The decision to get a divorce can make you feel as if your life has been turned upside down. The person whom you fell in love with is now behaving like your worst enemy. No individual is truly emotionally prepared for divorce because the spouses can become very petty and hateful. Party's are even less prepared for the length of time it can take to obtain a divorce, or the procedures and documents needed in litigation. Divorce becomes even more complicated when children involved or if there are substantial assets that must be divided.
To get a divorce in Nevada, you or your spouse must have been a Nevada resident for a minimum of 6 weeks. The paperwork must be filed in the county where you live. The type of paperwork to be filed is determined by whether you and your spouse can agree to every aspect of the divorce, including asset division, child custody and visitation, and child support. If you are both amicable enough to be able to agree to everything, then you can file a Joint Petition for Divorce, and it could all be over in a week, or even sooner. But if not, then one of you must file a Complaint about Divorce, which begins a contested proceeding where a family court judge will decide those things for both of you.
Nevada is a community-property state, so a judge will have to take into account whether assets were acquired during the marriage, whether those assets were purchased with community (joint) funds, how much the assets are worth now, and whether the assets should be divided equally.
Nevada law presumes that joint custody is in the best interest of your child(ren). However, there are a dozen or so factors that a judge can consider when deciding custody and visitation arrangements and could prompt that judge to award primary physical custody to one or the other parent. Some of those factors include a child's preference, the presence of violence in the home, financial stability, and even how a parent's parent. It can be just as, or even more complicated than, asset division, especially if a parent is awarded primary physical custody, and the other parent has to pay child support.
The Law Office of Warren G. Freeman, PLLC understands what it's like for somebody to go through a divorce and the mistakes that can be made when you are confronted with complicated procedures that are not easily understood, especially when you are preoccupied with just getting through the day-to-day of an uncertain future. For that reason, if you are seeking a divorce, we strongly recommend that you hire an attorney who knows the ins-and-outs of divorce proceedings and can shoulder the burden of paperwork for you. Contact our office and set up a consultation today, and let Attorney Freeman's knowledge and experience help you get through this tough time in your life.