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What are the residency requirements for divorce in Nevada?
You can file for divorce at the district court in any county in Nevada where:
- you live;
- your spouse lives or can be found;
- you and your spouse last lived together; or
- the cause of your divorce happened even if neither you nor your spouse ever lived in Nevada.1
You or your spouse must have lived in Nevada for at least six weeks immediately before you file for divorce. The only exception to this is if the reason for the divorce (the “cause of action”) happened in Nevada while both you and your spouse were living there. In that case, you could have been living there together at any point, not necessarily in the six weeks before filing.1
1 NV ST § 125.020
What are the grounds for divorce in Nevada?
Grounds are legally acceptable reasons for divorce. You can get a divorce in Nevada if:
- you and your spouse live separate and apart for one year without cohabitation;
- you and your spouse are incompatible (can’t get along); or
- your spouse experiences insanity for two years before filing for divorce if there is supporting evidence of your spouse’s insanity (Note: If you are divorced due to your spouse’s insanity, the judge can still find that you may need to support your spouse through alimony.)1
1 NV ST § 125.010
Can I get alimony (financial support) from my spouse as part of a divorce?
If you are in the process of getting a divorce, a judge may order your spouse to provide you with financial support, also known as alimony. A judge can issue a temporary order while the divorce is going on and a final order will last for a certain period of time once the divorce ends.1
Some of the factors that a judge will consider when deciding whether to give you alimony are each spouse’s financial position, income, age, health, earning capacity, your contribution as a homemaker (if applicable), your career before the marriage, the standard of living during the marriage, and how long the marriage lasted.2
The judge can also grant you alimony for the purpose of getting job training or education towards a career, especially if your spouse improved his/her education or career during the marriage and if you financially supported him/her during that time.3
If the paying spouse’s income changes by 20 percent or more, this could be a reason that the alimony amount may be modified (changed).4
1 N.R.S. § 125.150(1)(a)
2 N.R.S. § 125.150(9)
3 N.R.S. § 125.150(10)
4 N.R.S. § 125.150(12)
What are the basic steps for filing for divorce?
While divorce laws vary by state, here are the basic steps that a person may have to follow to obtain a divorce:
- First, you or your spouse must meet the residency requirements of the state you want to file in.
- Second, you must have “grounds” (a legally acceptable reason) to end your marriage.
- Third, you must file the appropriate divorce papers and have copies sent to your spouse. (To learn more about filing a summons, preparing a petition, and service of process, go to the Starting the Court Case page in our Preparing for Court - By Yourself section.) For the exact rules for serving the papers, contact your local courthouse or an attorney.
- Fourth, if your spouse disagrees with anything in the divorce papers, then s/he will have the opportunity to file papers telling her/his side. In his/her response, the other party may express his/her opinion challenging the divorce, asking that it be granted under different grounds or letting the judge know that s/he agrees to the divorce. If your spouse contests the divorce, then you may have a series of court appearances to sort the issues out. Also, if a certain period of time passes and your spouse does not sign the papers or file any papers of his/her own, you may be able to proceed with the divorce as an uncontested divorce anyway. (Speak to a lawyer in your state about how long you have to wait to see if your spouse answers before you can continue with the divorce.)
- Fifth, if there are property, assets, a pension, debts, or anything else that you need divided, or if you need financial support from your spouse, then these issues may have to be dealt with during the divorce or else you may lose your chance to deal with these issues. The issues may be worked out during settlement negotiations and incorporated into the divorce decree or in a series of court hearings during the divorce. Custody and child support may also be decided as part of your divorce.
You can find more information about service of process in our Preparing for Court – By Yourself section, in the question called What is service of process and how do I accomplish it?
Where can I find additional information about divorce in Nevada?
We hope the following links to outside sources may be helpful. Please note that WomensLaw.org is unrelated to the below organizations and cannot vouch for the accuracy of their sites. We provide these links for your information only.
The Nevada State Bar Association has an informational brochure about divorce, with information about grounds, residency requirements, child support, alimony, property division and more.
Clark County Courts offers links to information and divorce forms from the family law self-help center. However, if you are not filing in Clark County, you may want to call the court in which you will be filing to confirm that the forms and information given by the Clark County Courts website apply to your county as well.
You will find more information about divorce, including the risks of taking your children out of state while a divorce is pending, on our general Divorce page. To watch brief videos about divorce in Spanish with English sub-titles, go to our Videos page. Lastly, learn more about the court process on our Preparing for Court – By Yourself page.
