Family Law Definitions

Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) - A settlement process that happens outside of the view of the court.  Arbitration, mediation, negotiation or collaborative law are all types of ADR.  If the parties reach an agreement then they can present the agreement to the court.  Parties in a family law matter are encouraged to go through ADR. 

Affidavit - A written statement used in court proceedings that a person swears under oath before a notary publics.   Common affidavits used in divorce or family law are “Affidavit of Resident Witness” and  “Affidavit of Plaintiff in Support of Temporary Orders”.

Affidavit of Service -  See Affidavit, Service or Service of Process.

Alimony -  Sometimes referred to as spousal support.  Alimony is income paid from one spouse to another spouse in periodic payments or sometimes in a lump sum.  Payments are tax deductible to the payor and included in the payee's taxable income.

Annulment - A ruling by the court that a 'marriage', retroactively, was never legally valid or is void.  

Answer -  The Answer is the paperwork, or Pleading, filed by a defendant as a response to a Complaint filed in a lawsuit.  An Answer  responds to each allegation in the Complaint by denying or admitting it. Defendants must file an Answer and included a Counterclaim within 20 days of being Served the Complaint.  

Appeal - An appeal is a review by Nevada’s Supreme court of a lower court’s ruling.   Appeals are not automatic and after the lower court’s judgment, the moving party (appellant) must file a notice of appeal and ask the Supreme Court to reverse or uphold the decision of the lower court.

Best Interest of the Child - This is the  primary legal standard that the Nevada courts use to make decisions regarding child custody or child support.   The judge will use this standard in making many of the decisions concerning children in a divorce or family law matter.  

Case Management Conference (CMC) - A court hearing between both parties, the attorneys, and  judge to set a schedule for the trial.  The attorneys and judge agree on dates for FMC, Discovery, and a trail date. 

Child Support - Payments agreed to, or ordered by the court, to be paid by one parent to the custodial parent of a child(ren).  Payments are not tax deductible by the payor parent and not considered by the IRS as taxable income by the payee parent.

Clerk of the Court -  The official administrative office that controls and is responsible for the administration of the  judges,  court staff, documents submitted to the court, calendars and Court Docket.

Collaborative Divorce - See Alternate Disputer Resolution (ADR)

Community Property - A labeled placed on property, assets or income that upon a divorce will be equally divided between the divorcing couples. Some types of property such as gifts, inheritance and personal injury awards may be identified as Separate Property.  Additionally divorcing couples will need to be concerned with Community Debt, which is debt that will be equally divided between the divorcing couple.

Complaint - A Complaint is the paperwork that initiates a divorce proceeding.  The Complaint is filed by the Plaintiff with the Clerk of the Court, identifies the other party and states the claims against the Defendant.  In a divorce or family law legal matter the Complaint will typically state  the grounds for divorce, and request a resolution to custody, support and property division issuses.  All Complaints must be submitted to the Clerk of the Court, and  Served on the Defendant with a Summons.

COPE Class -  Pursuant to Nevada Laws divorcing couples who have children, must complete a COPE class, or obtain a waiver, before a final divorce decree can be entered.  The COPE Class is intended to teach couples parenting skills to help with their children as they react to parents no longer together.

Counterclaim - Allegations or claims, if any,  that the Defendant includes in their Answer to a Complaint.

Court Order -  See Order.

Custody and Visitation - See Physical Custody

Defendant -  The party in a legal matter that has been sued. The party filing the lawsuit is called a Plaintiff.  There is little significance in who is the Defendant or Plaintiff.  Both defendant and plaintiff are provided equal opportunity to present their case to the court. 

Depositions - A formal questioning of parties or witnesses.  Used for information gathering, depositions allow an attorney to ask questions of which the answers can be used at the hearing of in a trial. 

Divorce Decree - The paper signed by the judge which details the final determination of all matters disputed in a divorce proceeding.

Discovery - Is the process of  gathering information and evidence to present during trial or a hearing.   The primary discovery methods are  1) Depositions 2) Interrogatories 3) Request for Production of Documents 4) Request of Admissions.   Discovery deadlines are scheduled at the Case Management Conference.

Evidentiary Hearing - See Trial

Ex Parte Motion - Ex Parte means without notice to the opposing party.   Standard motions are served upon the opposing party and or opposing attorney.  An Ex Parte Motion is sent directly to the judge for a decision.  

Expert Witness - During a trail of hearing an experts may be called to testify as to the value of the marital home or value of privately-held businesses. In child related matters family therapist and child psychologists often provide expert testimony.

Family Court - Clark County has a specific court to handle family related legal matters.   The Family Court located at 601 N. Pecos, Las Vegas, NV and is part of the Eighth Judicial District Court System.

Family Mediation Center (FMC) -  Under Nevada Law every legal matter where the parenting plan involving a minor child under the age of 18 is unresolved shall be ordered to attend mediation  in an attempt to reach an agreement on the Parenting Schedule.   FMC will provide mediators to help both parents agree to a custody and visitation plan that is in the “Best Interest of the Child”. FMC will not mediate child support or financially related issues. Clark County’s Family Mediation Center is located at  601 North Pecos Road, Ste. ADG-450 Las Vegas, Nevada 89101-2408.

Filing - A term used to describe the submitting of a legal document to the Clerk of the Court. 

Final Judgment - See Order.

Grounds for Divorce - Each state's divorce statutes set forth certain improper or troublesome behavior that constitutes a 'legal reason' for the court to grant a divorce.

Interrogatories - A document used during Discovery containing questions regarding the case.  You are required to answer the questions to the best of your knowledge and return your answers to the opposing party of opposing attorney. 

Joint Preliminary Injunction (JPI) -  A document  filed with the Complaint and Summons that warns both parties and Orders both parties not to take certain actions during the divorce proceeding.   Typical warnings include that neither party can sell, encumber or destroy community property.   That neither party can remove children from the state of jurisdiction and that neither party is to harass or intimidate the other party.  Violating a JPI is serious and you can be held in contempt of court.

Joint Petition - When both parties agree to all issues such as child custody, child support and property division they may apply to court jointly for the court to dissolve the marriage.  A joint petition is quicker and simpler than a contested divorce. 

Legal Assistant - A staff member of a law office or firm performing general clerical tasks to help the attorney or Paralegal. 

Legal Custody -  One of two types of custody that are determined in a child custody matter.   Legal Custody is the authority to make decisions regarding a child’s’ healthcare, education, and religion.  The types of Legal Custody are joint or primary.  Joint custody means the parties share in these decisions while primary means one spouse has exclusive right to make the decisions in this area.  See Physical Custody.
Marital Settlement Agreement -  A legally binding agreement settling all matters pertaining to a marriage a divorce.  Typical agreements decide each issue such as property, child custody, child support, alimony and other issues that a court would decide before issuing a divorce decree.   Different than a prenuptial agreement in the agreement is executed after parties are married but before they divorced.

Minutes - The documentation of conversations and proceedings that are registered by a court reporter  in court. 

Motion - A motion  is a document that a Plaintiff or Defendant may file during the divorce proceeding to ask the court for specific relief.  The motion provides the court  the moving party’s version of the facts and issues.   When a Motion is filed and served, the opposing party has ten days to respond by filing an Opposition .  The opposition will provide the court the opposing version of the facts and issues.  The court will schedule a date for both parties to appear in court and to make a final decision.   Numerous motions may be filed during a divorce or child custody case.  Typical motions may include decisions regarding child custody, child support, the sale of a property, the sale of a business, etc.  

Nevada Revised Statutes -  The written laws of Nevada developed by state legislatures.   NRS statutes regarding divorce or family law matters in Nevada are covered in NRS Chapters 122 thru 130.

Opposition - An opposition is a document filed in response to the opposing party’s motion.  The opposition provides the judge your version of the facts and issue.  See Motion. 

Order; Court Order- A document signed by the judge detailing the final decision regarding the legal matters presented to the court. Anyone who violates the court order  could be held in contempt of court. 

Paralegal - Someone who is trained  to provide legal assistance to the attorney.  Paralegals cannot provide legal advice and are usually capable of drafting simple legal documents for the attorney to review, organizing discovery requests, and providing case status to the client.

Parenting Schedule or Parenting Plan - A schedule detailing the dates, times with which parent  the child(ren) will reside.  The plan may also provide guidelines and expectations  regarding drop off locations, times and schedule exceptions.   View typical Parenting Plan.

Pleading - The name given to a formal written document filed with a court by parties in litigation such as a Complaint, Answer, Motion, or Opposition. 

Plaintiff - The party in a legal matter that initiates the law suit.  The party being sued is called a Defendant.  There is little significance in who is the Defendant or Plaintiff.  Both defendant and plaintiff are provided equal opportunity to present their case to the court. 

Physical Custody - Relates to the physical location of the child. The types of custody are primary custody, primary custody with visitation, or joint custody. If a child resides with a parent more than 61% of the time then the custody is considered to be at least primary custody with visitation.  If the child resides with both parents equally then the custody is considered joint custody.

Pro Se -  Refers to a person representing himself or herself without a lawyer  in a court  proceeding,

QDRO (Qualified Domestic Relations Order) - A court order directed to the 'plan administrator' or 'custodian' of a pension plan directing them to the amount that needs to be allocated to the ex-spouse. 

Request for Admissions - Part of the Discovery process.  Requests for Admissions are questions that require only a  yes or no answer. 

Request for Production of Documents - The opposing party, or opposing attorney, may request copies of documents in a parties possession.  Typical documents requested may include bank account statements,  retirement account statements, and medical records. 

Retainer -  A term commonly used to define a deposit of money placed with the attorney for services.   When the client hires the attorney will request a deposit or “retainer” to cover the cost of legal services.  As the law firm performs work on the clients case the cost of the legal services are charged against the “retainer”.

Separate Property - Property not considered part of the marital estate and therefore not divided in divorce equally. In Nevada an inheritance, gift, a personal injury award, or property purchase before the marriage may be separate property.

Service; Service of Process - The legal process of delivering to the opposing party legal notices such as a Complaint, Summons or Motion.  There are specific rules of who and what is considered proper service.  An Affidavit that certifies the service of a legal document will state the date, time and manner in which the document was served.

Stipulation; Stipulated and Order - A written agreement reached by the parties or attorneys that documents an agreement.  Stipulations can be made on an issue as simple as moving of a court date or one as large as a child custody settlement. 

Summons - The court's official notice to the Defendant that he/she is being sued and must respond to the attached Complaint or Motion within a certain time period.

Temporary Orders - A final divorce decree or order from the judge may  take months and some issues need a quicker resolution. Temporary Orders are entered by the court and will remain in place until both parties settle the case or when a final order has been determined by the judge.   Typical temporary orders are made in regards to sale of a marital home, amount of temporary child  support to be paid,  a temporary parenting schedule, etc.   

Temporary Protective Order (TPO) -  A person may apply to the court for an order to prevent another person from stalking and harassing.  If the TPO is needed in regards to a domestic violence incident you should contact the police or District Court Family Division at (702) 455-3400

Unbundled or Flat Fee - A payment arrangement used by attorneys where they charge a specified price for a specific service such as a single hearing or drafting of a single motion.  

UCCJEA - Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act is a federal law adopted to handle jurisdictional issues that arise when parents of a child(ren) who live in different states are looking for a court to handle a divorce or custody legal matter.  The UCCJEA also provides for legal remedies when a parent flees the state of jurisdiction with a child before the court has agreed that the parent can do so.

Uncontested Divorce -  In an uncontested divorce the parties agree to all matters of child custody, child support and division of property.  The parties my file a Joint Petition.

Wage Garnishment -  A court order issued to a third party, usually an employer, requiring up to 25% of the employee's wages to be garnished and paid to the opposing party.  Wage Garnishments are standard used  to collect child support  arrears.