Las Vegas Child Custody Attorney

In the State of Nevada the presumption is for the parties to have joint legal custody, which essentially means that both parties have the right to be part of the decision-making process in matters such as education, health care, and other important decisions involving the minor child. Sole legal custody is very rare in Nevada, and may only be considered if one party has had absolutely no involvement with the minor child, the other party is a serious felon, mentally impaired, or does not desire any legal custody rights.

A growing trend in the State of Nevada is to give two fit parents shared physical custody of the minor child(ren). In this situation, both parents have a roughly equal timeshare with the minor child(ren). However, it is also possible that one party would receive primary physical custody of the minor children, in which case that party would have a greater timeshare with the child(ren). However, if there is no agreement to give one party primary physical custody, then a hearing in court will be required in order to determine that the best interest of the child would be served with a primary physical custody arrangement.

In any case where the parties have children, both parties must attend a Court-mandated class, "Coping with Divorce," prior to the finalization of the divorce. Allocation of tax deductions, timeshare/visitation schedules and parenting plan details must also be resolved. However, if the parties cannot agree to any or all of these items, then the court will resolve these issues for the parties.