Navigating the Divorce Process in Nevada: A Comprehensive Guide

The first step in filing for divorce in Nevada is to file a complaint for divorce, and the complaint for the divorce is filed with the county clerk's office. Once you do that, you need to have a summons issued. The summons is noticed to the world that a lawsuit is pending upon the issuance of a summons and a filed complaint for divorce. Divorce, then that complaint must be served with the summons upon the opposing party. That can be accomplished by a process server or anyone other than the parties. The divorce process can typically take anywhere from a few weeks to up to a year or longer. It depends on the complexity of the case, the breadth of the issues of the case, and how amicable or angry the parties are with each other. If the parties are capable of working things out and, you know, are relatively amicable and can put their emotions and feelings aside, Generally speaking, matters can resolve relatively quickly through mediation or stipulations and orders. When the parties are not amicable or substantially angry with one another, that oftentimes leads to litigation that can last again, nine months to 12 months or longer. We do have a court rule here in Clark county that requires that domestic matters be resolved within 12 months, but depending on the issues of the case and the complexity, it can last longer than that. The grounds for divorce in Nevada can be abandonment, which is where a spouse lives separate and apart for 12 consecutive months with no financial support or anything else. The most common ground in Nevada is irreconcilable differences, or more commonly known as incompatibility, wherein the party's views, likes, mental dispositions have become so widely divergent that it's no longer possible for them to reside together as husband and wife, and reconciliation is not possible. Assets and debts are divided in a divorce via the concept of community property. Community property means any asset or debt acquired after the moment the parties legally marry. There are four exceptions to community property. The first exception is separate property, which means whatever property you may have brought with you into the marriage. The second exception to community property is inheritance. If a person receives an inheritance from a family member or friend, so long as they don't mix that asset into the marital community, in theory, that asset should remain their own property and wouldn't be divisible upon divorce. The third exception to community property is marital gifts. Marital gifts means assets that are received during the marriage as a result of a gift, like a wedding ring, or if there's a diamond necklace bought for an anniversary present or something like that. The last and final exception to community property is personal injury settlements. Personal injury settlements are separate property so long as they're not commingled into the marital community. One misconception, though, about personal injury settlements is if a claim is also made for lost wages, that piece of a personal injury settlement, specifically the lost wages claim, is a community asset. If your property does not fit into one of those four exceptions I just discussed, then in that circumstance in Nevada, it's all quote unquote 5050 or equally divisible amongst the parties. Each are entitled to.