Know the Laws: Nevada
UPDATED May 29, 2012
Please consider getting help from an organization in your area before proceeding with court action. To find an organization, please go to the NV Where to find Help page.
- Definitions
- General information
- Who can seek custody
- Where and how to file for custody
- The custody process
- Mediation in custody/visitation cases
- After a custody order is in place
Mediation in custody/visitation cases
back to topWhat is mediation?
Mediation is a negotiation between 2 or more people to resolve differences, which is led by a neutral third party (called a mediator). In a custody case, a judge may refer you and the other parent to mediation to try to reach an agreement on custody and/or visitation in the hope that you can avoid going to trial.
Mediation is not available in all counties. In counties with 100,000 people or more, mediation is required for custody and visitation cases (subject to the exceptions explained in the next question). In counties with under 100,000 people, the court has the option of setting up a mediation program or not.*
* N.R.S. §§ 3.475(1), 3.500(1)
back to topWho gets sent to mediation? If I am a domestic violence victim, do I have to do mediation?
Even in counties where mediation is mandatory for custody and visitation cases, a judge may decide not to send you to mediation if you can show:
- a history of child abuse or domestic violence; or
- that you are currently participating in private mediation; or
- that one of the parties lives outside of the jurisdiction of the court* (usually when one party lives in another state or county).
If mediation is ordered in a case where there is domestic violence, your county may likely have a separate way to handle these cases.*** For example, each of you may be seated in different rooms and the mediator would go back and forth between the rooms and negotiate with each of you separately. This is something you can ask the judge and/or mediator about if you are not comfortable being in the same room as the abuser.
Also, if you think that mediation is not appropriate in your case, you likely have the right to file legal papers (called a 'motion') in which you ask the judge to excuse you from the mediation requirement. Usually these papers are filed at the time you file for custody and can only be filed during the custody case if new information comes up to support your request.****
As with all custody issues, we suggest that you talk to a lawyer. To find a lawyer or legal aid program in your area, please visit the NV Finding a Lawyer page under the Where to Find Help tab at the top of this page.
* N.R.S. §§ 3.475(1) & (2)(b), 3.500(b)
** See WDFCR 53(14)(b)
*** F.J.D.C.R. 25(14)(a); WDFCR 53(14)(a); EDCR 5.70(f)
**** F.J.D.C.R. 25(13)(A) & (B); WDFCR 53(13); EDCR 5.70(g)
back to topWho will the mediator talk to besides me and the other parent?
Usually, the mediator has the power to decide who else besides you and the other parent gets involved in the mediation. In many counties, if you have a lawyer, the lawyer has the right to talk to the mediator before the mediation but the mediator has the option to exclude (remove) the attorney from the mediation if s/he believes that it is appropriate or necessary.* In other counties, the mediation is always done without the lawyers present but any agreement that you and the other parent come to cannot be turned into the judge until your lawyer has approved it.**
The mediator usually also has the right to interview the child(ren) if s/he believes it is appropriate.*
In most counties, the mediator must keep confidential what was said during the mediation (except if s/he has to report child abuse allegations). However, the mediator will tell the judge if you do not show up, which could have an effect on your case and could cause you to be punished by the judge.*** Therefore, it is important that you appear for the mediation date just as you would appear for your court date.
* F.J.D.C.R. 25(7)(B) & (C); WDFCR 53(7)(b) & (c)
** 4JDCR 5(5)(a)(3)
*** F.J.D.C.R. 25(9)(A) & (10); WDFCR 53(9)(a) & (10); EDCR 5.70(e) & (j)(3)
back to topWho pays for mediation?
Generally, the parents are expected to split the costs of child custody mediation. In counties where mediation is required by law (where the population is more than 100,000*), fees are based on a sliding scale, depending on each parent's ability to pay.**
* N.R.S. §§ 3.500(1) & §3.475(1)** N.R.S. §§ 3.500(2)(e) & §3.475(2)(e)