Click here to print a list of LEGAL TERMS & DEFINITIONS

Who Can Recover Child Support?
By statute, “the physical custodian of a child may recover from the parent without physical custody, a reasonable portion of the cost of care, support, education and maintenance provided by the physical custodian. In the absence of a court order, the parent who has physical custody may recover not more than 4 years’ support furnished before the bringing of the action.”
NRS 125B.030

Are There Any Fees for Recovering Child Support?
Sometimes. Effective October 1, 2007, in accordance with the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, Public Law 109-171 and Chapter 425 of the Nevada Revised Statutes, the Division of Welfare and Supportive Services shall impose an annual $25 fee for each child support case in which the custodian has never received public assistance and the state has collected at least $500 in child support during the federal fiscal year, October 1st to September 30th. Click here for additional information.

How Does the Physical Custodian of Minor Children Get Court Ordered Child Support From the Noncustodial Parent(s)?

Every child has the right to support from both parents - it does not matter whether the parents are divorced, separated or were never married. Each parent has a legal obligation to provide for the maintenance, health care, education and support of their minor children (for purposes of child support, generally a child is considered to be a minor until he or she reaches 18 years of age).

The person with physical custody of minor children (that is, the adult with whom the minor children live for more then 50% of the time) can obtain a court order for child support from the non-custodial parent(s) several different ways:

• Child support may be ordered/agreed to in a Divorce or Separate Maintenance action.
• Child support may be ordered (temporarily) as part of an Extended Protection Order.
• Child support may be ordered though an enforcement or establishment action brought by the Churchill County District Attorney Child Support unit on behalf of the custodial parent or non-parent/custodian.
• Child support may be ordered/agreed to in a civil Paternity action.

Do I Need An Attorney To Obtain A Child Support Order?
Although it is usually advisable to seek legal assistance on child support matters, it is not necessary. The Churchill County District Attorney Child Support Division can assist a physical custodian of minor children in obtaining child support orders. In addition, a lawyer is not required but recommended to obtain a divorce or separate maintenance decree; anyone may represent himself or herself in Family Court (by proceeding “in proper person”), and obtain an order of child support through either action.

Divorce
In a divorce action, a court order (the divorce decree) should settle all matters relating to the marriage, including the division of community property, the custody, visitation and support of the couple’s minor children, and termination of the marriage relationship.

Separate Maintenance
In a separate maintenance action, the court may settle most of the matters relating to the marriage, including the division of certain community and/or separate property of either spouse and the custody, visitation and support of the couple’s minor children, short of terminating the marital relationship.

Extended Protection Order
An applicant for an Extended Protection Order may be granted a temporary order for child support. If another family law action is pending, this temporary order will last for 60 days; if there is no other pending family law matter, the order may last for as long as the protection order remains in effect, which could be up to one year.

What If I Was Never Married To the Father/Mother of My Child?
The parents of a child do not have to be married to one another in order to be held legally responsible to support their child.

• If you are the father of the child, you may ask the Churchill County District Attorney, Child Support Division to obtain child support from the mother, even if you were never married to her, so long as you have custody of your child.

• If you are the mother of the child and if paternity is not an issue, you may ask the Churchill County District Attorney, Child Support Division to obtain child support from the father.

• If you are the mother of the child and paternity is denied by the alleged father, there are at least two different ways you can seek to have a court determine whether the alleged father is the actual father of your child and responsible to pay child support. Otherwise, you may ask the Churchill County District Attorney Child Support Division to start a paternity/establishment action for you.  Child Support does not charge a fee for its services.

• If you are the non-parent, physical custodian of a child, you may ask the Churchill County District Attorney, Child Support Division to obtain an order directing the parent to pay child support.

How Is The Amount Of Child Support Determined?
In Nevada, either parent may be ordered to pay temporary or permanent child support. Nevada law contains specific guidelines for the correct amount of child support to be awarded. In determining the amount of child support, the court considers the following statutory formula:

• 1 child, 18% of the parent’s gross monthly income;
• 2 children, 25%;
• 3 children, 29%;
• 4 children, 31%;
• For each additional child, an additional 2% of the parent's gross monthly income (before taxes) is added.

Generally, Nevada law presumes that these percentages of the non-custodial parent’s gross monthly income will be sufficient to support a child, however, the minimum amount of support that will be awarded is $100.00 per month, per child, and the maximum amount of support that will be awarded is up to $907.00 per month, per child. Moreover, a court may adjust the amount of support for a child upon specific findings of fact concerning the following:

• The cost of health insurance for the child;
• The cost of child care for the child;
• Any special educational needs of the child;
• The age of the child;
• Any responsibility of either parent to support other persons;
• The values of services contributed by either parent;
• Any public assistance paid to support the child;
• Any pregnancy and confinement expenses of the mother;
• Any travel expenses related to the child visiting the parents;
• The amount of time the child spends with each parent;
• The relative or comparative income of each parent; and
• Any other necessary expenses of the child.

How Long Does The Obligation To Pay Child Support Last?
Generally, a non-custodial parent must pay child support until the child reaches 18 years of age. However, if the child is still in high school, the obligation to pay child support will continue until the child’s graduation from high school or until the child’s 19th birthday, whichever occurs first. In addition, if a child was handicapped before his or her 18th birthday, support may be ordered until the child is no longer handicapped or until the child becomes self-supporting. A non-custodial parent’s obligation to pay child support will stop if a child is emancipated by judicial order, or if the child is legally adopted into another family.

Can An Order For Child Support Be Changed?
Most child support orders are fair and reasonable at the time they are entered, however, the circumstances of people’s lives often change. An order for child support may be modified every three years or upon a material change in circumstances. Either parent may petition in Family Court for a modification of child support. If the Churchill County District Attorney Child Support Division is handling your child support enforcement or payment processing, they will also seek review of a child support order upon the request of either parent.

Even Though Child Support Was Ordered, the Noncustodial Parent Is Not Making Payments. How Can I Enforce An Order For Child Support?
An order to pay child support, like any other order of a court, must be obeyed. A willful failure to obey a lawful court order constitutes a contempt of court. Contempt of court may be punished by a fine and/or imprisonment.

A custodial parent may seek to enforce the child support order by filing a Motion to Show Cause. This motion requires a noncustodial parent to “show cause” to the Court why he or she should not be found in contempt of court for failing to pay child support, as ordered. You ask the Child Support office to enforce the child support order by filing a motion with the court containing an affidavit, which is a sworn statement you make under penalty of perjury, setting out the facts that demonstrate the other party’s failure to comply with the terms of the child support order. Although it is usually advisable to seek legal assistance on child support matters, it is not necessary to have a lawyer to file this Motion.

Another way to enforce child support is to ask the Child Support office to issue a wage attachment or income withholding order. If a noncustodial parent is more then 30 days overdue on child support payments, the Court will issue an order garnishing the noncustodial parent’s wages, so that payments will be withheld from his or her paycheck and sent to you. If the noncustodial parent has income from other sources (such as rent, royalty or interest payments) the court may order an attachment of this income to pay child support. In addition, the court may place a lien on the noncustodial parent’s real or personal property that requires that the proceeds of the sale of any such property be secured to pay his or her overdue child support obligations.

The Churchill County District Attorney Child Support Division will assist the custodial parent in obtaining child support by these and other methods. Moreover, they can help locate a missing noncustodial parent and can process out-of-state support payments on behalf of the custodial parent.