Learn How to File for a Nevada Divorce and What to Expect in Court for Your Hearing

Whether you are living in Nevada or elsewhere, if you want your marriage dissolved, you must first find a lawyer. Even if you and your spouse are both agreed on seeking the divorce, dividing up your joint assets, providing for child support and custody, and other such issues, you will still be going through a legal and fairly technical process.

You also need to find out with precisely which court of which jurisdiction you should file the divorce petition in your county or district – the circuit or the superior court. The quickest way to learn this is to call your local courthouse and inquire with the court clerk's office.

How Do Nevada Divorce Proceedings Begin?

To begin, you have to decide if you will file for a ‘no-fault’ divorce or for a divorce that will likely be contested – one in which your spouse will be charged with responsibility for failure of the marriage.

In Nevada, a ‘no-fault’ divorce could be granted on the grounds of ‘incompatibility,' which is nearly impossible to disprove if one party insists. Another cause, on which both parties obviously must agree, is if you have been living separately from each other for one year without cohabitation. An ‘at-fault’ divorce, recognized as such by the state, is insanity existing for 2 years prior to the commencement of the divorce action.

If you are filing for a 'no fault' divorce, there is obviously no friction between you and your spouse. You can together decide which of you is going to file the initial petition. It does not matter which of you does this task.

If yours is a disputed divorce, now is the time you should also file papers for temporary custody and support if the two of you have children together. Your progeny should not be penalized in the process of your divorce.

You must also maintain documentation of the Service of Process. This shows that your spouse has been served with a copy of the divorce petition and related papers. This can be done officially by serving the papers at his or her lawyer's office (if you know where that is) or in a decent and reasonably private way at home – not publicly, like at their place of work.

Residency Requirements

If you or your spouse is filing for divorce, the divorcing party must establish that you have stayed in the state. This requires being a resident in Nevada for a minimum of 6 weeks before the beginning of the divorce proceeding. A person must also show intent to permanently reside in Nevada when the filing is being made. Residency actually means being physical present in Nevada, although an individual would not be precluded from doing work outside the state while he or she is establishing residency, as long as they are physically a resident of the state.

To verify residency, you must file an Affidavit of Resident Witness as a prerequisite for a divorce proceeding in the state. This Affidavit must be executed by a Nevada resident – someone who has been a Nevada resident for at least 12 months. The person needs to state under oath that he or she is acquainted with the individual applying for the divorce, and personally knows that person to have resided in the state of Nevada for at least 6 weeks prior to the commencement of the divorce action.

At this stage, you have filed one of two most critical documents in any divorce case in any state – the petition or Complaint for Divorce (the other document comes at the end – the Decree of Divorce).

From the grounds for divorce allowable in Nevada, one thing is clear: Nevada is keen to keep its reputation intact as a place where amicable divorces can be quickly executed. The state is equally keen to ensure that marital disputes are resolved before the sanity of either partner becomes subject to legal challenge.

Other Things You Should Know

In the context of distribution of property, Nevada follows "Community Property" regulations. This means that according to the state laws, all types of property acquired at the time you were married will be subjected to division. The court can decide about distribution if you and your spouse are not able to reach an amicable agreement.

On the issue of name restoration, the birth surname can be restored once the court has allowed the divorce.

Nevada laws allow the court to delay proceedings of the case by 60 days, and the advice to the couple is to receive appropriate counseling in this time. The court will order mediation if you or your spouse refuses to concede that there’s been a significant or severe relationship breakdown.

The Nevada court can order alimony that is temporary during the proceedings of the case if it is found necessary and appropriate. The court is allowed to award maintenance to either spouse, both of them, or their children for a duration that is limited or unspecified.

On child custody where there is a minor involved, a court will try to do its best to ensure that the child is able to overcome normal distress. If you and your spouse cannot arrive at a settlement over custody of the child, the court will make the custody ruling as it deems fit. While deciding on the custody of child who is a minor, the court tries to protect the child's best interest.

In Nevada, a divorce court uses the method of Income Percentage to find out how much should be paid by the spouse who did not receive the custody rights as child support. It simply comes to a percentage of the monthly income of the custodial parent, according to the number of children who require support.