Legal Question in Family Law in Nevada

Unfortunately, this is a type of legal question where the answer is not certain. The best answer any lawyer can offer is "it depends." You see, in Nevada, when you get married, you and your spouse are supposed to share and share alike. Fifty percent of his income belongs to you and fifty percent of your income belongs to him. This is what we mean by "community property." However, the Nevada Supreme Court has held that a spouse's community property interest in the other spouse's income will not be considered to determine "gross monthly income" which is the amount that the court uses to determine child support.

But there is another "however" that makes this a difficult question. The court may vary the child support up or down based on certain factors, including the standard of living of each parent and the children as well as the the best interests of the children. So, the court can look at the community interest in the spouse's income as a factor in determining support outside of the regular formula.

If the children living with his ex are living in a dumpy hole because she does not make a lot of money and because his normal child support payment are not very high, but he marries you and all of a sudden lives in a mansion and enjoys your wealth with you because you make a ton of money, the court might think that the kids should get more child support to improve their standard of living. It would seem wrong and unfair for the children to live part of the time in a dump when with the mother and part of the time in a mansion with the father. The court could seek to normalize the living somewhat in both homes. Remember, its not really about his ex, but about the kids.