Can I File For Divorce in Nevada? To be eligible for a divorce in Nevada, a person must be a resident of the State of Nevada. Commonly, people think that to be a resident of a State they must file taxes there, have a valid driver’s license issued from that State, or even simply receive mail in that State to be a resident.
Nevada Revised Statute (NRS) 125.020 states that a person is eligible to file for Divorce in Nevada if that person has resided in the State of Nevada for six (6) weeks before a Complaint for Divorce is filed with the Court. In summary, the only requirement is that a person physically lives within the borders of the State of Nevada the requisite amount of time before they file for divorce.
How does the Court know if you have physically present in the State of Nevada for six (6) weeks? NRS 125.182 requires that a person prove their residency in the State by an Affidavit of Corroboration of Residency known as an “Affidavit of Resident Witness.”
Anyone can be a Resident Witness (other than the filing spouse or the other party to the divorce action) as long as they verify, under oath and subject to the penalty of perjury, that they know the person filing for divorce to be a resident of the State of Nevada and that they have personally seen that person within the borders of the State of Nevada for six (6) weeks before that person filed their Complaint for Divorce.
The Affidavit of Resident Witness is generally required to be filed with the Complaint for Divorce, or shortly thereafter. A Nevada Court will not sign a Decree of Divorce, even if the parties agree to it, unless the Complainant (person who started the divorce) or at least one Co-Petitioner (if the parties are filing a Summary Disposition for Summary Decree of Divorce action) files an Affidavit of Resident Witness with the Clerk of the Court.