Modify Child Custody in Las Vegas

Perhaps you have a child custody court order in place that no longer works for your situation. The good news is you may be able to modify the child custody court order, however you will have to either get the consent of the other parent, or have a substantial change in circumstances such that a change of custody is in the child's best interests.

The following are examples of changes in custody:

     --  joint physical custody to primary physical custody
     --  primary physical custody to joint physical custody
     --  sole legal custody to joint legal custody
     --  joint legal custody to sole legal custody

Click for more about classifications of child custody.

When seeking modification of custody, it is important to consult with or retain a family law attorney.

United States Supreme Court Hearing International Child Custody Case

Family law such as divorce and child custody cases are usually kept at the state level.  Very rarely do the federal courts get involved.  The most common time a federal court has anything to do with a family law matter is in bankruptcy court when a divorced or divorcing couple is also going through bankruptcy.

For a case to go before the United States Supreme Court is rarest of all.  However, right now, the United States Supreme Court is determining the fate of a young girl in an international child custody case.  The father is a United States serviceman located in the United States and the mother lives in Scotland.  Both want the daughter with them.  

Allegations have flown back and forth in this case, much like most child custody case, including that the mother is known alcoholic and therefore the daughter's best interest would not be to be her care.  The mother was arrested for attacking a cab driver and domestic violence in 2010, and was deported in 2011.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/12/06/soldier-international-custody-battle-over-daughter-reaches-us-supreme-court/#ixzz2EI8FiE99

The major part of this decision will involve interpreting an international treaty called the Hague Convention. The Supreme Court's written decision in this case will have immediate and far reaching consequences on international family law disputes and a future article will have to be dedicated to that decision.

Federal Judge in Nevada Just Banned Gay Marriage

Judge Robert Jones, a federal judge appointed by President George Bush, just decided a case in favor of heterosexual marriage and denying homosexual or same sex marriage.

Judge Jones, who was educated at Brigham Young University, has been a federal judge since 1983 and has raised four children.  Judge Jones has never been a family court judge in Nevada.

His rationale in denying same sex marriage in Nevada is that he believes that if Nevada allowed same sex couples to get married, straight couples would stop getting married because they would no longer take the institution of marriage seriously. Thus, he states, Nevada has a rational basis for denying a fundamental right to marriage.  Judge Jones clearly believes that the institution of marriage should follow the religious and traditional definition of marriage.

Temporary Child Custody or Support Orders

What is a Las Vegas temporary order in family court?

Fathers may find that they do not have any custody rights because they never established paternity, but the mother is in trouble somehow and custody with father is the only option and it has to be accomplished immediately. These fathers needs a temporary child custody order.

Mothers may have a husband who is no longer in the picture but will pretend to want to be so that he can get preferential custody and avoid child support—but the mother needs the child support immediately to survive with the child because the father, who was the provider, is no longer providing. The mother needs temporary child support order.

The temporary orders will work until the court has entered a permanent order following a trial, also called an evidentiary hearing.

Top five reasons why you need a Las Vegas lawyer

1.     A Las Vegas lawyer knows the sources of law that affect you, which include:

·      Nevada Revised Statutes,

·      Nevada Constitution,

·      US Constitution,

·      Nevada Administrative Code,

·      Nevada Rules of Civil Procedure,

·      Nevada Alternative Dispute Resolution Rules,

·      Nevada Supreme Court Rules,

·      Nevada Rules of Appellate Procedure,

·      Nevada Rules of Professional Conduct,

·      Eighth Judicial District Court Rules,

·      Las Vegas Justice Court Rules,

·      Henderson Justice Court Rules,

·      Nevada Supreme Court Opinions,

·      Nevada Ethics Opinions,

·      Las Vegas Municipal Code,

·      North Las Vegas Municipal Code,

·      Henderson Municipal Code, and

·      Clark County Codes. 

Are you aware of all these sources of law, how to interpret them, and how they interplay? If not, you need a Las Vegas attorney.
2.     A Las Vegas attorney know how to investigate your legal issue using resources including the:

·      Nevada Secretary of State,

·      Clark County Assessor,

·      Clark County Recorder,

·      Clark County Business Licensing,

·      Clark County Permitting,

·      Las Vegas Business License,

·      North Las Vegas Business Licensing,

·      Henderson Business Licensing,

·      Municipal Courts,

·      Clark County District Court, and

·      Clark County Justice Court.

Do you know how to investigate issues using these government entities?  If not, a lawyer is very useful.

3.      Las Vegas attorneys typically have a minimum of 20 years of education, most of which they excelled in.  After that, Las Vegas lawyers much complete at least 12 hours of continuing legal education every year.  The bar exam topics on the Nevada bar exam include:

·      Agency and Partnership;

·      Community Property;

·      Conflict of Laws;

·      Constitutional Law;

·      Contracts;

·      Corporations;

·      Criminal Law;

·      Criminal Procedure;

·      Evidence;

·      Domestic Relations;

·      Real Property;

·      Remedies;

·      Torts;

·      Uniform Commercial Code (Articles 2,3 and 9);

·      Wills, Estates and Trusts; and

·      pleadings and practices under both the Nevada Rules of Civil Procedure and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

With a Nevada lawyer at your side, you can be sure that you will have someone with minimum competency in many fields.

4.   Many Las Vegas lawyers have seen it all in this town, including every kind of family dynamic, criminal charge, real estate issue, and suffering.

          5.    Objectivity and perspective allow good Las Vegas attorneys to anticipate what a judge or jury may do and will bring this insight to the client's attention so the client can make informed decisions.

Visitation with the children over the holidays.

If your ex is already talking about denying you visitation of your children over the holidays, you need to hire a Las Vegas family lawyer as soon as possible to get before a judge.  The holiday season sometimes brings out the worst in people, and the worst in parents is usually their treatment of their children and the other parent.

Let us assist you in dealing with your ex, the other parent, in a Las Vegas family court.  You should not procrastinate, especially if your rights to see your child are pretty limited already.

What are high asset divorces?

Now that the stock market is recovering, investment accounts are rising in value, and deferred compensation is returning, high-income individuals facing divorce are again dividing assets instead of only debts.

The courts call divorces involving retirements and high-income individuals, “high asset divorce cases,” and it is crucial to retain a qualified divorce attorney who is experienced with both family law and high-income individuals due to the complexity of the assets involved. Married couples with accumulated property and wealth are considered “high asset” when there are pensions, cars, boats, real estate, securities portfolios, business partnerships, stocks, investments and bonuses to be considered in a divorce.

After you have hired your family law attorney, it is time to consider hiring a tax accountant and financial/tax specialists.

In high asset divorce cases, issues to consider include:

·      Actual legal ownership of all property prior to divorce
·      The actual legal ownership in the event of a settlement
·      The actual legal ownership following a trial and judgment
·      The tax considerations of dividing assets
·      Worth or value of all assets
·      Security clearance for certain jobs and the consequences of divorce, debts, bankruptcies, and foreclosures
·      Community Property
·      Separate Property
·      Gifts
·      Prenuptial agreements and ante-nuptial agreements
·      Post-nuptial agreements and marital settlement agreements
·      Which of the three would be most productive: trial, mediation, or settlement negotiations

When you want equal custody of your child or children in Las Vegas...

When you are facing a Las Vegas family law matter involving dividing your child or children, you must consider your parenting plan schedule that will work with your work or school schedule and that of the other parent. You may want to equalize the time-share, creating a fifty-fifty arrangement. We include below some examples of fifty-fifty time-share arrangements. 

Please realize, however, that you can have as low as forty-sixty time-share and still be consider a joint physical custodian of your child or children.   Also, the forty percent calculation is determined by looking at an entire year, not a week-to-week basis.  This law comes from the Nevada decision in Rivero v. Rivero.

Below we use “Parent F” and “Parent M” to refer to the two parents in a child division negotiation.

Alternating Weeks Parenting Schedule

This fifty-fifty parenting schedule is where the child is in the care of Parent F in Week 1 and in the care of Parent M in Week 2. This results in the child living with Parent M for 7 days in Week 1 and with Parent M for 7 days in Week 2.

5-2-2-5 Child Custody Schedule

This fifty-fifty parenting schedule is where the child is in the care of Parent F every Monday and Tuesday (2 days) and Parent M every Wednesday and Thursday (2 days) each week. The weekend time Friday through Sunday would be alternated (3 days) between the parents. This results in the child being in the care of Parent F for 5 days and Parent B for 2 days in Week 1 and in the care of Parent M for 2 days and Parent M for 5 days in Week 2.

3-4-4-3 Child Custody Schedule

This fifty-fifty parenting schedule occurs when the child or children is/are in the care of Parent F from Wednesday through Friday in Week 1 and Wednesday through Saturday in Week 2. The child would be in the care of Parent M from Saturday through Tuesday in Week 1 and Sunday through Tuesday in Week 2.

Sharing Holidays and Summer

It is common for the summer vacation time and holidays to be split between the parents. Many different manners of division of time-share for the summer time such as alternating weeks, alternating every two weeks, adding a larger block of time for vacation for each parent onto the regular schedule, etc. There are also many different ways holidays can be shared such as splitting the holiday time or alternating each year between parents. For example, the child can spend an agreed upon holiday with Parent F in even years and Parent M in odd years or visa versa.

The above are just examples of some common parenting plans for fifty-fitfy joint physical custody which can be altered and adjusted in many different ways to accommodate what’s best for the children, family situation and arrangements that are not an exact fifty percent timeshare.

Before you go to court or to mediation, you should consult with a Las Vegas family law attorney.  After your mediation and before you sign the agreement, you should consult with a Las Vegas family law attorney.  Failure to do so could result in legal consequences you may not have anticipated.

High asset divorce law firm

Couples facing divorce who have assets valued over $100,000, low debts, and no children, will likely fight over the division of these assets.  When love morphs to anger, an experienced divorce law attorney is important to provide objectivity and to fight for your rights.  If you do not get a divorce lawyer with years of experience, you risk losing your rights and could end up worse off than you were during the marriage.  Do not let this happen to you.

Call the Law Offices of Louis C. Schneider for assistance with your Las Vegas divorce.  Call as soon as possible and speak to no one else about your case except your Las Vegas divorce lawyer.  The more you talk about your divorce or child custody to people, the more potential witnesses there may be against you.  Do not post on Facebook, do not text, do not e-mail, and do not talk until you talk to us.

Call:  (702) 435-2121
Thank you for visiting our family law blog.

Token Efforts in Termination of Parental Rights

In Las Vegas, if your parenting skills are being called into question by the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), it is best to consult with a family law attorney right away.  You will need to know what the term "token efforts" means because, if you are guilty of token efforts, you can lose your children.  The Nevada Supreme Court has declared that termination of parental rights is akin to a civil death penalty.  This death penalty can be imposed if the parent makes token efforts.  Hiring a family law attorney to describe to you your obligations regarding your children is an important first step to ensuring that you will not lose your children to token efforts.

REQUIRED DISCLAIMER

The information about termination of parental rights contained on this page is not intended to be legal advice about termination of parental rights.  Your termination of parental rights matter should always best be evaluated by a Las Vegas family lawyer.  You should treat termination of parental rights with the seriousness it requires.  Just as you would not likely conduct surgery on yourself, you should not represent yourself in court regarding your termination of parental rights matter.  

At the very least, the best free advice a lawyer can give: consult with a local attorney—multiple times if necessary if you insist upon representing yourself.

Parental rights termination proceedings require a clear judgment

Because even family law judges make mistakes in rendering family law rulings, it is best to have an attentive family law attorney represent you especially when your fundamental parental rights are at risk in a termination of parental rights action.

In April 2012, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled on a case involving termination of parental rights. The Nevada Supreme Court determined that the lower Nevada district family court must make express findings of fact in its written family court order, or on the record, when determining whether to grant or deny a petition to terminate a parent’s parental rights.  In that specific family case, the district court had failed to find facts by the clear and convincing standard required to terminate a parents rights:

The court stated:

A petitioner in termination proceedings has the burden to prove by clear and convincing evidence that termination is in the child’s best interest and that parental fault exists.  When a district court fails to make any findings concerning this standard of proof in its order or on the record, this court is unable to determine on appeal whether substantial evidence supports the district court’s ruling.  In the present case, neither the district court’s order nor the record contains findings of fact to support the district court’s conclusions, and thus, we reverse the order terminating appellant’s parental rights and remand this matter to the district court to enter its findings.  

 In re Parental Rights as to C.C.A., 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 15 April 5, 2012 

In this case, the family trial court had a two day evidentiary hearing and then failed to either give an oral ruling or a written ruling that explained the findings of facts and conclusions of law to warrant the court terminating your parental rights.

When you say to yourself, I need an attorney for parental rights, call us.

REQUIRED DISCLAIMER

The information about termination of parental rights contained on this page is not intended to be legal advice about termination of parental rights.  Your termination of parental rights matter should always best be evaluated by a Las Vegas family lawyer.  You should treat termination of parental rights with the seriousness it requires.  Just as you would not likely conduct surgery on yourself, you should not represent yourself in court regarding your termination of parental rights matter.  

At the very least, the best free advice a lawyer can give: consult with a local attorney—multiple times if necessary if you insist upon representing yourself.

When you say, I need a criminal defense lawyer in Las Vegas, call us.