DIVORCE - Joint Petition

The SAME as a joint petition   If you and your spouse agree on everything - splitting up your assets, your debt, etc. this is usually the quickest and cheapest way to get divorced.

You've decided you want a divorce but your spouse doesn't. Or you can't come to an agreement on child custody or support - Or you don't agree on an equitable way to split the assets or debt.

The plaintiff (whomever sues for the divorce) has the defendant served (given) the divorce papers. Next, motions and exhibits are filed and a hearing or maybe a mediation will be scheduled. If you still don't agree a trial will be held. That's when the judge will decide what's best and fair. That also means you've spent a lot more money to get an outcome that you could have easily done yourselves.

If you don't know where your spouse is we can still help. This process takes longer and has more steps. It includes searching for last known addresses, family members, social media and publishing notices in a newspaper, etc... Once these avenues have been exhausted we ask the judge to proceed by alternate means and then grant the divorce.

If you were married in Las Vegas you don't have to live here to get the marriage annulled. You do however have to qualify. While the time you've been married is not necessarily the deciding factor it can play a role. 

The most common reason people get an annulment is being inebriated at the time of the marriage. Some other reasons may be:

Undisclosed Drug use

Undisclosed Criminal history

Undisclosed Financial issues 

and more...

Be realistic when discussing how these things will be divided. Generally, whatever you bring into the marriage will stay yours as long as the asset or debt IS NOT co-mingled. This can be trickier than it sounds. Anything you buy together or pay for with joint funds becomes community property including retirement accounts.

Debt works in a similar way. But remember, once you're married if your spouse takes out a credit card in only their name you might be liable for it also. 

These are some pretty broad generalizations but they do tend to be true. Each situation is different.   

Know and remember Nevada is a preferred joint custody leaning state. 

Kids are not bargaining chips. They should never be weaponized. Always put them and their well being first. Especially when kids are younger they won't understand what or why this is happening. They might think they are losing a parent. We have seen this many times. Talk to them separately AND together in a sincere and loving manner. Put aside any differences between the two of you and let them know you both love them, and always will. Never bad mouth your spouse to them.

The usual guidelines for custody and child support can be as simple or as complicated as you make them. Many aspects are covered in the NV statutes. I couldn't begin to explain all the different scenarios here that your situation will mirror. Just know that as parents ourselves we will always be concerned about the welfare of the kids first.