Preventive Family Law for Nevada

What You Should Know About Alimony in Nevada - Part I

Alimony is a court-ordered payment or allowance that one spouse pays to the other spouse for their maintenance and support.  You may also hear alimony referred to as spousal support, maintenance, or pendente lite.  Alimony is gender neutral.  Meaning that either a husband or wife can qualify to receive alimony payments.

Alimony can be ordered at three different times:

1.         While the parties are separated;

2.         While the parties are involved in a divorce action; or,

3.         After the parties are divorced. 

What You Should Know About Alimony in Nevada - Part II

In determining whether an award of alimony is appropriate in any given case, the court in Nevada considers, among other factors, such things as:

·        The financial situation or circumstances of each spouse;

·        The nature and value of the respective property of each spouse;

·        The contribution of each spouse to any property acquired during their marriage;

·        The length of the marriage;

·        The income, earning capacity, age and health of each spouse;

·        The standard of living during the marriage;

·        The career before the marriage of the spouse who would receive the alimony;

·        The existence of specialized education or training or the level of marketable skills attained by each spouse during the marriage;

·        The contribution of either spouse as homemaker;

·        The award of property granted by the court in the divorce, other than child support and alimony, to the spouse who would receive the alimony; and

·        The physical and mental condition of each party as it relates to the financial condition, health and ability to work of that spouse.

What You Should Know About Alimony in Nevada - Part III

Alimony in Nevada can take may different forms: Temporary Alimony (also called alimony pendente lite or provisional alimony) refers to payments made while the litigation is pending. Lump Sum (also called alimony in gross) refers to alimony in the form of a single and definite sum that is not subject to modification. Periodic Alimony (also called permanent alimony) refers to alimony payable in weekly, monthly or other regular installments. Periodic Alimony can be ordered either for an indefinite period of time, or until a specific date is reached or a number of payments are rendered. Such as an award of 36 monthly payments of a specificed amount. Rehabilitative Alimony (also called specified purpose alimony, short-term alimony, or transitional alimony) refers to payments made to assist a divorced party to acquire education or training in order to enter or re-enter the workforce. The intent is to help the person become self-supporting. Generally, to receive an award of rehabilitative alimony, the receiving party must show that the payor spouse obtained greater education or job skills during the marriage and that the receiving spouse provided financial support for the family while the other spouse was obtaining those job skills or that education. Rehabilitative alimony includes payments for such things as: • Testing of the recipient’s skills relating to a job, career or profession; • Evaluation of the recipient’s abilities and goals relating to a job, career or profession; • Guidance for the recipient in establishing a specific plan for training or education relating to a job, career or profession; • Subsidization of an employer’s costs incurred in training the recipient; • Assisting the recipient to search for a job; or • Payment of the costs of tuition, books and fees for: The equivalent of a high school diploma; College courses which are directly applicable to the recipient’s goals for his career; or Courses of training in skills desirable for employment.

What You Should Know About Alimony in Nevada - Part IV

For the last three posts, I've been talking about how alimony is defined in the state of Nevada, what kind of things the court considers when making awards, and what form those awards may take. In this last segment, I will talk about some precautions you should know about alimony payments: First, payment of any periodic or rehabilitative alimony award can be modified upon a showing of changed circumstances. In the state of Nevada, this is defined as a change of 20 percent or more in the gross monthly income of a spouse who is ordered to pay alimony. Second, except in unusually cases, alimony automatically ends upon the death of either party. Additionally, alimony payments also typically end if the receiving spouse gets remarried. Finally, unlike child support payments, alimony is taxable income to the receiving spouse, it is tax deductible to the payor. If you are the recipient of an alimony award, you need to immediately seek the advice of your accountant or financial adviser to make sure you are putting aside enough money to pay the taxes that will attach to your award.