Legal Question in Family Law in Nevada

You raise numerous issues.

First, if wife and husband are still married, then yes, as a technical matter either can make whatever claims they wish in a divorce filing from the other. That does not mean that the court has power to hear them, or that such will be successful, however.

If the husband has never lived in Nevada, the divorce court here has extremely limited jurisdiction -- essentially just over the party here, and any property here -- unless he voluntarily chooses to make an appearance. The matter is explained in depth in the article titled "The Basics of Family Law Jurisdiction," on the Published Works page of our firm web site, at http://www.willicklawgroup.com/published_works.

If he DID choose to make an appearance, the court would gain jurisdiction to award alimony, in either direction. But if as you say he has no income, no assets, is disabled, and is subsisting on Social Security, any alimony would probably be ordered in the other direction -- her to him. For details, see the information posted at http://www.willicklawgroup.com/spousal_support_alimony. Also, see the resources on the Property Division page of our firm website, at http://www.willicklawgroup.com/property_rights_division. In Nevada -- technically -- separation of parties does not cease the accrual of community property. Who went where when, and in which order can make a big difference.

If husband did not marry the second woman, there can be no bigamy charge. It is essentially never prosecuted, even when it does occur. And from your description, both parties have lived with others, for years.

You should probably seek consultation with an appropriate family law specialist, and from the tenor of your comments, the prospective client lives elsewhere. I would suggest starting your search with the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, which can be viewed at http://www.aaml.org.

If I've misperceived and he is here, and if you decide you would like to discuss this with one of the attorneys of this firm, please take a look at our consultation policies, procedures, and costs, at http://www.willicklawgroup.com/consultation_policies.