Family Law
Overview
Hutchison & Steffen offers a complete range of legal services in the practice of family law. The Firm’s attorneys are well-respected by family court judges, mediators, special masters, and practitioners for their experience, family-law knowledge, and aggressive representation of clients. The Firm represents clients in all aspects of family and domestic law, including separation and divorce proceedings, community property division and settlement, adoptions, guardianships, child custody, visitation and support, child abuse, termination of parental rights, spousal support, and domestic violence (including protective orders).
To discuss a divorce, custody, or support matter with a Las Vegas family law attorney at the Firm, call 702.385.2500 in Las Vegas or 775.853.8746 in Reno, or contact Hutchison & Steffen online.
Understanding The Practice
What Is Family Law?
Family law covers the legal side of marriage, parenting, and the household: divorce, custody, child support, spousal support, property division, adoption, guardianship, and protection from domestic violence. In Nevada, most of it runs through NRS Chapter 125 for divorce and support, NRS Chapter 125C for custody, and NRS Chapter 125B for child support, and the cases are heard in the Family Division of the district court in each county. Hutchison & Steffen represents individuals through every part of that process, whether they are filing, responding, or returning to court years later to change an order.
Nevada is one of a small number of states where a divorce can move quickly. A spouse needs only six weeks of residency to file under NRS 125.020, the grounds are no-fault under NRS 125.010, and a couple who agree on every term can file a joint petition under NRS 125.181 and be divorced without a hearing. That speed cuts both ways. Terms agreed to in haste on custody, support, or property become an order of the court, and changing them later requires a showing the law does not always allow.
Hutchison & Steffen is a full-service, AV-rated Nevada law firm with more than 60 attorneys and three decades of practice in the State. Its family law attorneys appear in the Family Division of the Eighth Judicial District Court in Las Vegas and the Second Judicial District Court in Reno, and represent clients in Henderson, Summerlin, North Las Vegas, Sparks, Carson City, and statewide. Firm partners Shannon R. Wilson and Todd L. Moody are among the attorneys who handle these matters.
Two Nevada rules shape most contested divorces. Nevada is a community property state under NRS Chapter 123, and NRS 125.150 directs the court to divide community property equally unless it finds a compelling reason for an unequal division and states that reason in writing. Separate property, meaning what a spouse owned before the marriage or received by gift or inheritance, stays with that spouse, but only if it can be traced. Commingled accounts and a business one spouse ran during the marriage are where the tracing disputes happen.
On custody, NRS 125C.0035 requires the court to decide by the best interest of the child using the statutory factors, and NRS 125C.0025 presumes joint physical custody serves that interest where the parents have agreed to it or a parent has shown an intent to build a meaningful relationship with the child. Under Rivero v. Rivero, a parent must have the child at least 40 percent of the time for the arrangement to count as joint physical custody, and that label controls how child support is calculated and how hard the order is to modify later.
Family matters overlap with other practice areas. A divorce involving a closely held company draws on our Business Law & Commercial Litigation and Corporate & Commercial Law attorneys for valuation and buyout questions. Premarital agreements under NRS Chapter 123A and the trusts that hold inherited property connect to our Asset Protection & Business Planning practice, and disputes over an estate plan changed during or after a divorce are handled with our Trust & Probate Litigation attorneys.
How We Help Nevada Families
Family Law Services
Divorce & Legal Separation
The Firm handles contested and uncontested divorce, joint petitions under NRS 125.181, and separate maintenance actions under NRS 125.190 for spouses who want a court-ordered financial arrangement without ending the marriage. Where the parties can agree, we draft a decree that will hold up. Where they cannot, we litigate the issues that matter and settle the ones that do not.
Child Custody & Visitation
Legal custody, physical custody, parenting time, and holiday schedules are set under NRS Chapter 125C and the best-interest factors in NRS 125C.0035. We also handle relocation requests under NRS 125C.006 and 125C.0065, which require the other parent’s written consent or a court order before a parent moves a child out of Nevada or far enough away to substantially impair the other parent’s time. Shannon R. Wilson explains why custody should be resolved first in the Firm’s video library.
Child Support
Nevada child support is calculated under NAC Chapter 425 as a percentage of the paying parent’s gross monthly income, adjusted for the number of children and the custody arrangement, with deviations permitted for the factors listed in NAC 425.150. We establish support at the outset, pursue modification when income or custody changes, and enforce arrears through wage withholding, contempt, and the other remedies NRS Chapter 125B provides.
Alimony & Spousal Support
Nevada has no formula for alimony. NRS 125.150 lists the factors, including the length of the marriage, each spouse’s income and earning capacity, career sacrifices made during the marriage, and the standard of living the couple established, and leaves the amount and duration to the court. That discretion makes the evidence on those factors decisive, and it is where the Firm concentrates in an alimony dispute.
Community Property & Business Interests
Under NRS 125.150 the court divides community property equally absent a compelling written reason. The Firm traces separate property, values closely held businesses and professional practices, divides retirement accounts and pensions through qualified domestic relations orders, and allocates community debt. Waste of community assets in anticipation of divorce can support an unequal division, and we investigate for it.
Protective Orders, Adoption & Guardianship
Knowing Which Path Applies
How a Nevada Divorce Moves Forward
Nevada offers more than one route to a decree, and the route determines the timeline, the cost, and how much control the parties keep over the result. The table below outlines each path and what it requires.
| Path | When It Fits | What to Expect |
|---|---|---|
| Joint petition for divorce (NRS 125.181) | Both spouses agree on every term, including custody, support, and the division of property and debt | Both spouses sign the petition and a proposed decree; no hearing is required, and the court can enter the decree within weeks of filing once the six-week residency requirement is met |
| Complaint resolved by settlement | One spouse files and the other responds, but the parties are willing to negotiate the open issues | Financial disclosure forms are exchanged, contested custody goes to mediation, and the agreed terms are entered as a stipulated decree, usually over a period of months |
| Contested divorce and trial | Custody, property characterization, business valuation, or alimony cannot be resolved by agreement | Discovery, business valuation where needed, motion practice, and an evidentiary hearing before a family court judge, with the decree subject to appeal; a year or longer is not unusual |
| Post-decree modification | Incomes, work schedules, or the children’s needs have changed since the order was entered | Custody changes require a substantial change in circumstances affecting the child under NRS 125C.0045; support may be reviewed under NRS 125B.145, and a 20 percent change in the paying spouse’s gross monthly income is a changed circumstance for alimony under NRS 125.150 |
| Enforcement | A former spouse is not paying support or complying with the custody schedule | Wage withholding, contempt proceedings, and orders for attorney’s fees, with support arrears accruing interest and remaining collectible |
Protecting the Outcome
When to Involve a Family Law Attorney
The right time to involve a family law attorney is before anything is signed and before either spouse moves out, moves money, or moves the children. Nevada’s six-week residency rule and joint petition process make it possible to finish a divorce quickly, and the terms in that decree, particularly custody labels and property waivers, are difficult to reopen once the court signs. Many of the disputes the Firm’s divorce attorneys litigate began as an agreement one spouse signed to get things over with.
Timing also matters inside a case. A parent who leaves the home without a parenting plan may find that the status quo becomes the schedule. Money moved between accounts after a divorce is contemplated will be scrutinized, and the court can compensate the other spouse for community waste. Counsel early in the process protects the record on each of those points.
This page is educational and is not legal advice. Every family is different, and the outcome of a custody or support matter depends on facts that no general statement can capture. Hutchison & Steffen’s family law attorneys represent clients across Nevada in the Family Division in Las Vegas and Reno, from the first filing through appeal.
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How Long Does a Divorce Take in Nevada?
A joint petition in which both spouses agree on every term can be granted without a hearing, often within weeks of filing, once the six-week residency requirement under NRS 125.020 is met. A contested divorce with custody or property disputes moves through financial disclosures, discovery, mediation, and an evidentiary hearing, and can take a year or more in the Clark County and Washoe County Family Divisions. The number of issues still in dispute drives the timeline more than the court’s calendar does.
Is Nevada a Community Property State?
Yes. Under NRS Chapter 123, property acquired by either spouse during the marriage is presumed to be community property, and NRS 125.150 directs the court to divide it equally unless it finds a compelling reason for an unequal division and sets that reason out in writing. Property owned before the marriage or received by gift or inheritance is separate property, but the spouse claiming it must be able to trace it. A valid premarital or postmarital agreement under NRS Chapter 123A can change these default rules.
How Is Child Custody Decided in Nevada?
Custody is decided by the best interest of the child under NRS 125C.0035, which lists factors including the child’s relationship with each parent, each parent’s ability to cooperate, the child’s physical and developmental needs, any history of domestic violence, and the wishes of a child mature enough to express them. Nevada law prefers joint custody, and NRS 125C.0025 presumes joint physical custody is in the child’s best interest where the parents have agreed or where a parent has demonstrated an intent to build a meaningful relationship with the child. There is no preference for either parent based on sex.
How Is Child Support Calculated in Nevada?
Since February 2019, Nevada child support has been calculated under NAC Chapter 425 as a tiered percentage of the paying parent’s gross monthly income: 16 percent for one child, 22 percent for two, 26 percent for three, and 28 percent for four on the first $6,000 of monthly income, with lower percentages applied to income above that level. When parents share joint physical custody, the court calculates each parent’s obligation and orders the higher earner to pay the difference. Deviations are permitted for the factors in NAC 425.150, including the cost of health insurance and childcare.
Can a Parent Move Out of Nevada With the Children?
Not without the other parent’s written consent or a court order. NRS 125C.006 applies when one parent has primary physical custody and NRS 125C.0065 applies to joint physical custody, and both require consent or permission before relocating outside Nevada or to a place within the State far enough away to substantially impair the other parent’s ability to maintain a meaningful relationship with the child. A parent who moves without it risks a change of custody and an award of attorney’s fees to the other parent.
The information on this page is educational and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship with Hutchison & Steffen. For guidance on a specific matter, contact the Firm at 702.385.2500 in Las Vegas or 775.853.8746 in Reno.