Family Law — Clark County, Nevada

Alimony & Spousal Support Lawyer Las Vegas

Nevada has no alimony formula. Unlike child support, there is no percentage and no calculator — a judge weighs eleven statutory factors and decides. That makes how your case is presented matter enormously.

Free Consultation (702) 474-0500
The Statutory Factors

How Nevada Courts Actually Decide Alimony

There is a widespread belief that alimony follows a formula in Nevada. It does not. Child support has a schedule; spousal support has judicial discretion. What the statute gives you instead is a list — NRS 125.150(9) requires the court to consider each of these eleven factors:

The financial condition of each spouse
The nature and value of the respective property of each spouse
The contribution of each spouse to any property held as community property
The duration of the marriage
The income, earning capacity, age and health of each spouse
The standard of living during the marriage
The career of the spouse who would receive alimony, before the marriage
Any specialized education or training, or marketable skills, either spouse gained during the marriage
The contribution of either spouse as homemaker
The property awarded to the spouse who would receive alimony
The physical and mental condition of each party as it relates to financial condition, health and ability to work
Why this matters practically: no single factor controls, and the judge weighs them together. Two couples with identical incomes can receive very different awards because one spouse gave up a career, or because the marriage lasted twenty years instead of three. The work is in building the record.
Types of Support

Not All Alimony Is the Same

Temporary support during the case

Awarded while the divorce is pending, to keep a lower-earning spouse afloat until the case resolves. It ends when the decree is entered and says nothing about what the final award will be.

Rehabilitative alimony

Time-limited support aimed at a specific goal — finishing a degree, obtaining a certification, re-entering a field after years at home. Nevada courts look closely at the training or education a spouse gave up, which is factor eight in the statute.

Periodic alimony

Ongoing monthly support, most often seen after longer marriages where the earning gap is wide and unlikely to close. It typically ends on remarriage of the recipient or the death of either party.

Lump sum

A single fixed amount, sometimes paid through the property division instead of monthly cheques. It is harder to modify later, which can be an advantage or a serious drawback depending on which side you are on.

Changing an Existing Award

Modification and Termination

An alimony award is not necessarily permanent, but it does not adjust itself. If your circumstances change materially — job loss, serious illness, a substantial change in either party's income — you must ask the court to modify the order. Until a judge changes it, the existing obligation stands and unpaid amounts accrue as arrears.

Whether an award can be modified at all depends on how it was structured in the decree. Some awards are expressly non-modifiable, and lump-sum awards are generally far harder to revisit. This is one of the reasons the wording of a settlement matters as much as the number in it.

A note on taxes. For divorce agreements executed after 31 December 2018, federal law changed: alimony is no longer deductible by the paying spouse and is no longer taxable income to the recipient. Older agreements may still follow the previous treatment. Because this materially changes what a given number is actually worth to each side, confirm the treatment with your tax advisor before agreeing to a figure.
Common Questions

Nevada Alimony FAQs

There is no formula. Unlike child support, which follows the NAC 425 schedule, Nevada spousal support is decided by a judge weighing the eleven factors in NRS 125.150(9) — including the length of the marriage, each spouse’s income and earning capacity, the standard of living during the marriage, and either spouse’s contribution as a homemaker.
It depends on the type and the marriage. Rehabilitative alimony runs for a defined period tied to a goal such as completing training. Periodic alimony after a long marriage may run considerably longer and typically ends on the recipient’s remarriage or either party’s death. There is no fixed statutory duration.
Nevada is a no-fault divorce state, and marital misconduct is not among the eleven factors the court must consider under NRS 125.150(9). Conduct can become relevant if it had a financial dimension — for example, community funds spent on an affair — because that touches the property analysis.
Often, yes, but only by court order and only if the decree did not make the award non-modifiable. You must file a motion showing a material change in circumstances. Support never adjusts automatically — until the court changes the order, the original amount remains due and arrears accumulate.
Duration of the marriage is one of the eleven statutory factors, and short marriages generally produce smaller awards or none at all. It is not a bright-line rule, though — a short marriage in which one spouse abandoned a career or has a serious health condition can still support an award.
For agreements executed after 31 December 2018, alimony is not deductible by the payer and not taxable to the recipient under federal law. Agreements finalised before that date may still follow the older treatment. Nevada has no state income tax, so the question is purely federal.
A Nevada court can consider earning capacity, not just actual earnings. Factor five of NRS 125.150(9) refers expressly to the income and earning capacity of each spouse, so voluntarily reducing income to affect a support outcome is unlikely to succeed.
Talk to a Las Vegas Family Law Attorney

Alimony Is Argued, Not Calculated

Because there is no formula, the outcome depends on how thoroughly your financial picture is documented and how well the statutory factors are argued. Donn W. Prokopius has handled Clark County spousal support matters since 2000 — at a flat fee quoted before the work begins.

Free Consultation (702) 474-0500

Related: Divorce Lawyer Las Vegas · Property Division · Understanding Alimony in Nevada