Is there Alimony in Nevada?

It actually surprises me how often I hear “I was told there is no alimony in Nevada.” This is completely incorrect. There is alimony in Nevada and it is consistently ordered in divorce cases. 

NRS 125.150 discusses, among other things, the factors a Court is to consider in determining whether alimony is appropriate. Those factors are:

 (a) The financial condition of each spouse;

(b) The nature and value of the respective property of each spouse;

(c) The contribution of each spouse to any property held by the spouses pursuant to NRS 123.030;

(d) The duration of the marriage;

(e) The income, earning capacity, age and health of each spouse;

(f) The standard of living during the marriage;

(g) The career before the marriage of the spouse who would receive the alimony;

(h) The existence of specialized education or training or the level of marketable skills attained by each spouse during the marriage;

(i) The contribution of either spouse as homemaker;

(j) The award of property granted by the court in the divorce, other than child support and alimony, to the spouse who would receive the alimony; and

(k) The physical and mental condition of each party as it relates to the financial condition, health and ability to work of that spouse.  

Ok. So what do these factors mean?  If you are like many of my clients, you just want to know how much the check will be (regardless if you are paying or receiving). Unfortunately, it is not that simple. Nevada Alimony laws are very nebulous and the case law varies greatly, and is consistently changing. This is one area of Nevada law that is very difficult to predict, thus making it difficult to litigate. Unlike child support, there is no magic formula. In my experience, the two most important factors that the Court’s consider is the length of the marriage and the financial condition of each spouse.

General rule of thumb (although by no means is this the law in Nevada) is 1/3 to 1/2 the length of the marriage, and the amount being between 20% to 40% of the difference in the parties’ incomes. The other factors are relevant to argue an increase or decrease in the amount and term. 

As an example, if a spouse was a stay at home parent and served as the “homemaker”, they have an argument to receive more alimony than a spouse who worked during the marriage. The thought being they have less employability post-divorce, thus less ability to earn their own income. Now, with that being said, this does not mean the receiving spouse gets to just not work. In fact, showing attempts to gain employment even during the separation while the divorce is on-going is very important. 

In this scenario, the issue of rehabilitative alimony may also come in to play. Rehabilitative alimony is separate, or rather, in addition to, traditional alimony as its focus is to rehabilitate the

spouse and provide for their education to assist them in being able to earn an income.

NRS 125C.150(11)(c) discusses rehabilitative alimony and states as follows:

 (c) The spouse who is the recipient of the alimony may be granted, in addition to any other alimony granted by the court, money to provide for:

           (1) Testing of the recipient’s skills relating to a job, career or profession;

          (2) Evaluation of the recipient’s abilities and goals relating to a job, career or profession;

          (3) Guidance for the recipient in establishing a specific plan for training or education relating to a job, career or profession;

          (4) Subsidization of an employer’s costs incurred in training the recipient;

         (5) Assisting the recipient to search for a job; or

        (6) Payment of the costs of tuition, books and fees for:

(I) The equivalent of a high school diploma;

(II) College courses which are directly applicable to the recipient’s goals for his or her career; or

(III) Courses of training in skills desirable for employment.

If you have any questions in regards to Nevada Alimony laws, contact the Law Offices of Andriea A. Aden, Esq. today at 775-622-9245 or at [email protected].