Child custody in Nevada

What the law tells the judge to look at

In the order the law lists them.

1. Your child's wishes, if the child is old enough and able to form an intelligent preference about physical custody.NRS 125C.0035(4)(a)
2. Any nomination of a guardian for the child by a parent.NRS 125C.0035(4)(b)
3. Which parent is more likely to allow the child frequent contact and a continuing relationship with the other parent.NRS 125C.0035(4)(c)
4. The level of conflict between the parents.NRS 125C.0035(4)(d)
5. How well the parents can cooperate to meet the child's needs.NRS 125C.0035(4)(e)
6. The mental and physical health of the parents.NRS 125C.0035(4)(f)
7. The child's physical, developmental, and emotional needs.NRS 125C.0035(4)(g)
8. The nature of the child's relationship with each parent.NRS 125C.0035(4)(h)
9. Whether the child can keep a relationship with brothers and sisters.NRS 125C.0035(4)(i)
10. Any history of parental abuse or neglect of the child or a sibling.NRS 125C.0035(4)(j)
11. Whether a parent or other person seeking custody has committed domestic violence against the child, a parent of the child, or anyone living with the child.NRS 125C.0035(4)(k)
12. Whether a parent or other person seeking custody has committed an act of abduction against this child or any other child.NRS 125C.0035(4)(l)

Other things the judge considers

• The judge must write specific findings on these factors, 'among other things'. The only question is the child's best interest.NRS 125C.0035(1), (4)
• Order of preference for physical custody: both parents jointly (or one parent), then a person in whose stable home the child has been living, then a suitable relative, then another suitable person. If a parent asked for joint physical custody and the judge denies it, the judge must give reasons.NRS 125C.0035(3)
• Joint physical custody is presumed not in the child's best interest if a parent cannot care for the child at least 146 days a year, or after a clear and convincing finding of domestic violence.NRS 125C.003(1)
• In cases with alleged domestic violence or child abuse, the judge must consider evidence of the parent's past abuse, such as arrests, convictions, or protection orders. Experts on abuse must have real clinical experience, not only forensic work.NRS 125C.245
• The court may not remove a child from, or limit contact with, a protective and capable parent the child is bonded to just to improve the child's relationship with the other parent, and may not order 'reunification treatment' unless scientifically valid proof shows it is safe and effective.NRS 125C.243

What the judge may not consider

No preference for a parent just because the parent is the mother or the father (NRS 125C.0035(2)). The court may not deny custody or visitation only because a person is deaf, blind, or has another physical disability, or holds a valid medical cannabis registry card (NRS 125C.215).

Joint custody

Yes. The law presumes joint legal custody, and prefers joint physical custody, if the parents agree or a parent has shown (or tried to show, but was blocked by the other parent) an intent to build a meaningful relationship with the child. The court may give joint legal custody without joint physical custody.

Presumption for joint legal custody (NRS 125C.002); 'preference' (not presumption) for joint physical custody under the same conditions (NRS 125C.0025).

The child's wishes

The judge considers the child's wishes if the child is of sufficient age and capacity to form an intelligent preference. The statute sets no age.

Domestic violence

If, after a hearing, the judge finds by clear and convincing evidence that a parent or other person seeking custody committed domestic violence against the child, a parent of the child, or someone living with the child, the law presumes that sole or joint custody by that person is not in the child's best interest. The person can try to overcome this. If both parents committed domestic violence, the judge tries to find the primary physical aggressor. The judge must write findings that the order protects the child and the victim. A similar presumption applies to a parent who committed abduction.

Who has custody before a court order

If no court has decided custody, each parent has joint legal custody and joint physical custody until a court orders otherwise, whether or not the parents were married. But a father who was not married to the mother is a legal parent only after paternity is established. If paternity has not been established (no acknowledgment, no presumption, and no court order), the court may give the mother primary physical custody.

Establishing paternity

How

Both parents can sign a Declaration of Paternity (or Declaration of Parentage). It is usually signed at the hospital, or later at the Office of Vital Records or the Southern Nevada Health District. Once the time to cancel it has passed, it has the same effect as a court order. Either signer can cancel (rescind) it within 60 days after both sign, or before a court or agency case about the child begins if that comes first. After that it can be challenged only for fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact. The District Attorney's child support office can also establish paternity at no cost, or you can file a complaint for paternity in court.

Form

Declaration of Paternity / Declaration of Parentage

Agency

Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health, Office of Vital Records
https://dpbh.nv.gov/programs/birth-death-marriage-divorce-records/birth-death-vital-records-forms/

Changing an order

The court can change a custody order at any time if the child's best interest requires it. To change custody, you must show that the change is in the child's best interest and that there has been a substantial change in circumstances affecting the child's welfare since the last custody order.

Law: NRS 125C.0045(1)(b), (2)

If the other parent does not follow the order

If you are wrongly denied visits, the court can order make-up visits of the same type and length, taken within 1 year at a time you choose (give 7 days' written notice for a regular visit and 30 days for a holiday or vacation). The court can jail for contempt a parent who does not follow a make-up order or does not return the child on time. Every custody order warns that hiding, keeping, or taking a child in violation of the order can be a felony.

Law: NRS 125C.0045(6), 125C.020, 125C.030, 125C.040; NRS 200.359

Grandparent visitation

Yes. Grandparents, great-grandparents, and the child's siblings (other children of a parent) can ask for reasonable visits if a parent has died, the parents are divorced or separated, the unmarried parents lived together and then separated or one died, or a parent's rights ended. Anyone the child lived with and has a meaningful relationship with can also ask. You can ask only if a parent has denied or unreasonably restricted visits, and the law then presumes visits are not in the child's best interest. You must prove by clear and convincing evidence that visits are in the child's best interest, using factors such as your bond with the child, past relationship, health, and the child's preference.

Custody by someone who is not a parent

Before giving custody to someone other than a parent without the parents' consent, the court must find that custody with a parent would be detrimental to the child and that custody with the non-parent is needed for the child's best interest.

Custody and visitation in the order

Yes. A temporary order can grant you temporary custody of your child if the court has jurisdiction under Nevada's custody jurisdiction law. An extended order can also set visitation for the other party, with supervision if needed.

Military parents

Nevada has adopted the Uniform Deployed Parents Custody and Visitation Act, which sets rules for custody during a parent's military deployment, including temporary orders and expedited hearings.

Law: NRS 125C.0601 to 125C.0693

Preventing abduction

Law: NRS 125C.0045(7)-(8) (Hague Convention language in orders; bond if a parent may remove the child abroad)