There are two types of legal custody: sole legal custody and joint legal custody.

If you have sole legal custody, you alone have the right to make all of the decisions affecting your child’s life.

If you have joint legal custody, you share the right to make decisions about your child’s life with the child’s other parent.  To read about when a judge will award joint legal custody, go to When will a judge order joint legal custody?

Joint custody means that legal and/or physical custody is shared by both parents.  If you get a joint custody order, it’s important to know whether you have joint legal custody, joint physical custody, or both.  There is a preference in Nevada for both parents to have a continuing relationship and frequent contact with the child, and to share the rights and responsibilities of child rearing after the parents have separated or ended their relationship.¹  

In Nevada, the judge will assume that awarding joint legal custody and joint physical custody are in the best interest of the child if:

• the parents agree to either or both in court; or
• the parent seeking joint legal custody or joint physical custody has demonstrated (or has tried to demonstrate but the other parent wouldn’t allow it) an intent to establish a meaningful relationship with the child.² 

The judge could grant joint legal custody to both parents while still granting sole or primary physical custody to one parent.³ Therefore, even if your child lives with you full-time, the other parent can still have a right to make decisions about your child’s life if s/he has joint legal custody.

A judge will generally grant joint custody if s/he thinks it is in the best interests of the child.³  However, there is an exception for domestic violence victims when it comes to joint physical custody.  Read Can a parent who committed violence get physical custody? to learn more.

¹ N.R.S. § 125C.001
² N.R.S. §§ 125C.002(1); 125C.0025(1)
³ N.R.S. § 125C.002(2)

A visitation order must specifically lay out the terms of the visitation (i.e., days and times) so that the order can be clearly understood and enforced. The order must include all specific times and other terms related to the visitation (also known as limited right of custody). The order is not supposed to say something ambiguous such as “the father has reasonable visitation,” because the term “reasonable” can be interpreted differently by each parent.¹

¹ N.R.S. § 125C.0045(5)

There are many reasons people choose not to get a custody order from a court.  Some people decide not to get a custody order because they don’t want to get the courts involved.  Some parents make an informal agreement that works well for them.  Some parents may think going to court will provoke the other parent, or they are worried that the other parent might get custody or visitation.

However, getting a custody order from a court can give you certain legal rights.  Getting a custody order can give you:

• The right to make decisions about your child; and
• The right to physical custody of your child (to have your child live with you).

Without a custody order, it is possible that you may not have these legal rights, even if you’re the parent that takes care of the child every day.  

Some people think they should file for custody so they can get child support.  While custody and child support are related, you do not necessarily need a custody order to get child support.  A custody order will not automatically give you child support.  See Can I get financial support for my children and myself? for more details.  As with all custody issues, we recommend that you talk to a lawyer about this.  To find a lawyer in your area please visit our NV Finding a Lawyer page.

The steps you will need to take when filing for custody and the forms you will need to fill out may be different for each county.  To find out exactly how to file for custody in your county, you can contact your local courthouse.  Please see our NV Courthouse Locations.

Some pieces of information that Nevada law requires you to give when filing for custody are:

• the child’s present address or whereabouts if known, the places where the child has lived during the last 5 years, and the names and present addresses of the persons with whom the child has lived during that period;
• the names and addresses of any other person(s) that you know of who has physical custody of the child or claims rights of legal/physical custody or visitation;
• the court name, case number and date of the custody decision related to any other court case involving custody and/or visitation of your child in the past in which you participated; and
• the court name, case number and other relevant information regarding any court case that you know of (such as an order for protection case, termination of parental rights case, or adoption case) that could affect your custody case.¹

If your or your child’s health/ safety would be in danger if the abuser (or another party) saw this information, you can request that it be kept confidential.  In that case, the information would be sealed and it can only be released if, after holding a hearing, the judge decides that it is “in the interest of justice” to release the information even after considering any health/safety concerns.²

As with all custody issues, we recommend that you talk to a lawyer.  To find a lawyer or legal aid program in your area, please visit the NV Finding a Lawyer page.

¹ N.R.S. § 125A.385(1)
² N.R.S. § 125A.385(5)

You can usually only file for custody in Nevada if Nevada is your child’s “home state.”  Note: There are exceptions to the “home state rule” rule.  Nevada will likely qualify as your child’s home state if:

• your child has lived in Nevada with a parent or person acting as a parent for the past 6 consecutive months; (Note: If your child left the state less than 6 months ago, you may still be able to file in Nevada); or
• your child is less than six months old but has lived in Nevada since birth.¹

Leaving Nevada for a short period of time will not change the status as your child’s home state. 

If you and your child recently moved from Nevada to another state, generally you cannot file for custody in that new state until you have lived there for at least six months. Until then, you or the other parent can start a custody action in Nevada, as long as your child has most recently lived there for at least six months. There are some exceptions.  

If you and your child recently moved to Nevada from another state, generally you cannot file for custody in Nevada until you have lived there for at least six months.¹  Until then, you or the other parent can start a custody action the state you moved from, as long as your child has most recently lived there for at least six months. There are some exceptions.

¹ N.R.S. §§ 125A.085, 125A.305(1)(a)

Maybe.  If a judge finds that a parent or any other person asking for physical custody committed one or more acts of domestic violence against the child, a parent of the child, or any other person living with the child, then the judge will assume that it is not in the best interest of the child to grant sole or joint physical custody to that parent.  However, the abusive parent can present evidence to try to change the judge’s mind and to prove that it would be in the child’s best interest to give him/her physical custody.  If the judge is convinced, s/he may give the abusive parent sole or joint custody of the child.¹

If a judge finds that both parents committed domestic violence, the judge must try to determine which parent was the “primary physical aggressor” (the more violent parent).  In making this determination, the judge will consider:

• all prior acts of domestic violence involving either party;
• if the violence caused any injuries, the judge will compare how serious each person’s injuries were;
• the likelihood of a future injury;
• whether one of the parties acted in self-defense; and
• any other relevant factors.²

If the judge makes a decision as to who is the more violent parent, the judge must assume that it is in the best interest of the child for the less violent parent to get physical custody.  If a judge cannot figure out which parent is the more violent parent, s/he will assume that it is in the best interest of the child for neither parent to have physical custody.²   

Note: If either parent (or any other person) seeking custody has committed any act of abduction against the child or any other child, the judge will assume that sole or joint custody or unsupervised visitation of the child by that parent is not in the best interest of the child.³  To read more about what acts qualify as “abduction,” read AB 263, § 8, subsections (8) & (10) on our NV Statutes page. 

As with all custody issues, we recommend that you talk to a lawyer.  To find a lawyer or legal aid program in your area, please visit the NV Finding a Lawyer page.

¹ N.R.S. §§ 125C.230(1); 125C.0035(5)
² N.R.S. §§ 125C.230(2); 125C.0035(6)
³ N.R.S. § 125C.0035(7)

Even in counties where mediation is mandatory for custody and visitation cases, a judge may decide not to send you to mediation if you can show:

• a history of child abuse or domestic violence; 
• that you are currently participating in private mediation; or
• that one of the parties lives outside of the jurisdiction of the court¹ (usually when one party lives in another state or county).

In certain counties, there are additional reasons that mediation would not be appropriate.  For example, if the case involves multiple social service agencies, or the parent or child has serious psychological or psychiatric problems, the case may not be sent for mediation.²

If mediation is ordered in a case where there is domestic violence, your county may likely have a separate way to handle these cases.³  For example, each of you may be seated in different rooms and the mediator would go back and forth between the rooms and negotiate with each of you separately.  Be sure to speak up for yourself if you are not comfortable being in the same room as the abuser or participating in mediation at all.  If you think that mediation is not appropriate in your case, you may have to file legal papers (called a “motion”) in which you ask the judge to excuse you from the mediation requirement.  Usually these papers are filed at the time you file for custody and can only be filed during the custody case if new information comes up to support your request.⁴

As with all custody issues, we suggest that you talk to a lawyer.  To find a lawyer or legal aid program in your area, please visit the NV Finding a Lawyer page.

¹ N.R.S. §§ 3.475(1) & (2)(b), 3.500(b)
² See WDFCR 53(14)(b)
³ F.J.D.C.R. 25(14)(a); WDFCR 53(14)(a); EDCR 5.70(f)
⁴ F.J.D.C.R. 25(13)(A),(B); WDFCR 53(13); EDCR 5.70(g)

Generally, the parents are expected to split the costs of child custody mediation. In counties where mediation is required by law (where the population is more than 100,000¹), fees are based on a sliding scale, depending on each parent’s ability to pay.²

¹ N.R.S. §§ 3.500(1); 3.475(1)
² N.R.S. §§ 3.500(2)(e); 3.475(2)(e)

A judge will make a custody order based on what s/he believes is in the best interest of the child.  Judges generally prefer to award sole or joint custody to the child’s parents (as opposed to other relatives) if this is in the best interest of the child.  The court will not automatically give preference to the mother or father just based on his/her gender.¹ 

Judges look at the following factors when making custody decisions about what is in the best interest of the child:

• the wishes of the child (if the child is of “sufficient age and capacity to form an intelligent preference” as to his/her physical custody);
• any nomination of a guardian for the child by a parent;
• which parent is more likely to allow the child to have frequent contact and a continuing relationship with the non-custodial parent;
• the level of conflict between the parents;
• the ability of the parents to cooperate to meet the needs of the child;
• the mental and physical health of the parents;
• the child’s physical, developmental, and emotional needs;
• the quality of the child’s relationship with each parent;
• the ability of the child to maintain a relationship with any siblings;
• any history of abuse or neglect against the child or a sibling of the child;
  
• whether either parent has abducted the child or any other child;
• whether either parent (or any other person seeking physical custody) has committed an act of domestic violence against the child, a parent of the child, or any other person living with the child; and
• whether either parent (or any other person seeking physical custody) has committed an act of abduction against the child or any other child.² 

For more information on how domestic violence affects a judge’s decision about custody, go to Can a parent who committed violence get custody?

¹ N.R.S. § 125C.0035(1)-(3)
² N.R.S. § 125C.0035(4)

In Nevada, a judge can award sole/primary physical custody to one parent or joint physical custody to both parents. Primary physical custody can be given to one parent if the judge determines that joint physical custody is not in the best interest of the child.¹ The judge can award primary physical custody to either parent if:

• there is substantial evidence that the other parent is unable to adequately care for the child for at least 146 days of the year;² or
• the judge determines by “clear and convincing evidence” (after a hearing) that the other parent committed one or more acts of domestic violence against the child, a parent of the child or any other person residing with the child. (However, the parent who committed domestic violence can present evidence to the judge to try to change the judge’s mind about giving primary custody to the other parent.)³

The judge can aware primary physical custody to the mother if:

1. the mother is unmarried when the child was born;
2. she does not later marry the father; and
   • paternity has not been established; or
   • the father had actual knowledge of his paternity but he “abandoned” the child.⁴

The judge can aware primary physical custody to the father if:

• the mother has “abandoned” the child; and
• the father has provided sole care and custody of the child in her absence.⁵

Note: For purposes of awarding custody, the term abandoned means that for a continuous period of 6 months or more, the parent has:

• failed to provide substantial personal and economic support to the child; or
• knowingly declined to have any meaningful relationship with the child.⁶

¹ N.R.S. § 125C.003(1)
² N.R.S. § 125C.003(1)(a)
³ N.R.S. § 125C.003(1)(c)
⁴ N.R.S. § 125C.003((1)(b),(2)(a)
⁵ N.R.S. § 125C.003(2)(b)
⁶ N.R.S. § 125C.003(3)(a)

There is a preference in Nevada for both parents to have a continuing relationship and frequent contact with the child, and to share the rights and responsibilities of child rearing after the parents have separated or ended their relationship.¹  However, in any court case regarding determining physical custody of a child, the sole (only) consideration that the judge will consider is what is in the best interest of the child.²  In Nevada, the judge will assume that awarding joint physical custody is in the “best interest of the child” if:

• the parents agree to it in court; or
• the parent seeking joint physical custody has demonstrated (or has tried to demonstrate but the other parent wouldn’t allow it) an intent to establish a meaningful relationship with the child.³ 

However, there is an exception for domestic violence victims.  Read Can a parent who committed violence get physical custody? to learn more.

¹ N.R.S. § 125C.001
² N.R.S. § 125C.0035(1)
³ N.R.S. § 125C.0025(1)

Possibly.  For information on trying to modify a final Nevada custody order in another state, or an out-of-state custody order in Nevada, go to our Changing a final custody order page in the general custody information to read what factors a judge will consider when deciding whether or not to transfer your case to a new state.

This is often complicated, and as with all custody issues, we recommend that you talk to a lawyer about this.  To find legal resources in Nevada, go to our NV Finding a Lawyer page.  To find legal resources in a state other than Nevada, go to our Finding a Lawyer page and select your state from the drop-down menu. 

To change a custody order, you will need to go to the court that originally gave you the order and file a motion to modify (change) the order.  What you have to prove in court depends on whether you are trying to change an order of primary physical custody or joint physical custody.

Primary physical custody
Generally, if either parent has primary physical custody, a judge will only change the custody order if:

• there has been a substantial (significant) change in circumstances that affects the welfare of the child; and
• it is in the child’s best interest to change to custody order.¹

If you are the one asking the judge to change the custody order, it is up to you to prove that the circumstances have substantially changed and that modifying the custody order is in your child’s best interest.  However, if you have evidence of domestic violence that you or the judge didn’t know about (or didn’t know the extent of) at the time of the initial custody hearing, then this may be enough to get the order changed (you don’t need to show that anything else has changed since the original custody order was issued).²

Joint custody
If you have joint custody with the other parent, the judge will modify your custody order if s/he thinks it is in the best interest of the child to do so.³

Each county may have a different filing process for modifying a custody order, so you might want to contact the courthouse in your county for more information on what steps you need to take to file a motion.  To find the contact information of a courthouse in your county, please visit our NV Courthouse Locations page.

As with all custody issues, we recommend that you first talk to a lawyer.  To find a lawyer or legal aid program in your area, please visit our NV Finding a Lawyer page.

¹Ellis v. Carucci, 123 Nev. 145, 161 P.3d 239 (2007)
²Castle v. Simmons, 120 Nev. 98, 86 P.3d 1042 (2004)
³ N.R.S. § 125C.0045(2)

If you have joint physical custody of your child and you want to relocate to another state or you plan to move within Nevada but the move is far enough away that it would “substantially impair (harm) the ability of the other parent to maintain a meaningful relationship with the child,” you must attempt to get written consent to relocate with the child from the non-relocating parent.  If the non-relocating parent refuses to give that consent, you must file a petition in court for permission to relocate with the child.  Both of these steps must be done before relocating.  Note: The court can order the non-relocating parent to pay you reasonable attorney’s fees and court costs if the judge believes that s/he refused to consent to the relocation to harass you or without having reasonable grounds for such refusal.¹

If you relocate with your child without the written consent of the non-relocating parent or without the permission of the court, you may be committing the crime of custodial interference.²  Note: If a parent with primary physical custody or joint physical custody relocates with a child in violation of the custodial interference law, and the non-relocating parent files a court case in response to this violation, you may have to pay his/her attorney’s fees and costs.³

To read about how the judge will decide whether or not to give you permission to relocate, go to What factors will a judge consider when deciding if I can relocate?   

We suggest getting legal advice from an attorney who is knowledgeable about Nevada’s relocation laws about your particular situation.  You can find a lawyer near you on our NV Finding a Lawyer page. 

¹ N.R.S. § 125C.0065(1)-(2)
² N.R.S. § 125C.0065(3)
³ N.R.S. § 125C.0075(2) 

When you file a petition for permission to relocate, you (the relocating parent) have to first show the following things to the judge:

1. there is a sensible, good-faith reason for the move, and the move is not intended to deprive the non-relocating parent of his/her parenting time;
2. it is in the best interests of the child to allow the relocation; and
3. you and your child will benefit from an “actual advantage” as a result of the relocation.¹

If you can prove all three of the above-listed things, then the judge must weigh the following factors and the impact of each on the child, you (the relocating parent), and the non-relocating parent:

• how much the relocation is likely to improve the quality of life for you and the child;
• if your motives for relocating are honorable (and not designed to frustrate or defeat the other parent’s visitation rights);
• if you will follow any new visitation orders issued by the court;
• if the motives of the non-relocating parent in objecting to the relocation are honorable (or if s/he is opposing it just to try to get you to agree to a lower child support or alimony payment or to gain some other financial advantage);
• if there will be a realistic opportunity for the non-relocating parent to maintain a visitation schedule that will adequately encourage and maintain the relationship between the child and the noncustodial parent; and
• any other factor necessary to help the judge make this decision.²

¹ N.R.S. § 125C.007(1)
² N.R.S. § 125C.007(2)