Case library
Nevada family-law decisions, briefed for practice.
1201 decisions, organized by topic. Practitioner summaries with key holdings, posture, disposition, and the statutes cited - up front, where you need them. Every summary links to the full opinion.
Case Library = case briefs of the decisions themselves. For long-form explainers of the governing law, Guides; for the exact quotable passages, verified verbatim, the Canon.
471 cases · Divorce, Property & Alimony - NRS ch. 125 and community property (ch. 123).
MCCALL VS. MCCALL (DIVORCE PROPERTY & ALIMONY)
Feb 18, 195470 Nev. 287, 266 P.2d 1016 (1954) · 3775 · Nevada Supreme Court
Affirmed; no costs awarded. ("Judgment affirmed. No costs are awarded.")The wife, awarded a divorce, challenged the property division as (1) so inequitable as to be an abuse of discretion and (2) legally erroneous in classifying certain items as the husband's separate property. She was…
HERZOG VS. HERZOG (DIVORCE PROPERTY & ALIMONY)
Oct 23, 195269 Nev. 286, 249 P.2d 533 (1952) · 3679 · Nevada Supreme Court
Affirmed; no costs. ("The judgment and the order denying new trial are affirmed. No costs are allowed.")The husband obtained a divorce on the ground of the wife's insanity (sec. 9460, N.C.L. 1929), supported by the testimony of seven physicians and psychiatrists; the court rejected the wife's desertion cross-complaint and…
RAMSAY VS. RAMSAY (DIVORCE)
May 16, 195269 Nev. 176, 244 P.2d 381 (1952) · 3680 and 3681 · Nevada Supreme Court
Reversed and remanded for new trial; respondent wife awarded costs. ("the judgment and order of the trial court are reversed and the matter remanded for new trial without prejudice to the taking of further proceedings relating to pleadings.")The husband sought a divorce for a course of conduct amounting to extreme cruelty; the wife pleaded condonation. The alleged condonation consisted of a single act of intercourse during a July 1949 overnight excursion to…
SMITH VS. SMITH (DIVORCE)
May 7, 195269 Nev. 171, 243 P.2d 1048 (1952) · 3686 · Nevada Supreme Court
Appeal from the judgment dismissed; the appellant's affidavit stricken; appeal from the order denying the motion to vacate dismissed; no costs.The husband obtained a divorce on a jury verdict (verdict June 22, 1950; judgment entered June 23, 1950). The wife's notice of appeal was filed August 20, 1951. The court addressed three motions by the respondent. (1)…
SUMMERS VS. SUMMERS (DIVORCE PROPERTY & ALIMONY)
Mar 12, 195269 Nev. 83, 241 P.2d 1097 (1952) · 3687 · Nevada Supreme Court
Reversed and remanded with instructions to enter judgment for the full amount of the New York decree, subject to credit for payments made; appellant allowed costs.The wife sued in Nevada on a 1947 New York separate maintenance judgment (entered on personal service; $45/week to the wife and $40/week child support). The husband subsequently obtained a 1950 Nevada default divorce on…
DILLON VS. DILLON (DIVORCE PROPERTY & ALIMONY)
Feb 19, 195168 Nev. 151, 227 P.2d 783 (1951) · 3622 · Nevada Supreme Court
Affirmed; each party to bear own costs. ("The judgment of the lower court is affirmed. Each party shall bear his own costs upon this appeal.")On an appeal on the judgment roll alone, the wife challenged a decree granting the husband a divorce for extreme cruelty and denying her alimony and separate-maintenance relief. She first argued the findings must be…
SMITH VS. SMITH (DIVORCE)
Jan 10, 195168 Nev. 10, 226 P.2d 279 (1951) · 3601, 3602 · Nevada Supreme Court
Affirmed with costs; respondent's motion to dismiss the appeal denied. ("The judgment and the order denying the motion for new trial are hereby affirmed with costs. This opinion will serve for both appeals, Nos. 3601 and 3602.")Esther Mead Smith sued William B. Smith and Isabella H. Smith to set aside a July 9, 1946 order that (on William and Isabella's stipulation) had vacated their March 26, 1946 Nevada divorce decree, an order obtained…
DILLON VS. DILLON (DIVORCE)
Jul 5, 195067 Nev. 428, 220 P.2d 213 (1950) · 3622 · Nevada Supreme Court
Motions to strike the transcript and the twenty-two documents granted; appeal from the order denying a new trial dismissed; motion to dismiss the appeal from the judgment denied; no costs awarded.Following a decree of divorce for the husband, the respondent husband moved (1) to strike the reporter's transcript, (2) to strike twenty-two documents in the record on appeal, (3) to dismiss the appeal from the order…
BLOUIN VS. BLOUIN (DIVORCE)
May 12, 195067 Nev. 314, 218 P.2d 937 (1950) · 3553 · Nevada Supreme Court
Affirmed with costs. ("the judgment must be affirmed with costs, and it is so ordered.")The sole question was whether a divorce complaint's residence allegation must state that the plaintiff was 'actually, physically and corporeally present' in the state for the statutory period. The amended complaint…
ORMACHEA VS. ORMACHEA (DIVORCE PROPERTY & ALIMONY)
Apr 17, 195067 Nev. 273, 217 P.2d 355 (1950) · 3575 · Nevada Supreme Court
Affirmed, subject to credit for prior payments; each party to bear own costs on appeal; stay of execution vacated. ("the judgment and the order denying appellant's motion for new trial are hereby affirmed.")The husband appealed a divorce decree that found a common-law marriage, granted the wife a divorce for extreme cruelty, awarded custody, and divided an extensive ranching estate. On the marriage, the court held that…
LUX VS. LUX (DIVORCE PROPERTY & ALIMONY)
Sep 29, 194966 Nev. 337, 210 P.2d 212 (1949) · 3589 · Nevada Supreme Court
Motion for allowances denied for want of jurisdiction; unsupported papers stricken from the record.The appellant wife moved for allowances to enable her to prosecute an appeal from a June 20, 1949 judgment decreeing the respondent a divorce and from the same-day order denying her a new trial. She filed a notice of…
DAVIS VS. DAVIS (DIVORCE)
Jun 17, 194966 Nev. 164, 207 P.2d 240 (1949) · 3565 · Nevada Supreme Court
Appeal dismissed.The respondent wife filed for divorce and disposition of community property in the Eighth Judicial District Court, Clark County, on February 26, 1948; the appellant husband was personally served at Las Vegas on March 3,…
BENSON VS. BENSON (DIVORCE)
Mar 25, 194966 Nev. 94, 204 P.2d 316 (1949) · 3554 · Nevada Supreme Court
Judgment and order denying new trial affirmed; $150 attorney fee (of $500 requested) ordered paid for services on appeal.The plaintiff husband was granted a divorce in the Second Judicial District Court, Washoe County, on the ground of three years' separation without cohabitation (then codified at sec. 9467.06, N.C.L. 1931-1941 Supp.).…
CAYE VS. CAYE (DIVORCE PROPERTY & ALIMONY)
Mar 19, 194966 Nev. 78, 203 P.2d 1013 (1949) · 3573 · Nevada Supreme Court
Motion granted pro tanto: $150 attorney fee ordered; all other requested items denied as already incurred; appeal held in abeyance pending payment.On the appellant wife's motion for allowances on appeal ($500 attorney fee, $10 undertaking, $201.60 transcript, $54.90 record) from a decree granting the respondent husband a divorce on three years' separation as…
ORMACHEA VS. ORMACHEA (DIVORCE PROPERTY & ALIMONY)
Mar 14, 194966 Nev. 67, 203 P.2d 614 (1949) · 3575 · Nevada Supreme Court
Allowances ordered: $465.41 accrued hotel bill payable directly to the hotel, $1,000 attorney fee on appeal, and $250 per month support pending the appeal; stay order and bond otherwise to remain in effect; each party to bear own costs on the motion.On the respondent wife's motion for allowances pending the appellant husband's appeal from an October 13, 1948 decree granting her a divorce for extreme cruelty, awarding her custody of the four younger minor children,…
PEARDON VS. PEARDON (DIVORCE PROPERTY & ALIMONY)
Dec 22, 194865 Nev. 717, 201 P.2d 309 (1948) · 3522 · Nevada Supreme Court
Order denying new trial reversed and cause remanded with directions to modify the findings and conclusions, adjudge the 1943 reassignment invalid and the 1941 assignment an absolute gift subject to the husband's 25% income interest, and require repayment of excess distributions and reimbursement of taxes; no new trial required.The defendant wife, who was granted a divorce on her cross-complaint for extreme cruelty, appealed from the October 8, 1946 order denying her motion for a new trial, challenging the trial court's findings that her…
WOLFORD VS. WOLFORD (DIVORCE PROPERTY & ALIMONY)
Dec 22, 194865 Nev. 710, 200 P.2d 988 (1948) · 3550 · Nevada Supreme Court
Judgment granting partition by sale affirmed.The defendant appealed from a judgment granting the plaintiff, her former putative husband, partition by sale (through referees, pursuant to the laws pertaining to executions) of a city lot the parties held as tenants…
ZEIG VS. ZEIG (DIVORCE)
Oct 25, 194865 Nev. 464, 198 P.2d 724 (1948) · 3531 · Nevada Supreme Court
Both orders reversed; cause remanded with directions to order substitution of the executors and to proceed on the motion to vacate after valid service of the substitution order and motion papers.The plaintiff wife appealed from orders of the Eighth Judicial District Court denying (1) her motion to make the New York executors of her deceased former husband's estate parties to her proceeding, and (2) her motion -…
OLSZOWY VS. OLSZOWY (DIVORCE)
Sep 24, 194865 Nev. 386, 197 P.2d 701 (1948) · 3516 · Nevada Supreme Court
Judgment and order appealed from affirmed.The defendant wife appealed from a decree granting the plaintiff husband an absolute divorce for extreme cruelty (mental in nature) and from the denial of her motion for a new trial, assigning error in the admission of…
LAGEMANN VS. LAGEMANN (DIVORCE)
Aug 26, 194865 Nev. 373, 196 P.2d 1018 (1948) · 3526 · Nevada Supreme Court
Judgment and decree, and order denying motion for new trial, affirmed.The defendant wife appealed from a judgment granting the plaintiff husband an absolute divorce on three years' separation without cohabitation (sec. 9467.06, N.C.L. 1931-1941 Supp.; Stats. 1939, ch. 23), awarding him…
HARRIS VS. HARRIS (DIVORCE)
Jul 28, 194865 Nev. 342, 196 P.2d 402 (1948) · 3511 · Nevada Supreme Court
Judgment of dismissal affirmed.The defendant wife appealed from a judgment dismissing her cross-action for separate maintenance for want of diligent prosecution and abandonment, entered on the plaintiff husband's motion after the remittitur from…
FINLEY VS. FINLEY (DIVORCE PROPERTY & ALIMONY)
Feb 2, 194865 Nev. 113, 189 P.2d 334 (1948) · 3497 · Nevada Supreme Court
Modified decree of divorce affirmed; each party to pay its own costs on appeal.The plaintiff wife appealed from a 'Modified Decree of Divorce' entered May 3, 1947, contending the district court lacked jurisdiction of the defendant husband's March 26, 1947 motion to modify because the operative…
HEINEN VS. HEINEN (DIVORCE)
Nov 25, 194764 Nev. 527, 186 P.2d 770 (1947), reh'g denied, 65 Nev. 787 (1948) · 3490 · Nevada Supreme Court
Judgment and order denying new trial reversed with costs; cause remanded for a new trial. Rehearing denied, 65 Nev. 787 (1948).The defendant husband appealed from a judgment on a jury verdict granting the plaintiff wife a divorce for extreme cruelty (pleaded in the words of the statute) with custody of the two minor sons, and from the denial of…
MURPHY VS. MURPHY (DIVORCE PROPERTY & ALIMONY)
Jul 30, 194764 Nev. 440, 183 P.2d 632 (1947) · 3477 · Nevada Supreme Court
Affirmed. ("It is the decision and order of this court that the said ruling and order of the district court, made and entered October 4, 1946, be, and the same is hereby, affirmed.")Appeal from an order construing the alimony provision of a 1943 divorce decree, and from denial of a "motion for new trial." Held: (1) A motion for new trial does not lie to review proceedings on a motion culminating in…
MAZOUR VS. MAZOUR (DIVORCE PROPERTY & ALIMONY)
May 9, 194764 Nev. 245, 180 P.2d 103 (1947) · 3472 · Nevada Supreme Court
Affirmed. ("The judgment of the district court is hereby affirmed, with costs.")Appeal from a judgment sustaining a general demurrer to, and dismissing, a separate equity action seeking to cancel for fraud, duress, and undue influence a property-settlement agreement that had been ratified,…
FULLER VS. FULLER (DIVORCE PROPERTY & ALIMONY)
Jun 4, 194563 Nev. 26, 159 P.2d 579 (1945) · 3421 · Nevada Supreme Court
Affirmed. ("The judgment and order appealed from are affirmed.")Appeal from a decree, entered under Stats. 1939, ch. 18 (2 N.C.L. Supp. sec. 9895), establishing a deceased wife's death and vesting community real property in the surviving husband, and from denial of a new trial.…
HARRIS VS. HARRIS (DIVORCE)
Jun 4, 194562 Nev. 476, 159 P.2d 575 (1945) · 3420 · Nevada Supreme Court
Reversed and remanded for a new trial. ("... the said judgment must therefore be reversed, and it appearing that the only manner in which the case can be satisfactorily determined is by a new trial, it is so ordered.")On the merits of the divorce appeal (judgment roll alone). The decree granted the husband a divorce on the ground of three-years' separation, but the jurisdictional facts (bona fide six-week Nevada residence and…
MORROW VS. MORROW (DIVORCE)
Mar 7, 194562 Nev. 492, 156 P.2d 827 (1945) · 3415 · Nevada Supreme Court
Appeal dismissed as moot. ("The appeal is dismissed.")Appeal by the defaulted defendant wife from an order striking her answer, from the divorce decree, and from an order striking her motion to vacate; the plaintiff husband died after the appeal, and a court-appointed…
KOHLSAAT VS. KOHLSAAT (DIVORCE)
Jan 29, 194562 Nev. 485, 155 P.2d 474 (1945) · 3422 · Nevada Supreme Court
Affirmed. ("No prejudicial error appearing, the judgment and order appealed from are affirmed.")Appeal by the defendant wife from a divorce decree granted the husband on the ground of three years' separation. Held: (1) under N.C.L. sec. 8782, failure to demand a jury within five days after written notice of the…
HARRIS VS. HARRIS (DIVORCE)
Dec 4, 194462 Nev. 473, 153 P.2d 904 (1944) · 3420 · Nevada Supreme Court
Motion to strike the "Special Findings of Fact by the Jury" granted; motion to strike portions of the divorce decree denied. ("The motion to strike the 'Special Findings of Fact by the Jury' is allowed. The motion to strike certain portions of the decree of divorce is denied.")On motions in a divorce appeal taken on the judgment roll alone. The jury had returned both a "special verdict" and a separate document titled "Special Findings of Fact by the Jury." Held: special findings of fact by a…
KOCH VS. KOCH (DIVORCE)
Oct 13, 194462 Nev. 399, 152 P.2d 430 (1944) · 3412 · Nevada Supreme Court
Affirmed. ("The judgment and order appealed from are affirmed.")Appeal on the judgment roll alone from a divorce decree for extreme cruelty; the wife pleaded a prior Massachusetts separate-maintenance decree (finding the husband deserted her) as res judicata. Held: (1) a reporter's…
BUAAS VS. BUAAS (DIVORCE PROPERTY & ALIMONY)
Mar 20, 194462 Nev. 232, 147 P.2d 495 (1944) · 3408 · Nevada Supreme Court
Affirmed. ("The judgment and order appealed from are affirmed.")Appeal by the defendant and cross-complainant wife from a divorce decree (extreme cruelty) that divided the parties' community property. Held: (1) relief under a general prayer must follow legitimately from the…
LEMP VS. LEMP (DIVORCE)
Sep 23, 194362 Nev. 91, 141 P.2d 212 (1943) · 3389 · Nevada Supreme Court
Appeal dismissed as moot, with costs to appellant. ("Appeal dismissed, with costs to appellant.")Appeal by the defendant wife from a divorce decree (three-years' separation) and from an order striking her affirmative defenses and money cross-complaints; the plaintiff husband died pending appeal, and his former…
FULLER VS. FULLER (DIVORCE)
Nov 30, 194261 Nev. 427, 131 P.2d 727 (1942) · 3383 · Nevada Supreme Court
Motion granted in reduced amounts. The husband was ordered to pay a $150 attorney's fee and $50 for record preparation, to continue the lower court's support and mortgage payments, and to pay an additional $50 per month for the wife's support during the pendency of the appeal.The plaintiff-husband sued for divorce and failed to obtain one; the decree of divorce was instead granted to the defendant-wife (appellant) on the ground of extreme cruelty. She appealed from portions of the decree and…
DIRKS VS. DIRKS (DIVORCE)
Apr 25, 194261 Nev. 267, 125 P.2d 305 (1942) · 3365 · Nevada Supreme Court
Motion granted in part. The husband was ordered to pay the clerk of the court $150 as the wife's attorney's fee, and proceedings were stayed until the order was complied with.The plaintiff-husband, whose divorce action had been denied below, appealed. The respondent-wife moved for an order requiring him to pay $500 for her attorney's fee in defending the appeal, plus costs. Her supporting…
CALVERT VS. CALVERT (DIVORCE)
Feb 19, 194261 Nev. 168, 122 P.2d 426 (1942) · 3348 · Nevada Supreme Court
Affirmed. ("The judgment appealed from is affirmed.")Appeal from a judgment dismissing, on a sustained general demurrer, the plaintiff wife's complaint to vacate her own 1939 divorce decree for duress and coercion. Held: to vacate a decree for fraud in Nevada, the fraud…
AFRIAT VS. AFRIAT (DIVORCE PROPERTY & ALIMONY)
Oct 2, 194161 Nev. 321, 117 P.2d 83 (1941) · 3346 · Nevada Supreme Court
Motion for allowances granted; respondent ordered to pay $150 attorneys' fees, $220 for the transcript, $26.70 for the judgment roll, and $50 per month during the pendency of the appeal.On the appellant wife's motion for allowances (alimony pendente lite, attorneys' fees, and costs) pending her divorce appeal, and the respondent's objections. Held: (1) the time to appeal from the order denying a new…
CUNNINGHAM VS. CUNNINGHAM (DIVORCE PROPERTY & ALIMONY)
Aug 29, 194161 Nev. 93, 116 P.2d 188 (1941) · 3307 · Nevada Supreme Court
Affirmed. ("The judgment in all respects and order denying a motion for a new trial are affirmed.")The wife appealed only from the property and alimony provisions of a divorce decree entered in her favor on the ground of extreme cruelty (Second Judicial District Court, Washoe County), and from the order denying a new…
CUNNINGHAM VS. CUNNINGHAM (DIVORCE)
May 11, 194060 Nev. 191, 102 P.2d 94 (1940) · 3307 · Nevada Supreme Court
The motion for allowances was denied without prejudice to a renewed motion within a reasonable time; ruling on the motion to dismiss the appeal was reserved until after the expiration of that time.On the wife's motion for allowances to prosecute her appeal from the property provisions of a divorce decree entered in her favor on the ground of extreme cruelty, and on the husband's cross-motion to dismiss the…
NAHAS VS. NAHAS (DIVORCE)
May 6, 193959 Nev. 220, 90 P.2d 223 (1939) · 3252 · Nevada Supreme Court
Affirmed. ("The order appealed from is affirmed.")Appeal from an order setting aside a default judgment and decree of divorce and permitting the defendant-husband to answer. The wife obtained the decree by default after serving the husband in Lebanon by out-of-state…
BAKER VS. BAKER (DIVORCE)
Mar 4, 193959 Nev. 163, 87 P.2d 800 (1939) · 3249 · Nevada Supreme Court
The motion to dismiss the appeal was denied; the court ordered the husband to pay aggregate allowances of $195 ($30 toward reporter's notes, $65 toward the transcript, and $100 attorney's fee) for the prosecution of the wife's appeal.In the husband's divorce action (extreme cruelty and two-year insanity), the incompetent wife was served in an Illinois sanitarium and the district court appointed a guardian ad litem associated with plaintiff's…
NEAL VS. NEAL (DIVORCE)
Mar 7, 193858 Nev. 287, 76 P.2d 1097 (1938) · 3219 · Nevada Supreme Court
Motion granted in part. The husband was ordered to pay an aggregate of $700 ($25 filing fee, $275 transcript, and $400 attorney's fees) within thirty days after written notice of the decision.On the wife's (appellant's) motion for allowances to prosecute her appeal - $1,500 attorney's fees, $275 for the transcript of the trial proceedings, and a $25 filing fee. The respondent did not appear. The motion was…
LAMB VS. LAMB (DIVORCE)
Mar 5, 193757 Nev. 421, 65 P.2d 872 (1937) · 3161 · Nevada Supreme Court
Affirmed. ("Finding no error in the record, the judgment and order appealed from are affirmed.")Appeal by the wife (defendant) from a judgment granting the husband (plaintiff) a divorce on the ground of extreme cruelty following a jury trial (First Judicial District Court, Ormsby County), and from the order…
HANNAH VS. HANNAH (DIVORCE)
Dec 1, 193657 Nev. 239, 62 P.2d 696 (1936) · 3167 · Nevada Supreme Court
Motion granted in part. The husband was ordered to pay the clerk, for the wife's benefit, a $100 attorney's fee and $125 for her other expenses on appeal.On the wife's (appellant's) motion for an order requiring the respondent to pay $400 toward the costs of prosecuting her appeal from a decree of divorce awarded the husband and from the order denying her motion for a…
PROUSE VS. PROUSE (DIVORCE)
Apr 3, 193656 Nev. 467, 56 P.2d 147 (1936) · 3134 · Nevada Supreme Court
Affirmed. ("The decree should be affirmed. It is so ordered.")Appeal by the wife (defendant) from a decree of divorce entered by default in the First Judicial District Court, Ormsby County, after her special demurrer challenging jurisdiction was overruled. The husband's complaint…
WITTENBERG VS. WITTENBERG (DIVORCE)
Mar 5, 193656 Nev. 442, 55 P.2d 619 (1936) · 3093 · Nevada Supreme Court
Affirmed. ("The judgment and order appealed from are affirmed.") The wife's motion to file and include certain depositions as part of the record on appeal was denied.Appeal by the wife (defendant) from a decree granting the husband a divorce on the ground of willful desertion for more than one year (Fifth Judicial District Court, Nye County), and from the order denying a new trial.…
DRESPEL VS. DRESPEL (DIVORCE)
Jun 5, 193556 Nev. 368, 45 P.2d 792 (1935) · 3075 · Nevada Supreme Court
Affirmed in part and reversed in part. The judgment and the order denying a new trial were affirmed; the order denying allowances (except as to funds for transcribing the trial testimony) was reversed and the case remanded to the trial court to pass upon the motion consistent with the opinion.The defendant-wife appealed from an order denying her motion for a new trial (newly discovered evidence) and denying counsel fees and costs incident to that motion, in an action in which the plaintiff-husband was…
GEORGE VS. GEORGE (DIVORCE)
Mar 4, 193556 Nev. 12, 41 P.2d 1059 (1935) · 3082 · Nevada Supreme Court
Affirmed. ("[T]he judgment and order should be affirmed. It is so ordered.")Appeal by the wife (defendant) from a judgment granting the husband (respondent) a divorce on the ground that the parties had lived apart continuously without cohabitation for more than five years (a discretionary…
LAMB VS. LAMB (DIVORCE)
Dec 17, 193455 Nev. 437, 38 P.2d 659 (1934) · 3090 · Nevada Supreme Court
Motion to strike stricken; application granted. Respondent ordered to pay the clerk, for appellant's benefit, the amounts sought in her application.The court first addressed the respondent's motion to strike the application, reiterating that it is bad practice to move to strike a motion (Orleans M. Co. v. Le Champ D'Or F. G. M. Co., 52 Nev. 85, 280 P. 887), and…
NIELSEN VS. NIELSEN (DIVORCE)
Dec 4, 193455 Nev. 425, 38 P.2d 663 (1934) · 3072 · Nevada Supreme Court
Reversed. ("The decree is reversed.")The dispositive assignment was the sufficiency of the complaint. While Session Laws 1931, c. 97, p. 162, permits a plaintiff to state the grounds for divorce in the words of the statute (subject to a bill of…
Every summary is independently verified against the source opinion; summaries are informational research aids, not legal advice, and no substitute for reading the decision. Topic groupings are derived automatically from each case’s category tag and cited statutes; a case may appear under two topics.