OUR PRACTICE AREAS

Divorce and Separation

Ending a marriage is difficult under any circumstances. Both the grounds and residency requirements for divorce differ from state to state, and must be taken into consideration before filing for divorce. Also, in some circumstances, there are advantages to considering separation instead of divorce and our attorneys can help you make that difficult decision. Our family law attorneys have more than 20 years of experience in handling complex divorces in both Nevada and California, and can help you with yours.

Child Custody and Visitation

Child custody and visitation is a complex area of the law. There are a myriad of factors the court must balance and consider in making determinations about this very important issue. The court will determine both legal and physical custody and time sharing between the parents, with focus upon the best interests of the child in making its determinations. Issues requiring modification to the determinations may also arise later if one or both parents plan to move from a school district or from their current state. There are many tools such as mediation and custody evaluations which can be ordered to assist the Court in making determinations on this issue. The family law attorneys at Incline Law Group can help you navigate through this emotional and difficult transition.

Child Support

Child support guidelines vary from state to state, and our family law attorneys possess working knowledge of both Nevada and California guidelines. Common child support issues that may arise in the determination of support include income used for determining support; determinations as to imputation of income; medical insurance; work-related child care; wage assignments; and deferred home sale orders.

Spousal Support

Our family law attorneys have worked with spousal support issues in both Nevada and California for over 20 years. Spousal support issues that may arise include the duration of the spousal support award; the methods of calculating the award; the factors taken into consideration by the court; and whether a lump sum buyout may be applicable.

Division of Assets and Liabilities

Both Nevada and California are defined as community property states, which means as a general rule that a couple’s assets and liabilities will be characterized as either community or separate property and divided according to community property rules, unless specific agreements between the parties apply. Multiple rules apply concerning what constitutes a gift of cash or property from one spouse to another, what action transmutes community property into separate property and vice versa (regardless of the actual intent of the spouses at the time). There are also complex determinations that need to be made with regard to businesses in the event a business was owned prior to marriage but was continually operated during the marriage. Let our family law attorneys negotiate this convoluted area for you.

Bifurcation of Status

Bifurcation of status must be legally granted in order for one spouse to be married again before the other issues of the divorce have been resolved. Our family law attorneys can achieve bifurcation of status for you.

Attorney’s Fees and Costs

The negotiation and award of attorney’s fees and costs is probably one of the most difficult areas of a divorce. There are a variety of factors the court considers in making determinations about attorney’s fees in an effort to place parties on a level playing field. Our family law attorneys have over 20 years of experience in both Nevada and California divorces and can help you negotiate this difficult area in your divorce.

Cohabitation

State law in the area of cohabitation determines whether couples who have lived together will be treated as married couples in the eyes of the law. Alternatively, cohabitants frequently elect to enter into a Cohabitation Agreement to clearly define those rights and eliminate any obscurities which may otherwise exist. Our family law attorneys have decades of experience in the area of cohabitation in both Nevada and California, and can help you with this issue.

Paternity

Determining paternity is essential to establish rights for visitation and support of children born out of wedlock. Paternity cases do not always have to involve expensive DNA testing but paternity orders are very important in defining custodial and support rights. Let our experienced family law attorneys help you with your paternity case.

Post-judgment Modification and Enforcement

Modification or enforcement of orders may be required after the entry of the original order. Our family law attorneys have more than 20 years of experience in both Nevada and California in dealing with both post-judgment modification and enforcement of orders, as well as the setting aside of judgments or decrees where necessary. Contact us for help in these areas.

Modification of Child Custody and Visitation

Modification of child custody and visitation may be necessary due to material changes in one or both parents’ location or living circumstances or even based on the preferences of children of sufficient age and maturity. Also, when there are disputes between parents as to decisions which must be made regarding the health, education or welfare of the child, the Court may have to intervene to resolve the dispute.

Modification of Child Support

Modification of child support may be necessary due to material changes in one or both parents’ income. It may also be necessary when a child leaves home or to impute ‘earning capacity’ to a party who is willfully unemployed or is not making efforts to earn a livelihood despite experience and opportunity.

Modification of Spousal Support

Modification of spousal support can result from material changes in the income of one or both parties, the decision of a supported party to cohabitate, or other material changes in financial circumstances of either party. Spousal support can even be modified in some cases when a companion child support order terminates due to the children reaching the age of majority.

Enforcement of Support Orders

Enforcement of support orders may be requested from the court that issued the order of support. Enforcement can come not only in the form of wage assignment but also can involve execution of bank accounts, retirement accounts and other assets in the event an arrearage judgment (amounts overdue) is entered.

Contempt Proceedings

Contempt proceedings may be instituted when a party refuses to pay support, abide by the terms of a custody and visitation order or fails to comply with other provisions of the Court’s orders. Contempt is quasi-criminal in nature and can result in the Court instituting attorney’s fees, sanctions and even incarceration in some circumstances.

Setting Aside Judgment or Decree

Within strict time limits, the court may allow a petition to set aside a judgment or decree if it was based on mistake, fraud, duress, or certain other enumerated factors.

Appeals

An appeal may be taken from an order or decree, in some circumstances, when a person has been unfairly treated by that order or decree or the Court has failed to properly apply the law.

Premarital Agreements

In a premarital agreement, a couple agrees prior to marriage how they will divide up their assets if they ever get divorced. Our family law attorneys have more than twenty years of experience in drafting premarital agreements in both Nevada and California and can help you draft a document to best avoid future conflicts.

Postmarital Agreements

In a postmarital agreement, a married couple agrees how they will divide up their assets if they ever get divorced. It can also be prepared to simply alter the characterization of select assets or income. This differs from a divorce agreement, which is one that is made during or in anticipation of divorce. Let our experienced family law attorneys help you get your affairs in order to prevent future disputes.

Restraining Orders

Restraining orders are essential if you feel you or your loved ones may be in danger of physical harm or harassment. Our family law attorneys can help you quickly obtain a temporary or permanent restraining order to help keep you and your family safe.

Other Family Law Issues

Our family law attorneys practice a wide range of other types of family law matters including adoption, mediation, annulment, guardianship, domestic partnerships and more.

Adoption

Adoption is a wonderful experience for your family. Our family law attorneys practice adoption in both Nevada and California, and can help your family with step-parent adoptions or even adoptions of adults.

Mediation

Settling family law matters through third-party mediation is a growing practice. Our family law attorneys are available to help you settle your family law issues through mediation.

Annulment

Annulment of a marriage (invalidation) is possible if certain statutory requirements are met. Let our family law attorneys assist you if you seek an annulment.

Grandparent Rights

The issue of grandparent rights is a growing one. Our family law attorneys have many years of experience with helping grandparents to gain rights in both Nevada and California.

Guardianship

Guardianship can be a difficult yet essential issue. A guardianship can be obtained over the person, the estate of the person, or both depending on your needs. Our family law attorneys have two decades of experience in both Nevada and California, and can assist your family in seeking a guardianship.

Termination of Parental Rights

Termination of parental rights is never an easy decision. Let our family law attorneys assist you with this matter.

Domestic Partnership

Domestic Partnership is a growing family law field. Our family law attorneys practice in both Nevada and California, and will be happy to assist you with your domestic partnership issues.

Limited Scope Representation

Sometimes you need an attorney for just a single court appearance or a single court filing. Our family law attorneys can, in some circumstances, accommodate you with this kind of limited-scope representation. Contact us to discuss your needs.