Child Support Lawyer

Las Vegas Nevada Attorney

Going through a divorce can turn your life and your children’s lives upside down. The last thing you need is a cold or detached lawyer. My Law office, R. Nathan Gibbs, Ltd. is dedicated to helping clients out of the whirlwind of emotions associated with child support and back onto stable financial footing.

One of the most emotional decisions to be made in a divorce is that of child custody and the resulting child support. Child custody is best determined by consent of the divorcing parties. However, if they cannot come to a mutually agreeable arrangement, the courts will make a decision in the best interests of the child. In Nevada, temporary and permanent child support may be ordered to be paid by either parent. Temporary support is support provided to the child for the duration of the divorce and/or child custody and child support proceedings. It is temporary support, not permanent.

The spouse that retains custody is known as the custodial parent. Since the custodial parent is generally the one providing housing and making most of the legal decisions regarding the child, the courts often award child support payments to this parent. Therefore, the non-custodial parent is usually ordered to pay the child support to help cover the costs associated with rearing the common child.

The best interest of the child is first and foremost in the eyes of the Nevada courts. Even if the non-custodial parent moves out of state, they are still required to pay child support in order that the children of the marriage can remain as financially stable as possible. The Nevada Family Law code uses guideline percentages to calculate child support payments. These guidelines are based on the non custodial parent’s income and vary depending on the number of children and any special needs the child may have. Income that is considered includes:

• salary
• commissions
• retirement benefits
• trusts
• dividends
• gifts
• other types of income.

How is Nevada child support determined?

There are official Nevada Child Support guidelines, designed to be in the best interests of the child, that the courts use to help determine the correct amount of child support. These will be followed, unless both parents agree to an amount that’s at least equal to that calculated by the guidelines. The court reserves the right to determine that the Nevada Child Support Guidelines are unjust in a specific case due to the following considerations:

• the cost of health insurance
• the cost of child care
• special educational needs of the child
• the age of the child
• responsibility of either parent to support other individuals
• the value of the services the parents contribute
• public aid paid to the child
• pregnancy expenses
• travel expenses related to the child visiting the parents
• the amount of time the child spends with each parent
• the relative income of each parent
• any other necessary expenses

The Guidelines generally direct that support equal the following percentages of the gross monthly income of the parent paying child support.

• One child 18%
• Two children 25%
• Three children 29%
• Four children 31%
• Each additional child, an additional 2% of the parent's gross monthly is added, but the total will not exceed more than $500/child per month

At what age do child support payments end?

Generally, the obligation ends when the child reaches eighteen years of age unless the child is still in high school - in which case the support ends upon the child's graduation from high school, or the child's nineteenth birthday, whichever occurs first.

Wage garnishment for child support payments:

Most states, including Nevada, have a provision for withholding child support directly from the earnings of the parent who has been ordered to provide support. It is withheld much like income tax is withheld from earnings payments. This way of paying and receiving child support is generally easier for both parties and considered a very dependable solution. The way it typically works is, once the support is withheld, it is then sent to the state agency authorized to receive and disburse payments. Once it has been verified that the support was paid, it is then sent to the parent designated to receive the support.

IF YOU ARE AWARE OF A COURT ORDER AWARDING YOU CHILD SUPPORT AND/OR SPOUSAL SUPPORT AND YOU ARE OWED AT LEAST $2,000 IN PAST DUE CHILD OR SPOUSAL SUPPORT, CONTACT US IMMEDIATELY FOR SUPPORT IN COLLECTING WHAT IS OWED TO YOU.