Nevada Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

Short answer: yes.  The police can decide whether to proceed criminally once they are involved, pretty much no matter what the folks involved wish. That said, if no witnesses show up or provide evidence, it is usually impossible to actually convict a defendant.  This is not really a family law inquiry; you should probably consult criminal defense counsel for what, if anything, either you or your sister should do at this point.... Read More

Since you did not repeat, reference,or attach the prior inquiry, I can't say for sure whether it is one to which I've responded, but I am the Nevada family law responder, and do not believe that I have seen an inquiry in the past 6 days, so I presume that somehow it went astray before ever getting posted; feel free to try again if you wish.... Read More

If anything, the recent changes to Nevada custody law have made it somewhat more difficult to successfully move to relocate children to another State, as explained on our child custody page addressing relocations.  If your husband remains in Nevada, there is no problem with divorce court jurisdiction to proceed here as to all issues, as explained here, but you should definitely consult with a family law specialist about your entire situation -- custody, visitation, support, property, alimony, etc., before relocating or doing anything else that might further complicate your situation.... Read More

Okay, you being the grandparents do have the rights to visitation with your grandchildren. As far as custody is concerned, who has the children right now, what is the age of the children involved and who have them currently? Is there a current court order in place regarding the custody of the children? I can certainly help you with the case and would like you to call me when its convenient for you to go over the details of the case and how best to move forward. In situations like this, it's always better to start the custody process ASAP because the longer one party have the children, that party will have a leverage in winning the upper hand. Feel free to review my profile and see if I am someone you would like to work on this matter with. Above answer and comments to questions are for general purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or establishes an attorney-client relationship without a signed retainer. Please reach out to an attorney you are comfortable with working and discussing your case in more details.... Read More

It sounds from this description that, as a practical matter, you have full custody.  The legal context, and what proceedings exist or are contemplated, is not clear.  Also unclear is whether there is a marriage involved and, if so, whether there was or is a divorce action.  There are too many unknowns to be definitive, and you probably want to have a full consultation with a family law specialist, but in the meantime, you might find useful information about custody, support, and termination of parental rights at the linked web site pages.... Read More

Total income for an active duty service member is among the simplest and easiest to verify kinds of employment.  It is a bit unclear whether you are in the D.A.'s administrative process or regular family court, but either way, the method to alter an incorrect support determination is to file a motion. Background, the current rules, support guidance and levels, and statutory links are here.... Read More

Your inquiry is a little vague in terms of which court you are in (D.A. or regular Family Curt) and the stage of proceedings, or exactly why you think you are not getting a response.  If this was in family court and I represented a party in a case where the other side's employer was not responding to such inquiries, I would ask the court to presume a salary at the highest possible range that the other side's salary might be, and make it the other party's problem to show that the actual amount would be different.  It might make sense for you to confer with a family law specialist.... Read More

It would almost certainly be better for you to direct this question to an Arizona practitioner -- the laws vary from place to place, and if that is where the case is, that is whre you need to seek assistance, even if you live here. That said, as explained in part in the materials posted here, you could "relinquish" your rights under Nevada law, but that would not terminate your support obligations under NV law unless someone went the extra step of filing a formal termination of parental rights action and the court elected to grant it.... Read More

Your case posted to the Nevada questions page.  If your case really is in the state of North Carolina, then any advice in Nevada would be tenuous.  Your facts, either way, are a bit too unclear to respond to -- it is hard to see what "hasn't been a year yet" means -- presumably, that has something to do with a North Carolina waiting period, which we do not have in Nevada. Please clarify your facts and re-post your question to the the correct state; you may get the answer you seek.... Read More

It's a bit unclear whether you are referring to the TPO court or a criminal charge; if the latter, you really should confer with a decent criminal attorney, but a first offense DV typically results, ultimately, in a "stay out of trouble for 6 months" stayed proceeding, perhaps some DV or substance abuse counseling, and ultimately a dismissal.  But to get there, you really should confer with qualified criminal law counsel.... Read More

The facts are not totally clear, but you have several options.  Presumably, the situation you describe is that you are owed $8k from your ex for support of a child.  If so, that sum is probably even greater, as interest and penalties should apply, as explained here and here. As to collection, if he "retired" with a military pension, that can be garnished for back support; see some explanation here.  If he got out of service before serving enough years to earn a pension, all sums can be garnished from his incipient police salary -- and he might be motivated to start making payments since Metro probably will not be pleased to hear that one of its applicants is in contempt of a court order for support.  If you are not sure what to do or how to do it, you should consult with a family law specialist well versed in child support, retirement benefits, and collections.... Read More

There are too many loose threads in that narrative to know precisely what is going on.  There are family law attorneys in town who specialize in CPS matters; you should schedule an in-depth consultation with a family law specialist who has a significant abuse & neglect practice, and go over he full history; at the end of that conversation, you should have a pretty good idea of what options you have to intervene in the pending proceedings, or otherwise.... Read More

Short answer: "no."  Nevada is a no-fault community property state with a presumption of equal division of property accrued during marriage in the absence of "compelling circumstances" (financial) for an alternate distribution.  For detail, an explanation, and links to the relevant statutes, click here.  That said, drug dependence can be a factor in child cutody (if relevant) and although it should not appear in alimony/spousal support calculations, which are also supposed to be "no fault" (see here) it will probably come up anyway.  There may be other peculiar aspects of the tribal connection to the assets, since certain other, special laws apply to tribal property.  You really need an in-depth consultation with a qualified family law specialist to go over all aspects of your situation, and to map out your alternatives and options.... Read More

The question is too vague to answer with precision, but the short version is that, in Nevada, child support arrears do not expire (no "statute of lmitiations" applies) and both interest and penalties continue to accrue until paid.  There is a commission now in place looking at potential changes to the Nevada child support statutes, but it is highly unlikely that any changes made would be retroactive.  You should consult a family law specialist to get an idea of your options.... Read More

The Court (presuming jurisdiction over the case) can enter temporary orders over various subjects, in most circumstances, pending service and appearance of the other party.  If service has not been accomplished, and your process server has completed an affidavit of due diligence, the Court can permit service by publication.... Read More

There is no way to tell from those facts who will be awarded the house.  Theoretically, it could be you, her, the two of you, or the house could be ordered sold and the proceeds divided.  It might be worth your while to have a full consultation with a qualified family law specialist to go over all of the facts surrounding the purchase of the house, the funds used, and many other factors, from which a clearer answer could probably be made.... Read More

Consider calling the Nevada Bar, which maintains a list of attorneys who will take a reduced fee, through the Reduced Fee Panel.  In Southern Nevada the number is 702-382-2200; there is a Northern office as well.  Additionally, there are free consultations offered in both Las Vegas and Reno; you may have to ask the Bar about Reno schedule; volunteer attorneys provide 15-minute consultations, for free, on family law questions.  For those that wish to attempt self-representation, forms are available at the Clark County self-help center website, at http://www.familylawselfhelpcenter.org/; again, there should be a Northern Nevada counterpart.  If not, use the Clark Coiunty forms and modify them.... Read More

You can ask, and there is case law regarding voluntary underemployment/unemployment; you can review much of the applicable law here, but you are better off basing support on actual income, usually.  If there is some evidence of the existence of this side job (affidavits, photos, whatever), and it is not on the payor's Financial Disclosure Form, you could ask the Court to attribute "$X" to that second job, and base support on total income (as it is supposed to be under Nevada law).  You may need the assistance of a family law specialist to put that filing together.... Read More

It is just not possible from that stream of words to see what is really going on.  Youi can review the substantive law regarding child custody and termination of parental rights here and here.  If you think your existing attorney is not doing his/her job correctly, consider getting a second opinion consultation with a qualified family law specialist; if you can't afford that, there are free short appointments with volunteer attorneys at Family Court every Thursday.... Read More

While your question seems to have a couple of extra words in in it,a motion to relocate is opposed with an "Opposition to Motion to Relocate."  Obviously, the best way to file such a motion is to hire a competent family law specialist to do so.  If you cannot or do not wish to, youi can review the substantive law on relocations here, and there is a self-help center with forms to assist you in putting together an opposiiton, which youi can access here.... Read More

It is unclear what sort of "relief" you are asking about.  Presuming that there are orders in place for child or spousal support and you have suffered an income loss of 20% or more, then a motion to modify will probably be entertained.  See the relevant statutes here and here.  The issue will be proof of the falsity of the charges, presumably, because the actual commission of offenses resulting in job loss is generally treated as a voluntary act of underemployment or unemployment that is a basis for denying relief.  If you do not already have it, you will need advice and assistance from a family law specialist well versed in this area of law.... Read More