouse to maintain health insurance through their provider (ie. where a couple has been married for many years, are elderly, and in poor health and therefore has pre-existing conditions).  In this situation, the parties can opt for Separate Maintenance rather than a Divorce which allows the parties for all intensive purposes to live separate lives, but are not legally divorce.

9) Do I have any interest in a house/car for which I am not on title?

The name under which the asset is held is not determinative of who has an interest in that asset.  What is important is whether that asset was purchased during marriage and what source of funds were used to purchase that asset.

10) My spouse moved into my house that I purchased prior to marriage.  Does my spouse have any interest in this house?

If the parties do not have a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement and the house has a mortgage that was paid down with the “owner” spouse’s earnings, then the spouse that moved in has an interest in the house.  Earnings during the marriage are community property and the paying down of a mortgage creates a community property interest in the property which is split pursuant to a complicated formula with the “owner” spouse’s separate property interest.

11) Why is it important to file quickly or file first?

Nevada is a community property state and therefore all assets, as well as all debts belong to the community – to the married couple.  As a result, any liabilities incurred during marriage, such as charges on credit cards, are community debt.  When our firm initiates a divorce proceeding in Family Court, we file a Joint Preliminary Injunction (“JPI”).  This JPI is a court order preventing the other party from incurring expenses outside the ordinary course, meaning the parties can buy groceries and gasoline and other normal expenditure items.  When things get heated between the parties due to an impending divorce, it is very important to get this JPI in place to prevent any party from wrongfully utilizing community funds.