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.
13 cases · Paternity - NRS ch. 126 - parentage.
LORENZO VS. GENDEBIEN (CHILD CUSTODY)
Jun 18, 2026142 Nev. Adv. Op. 46 (Ct. App. 2026) · 90082-COA · Nevada Supreme Court
Reversed and remanded.**Standard of review.** The court reviewed the NRCP 12(b)(5) dismissal de novo, applying the "rigorous standard of review" from Buzz Stew, LLC v. City of North Las Vegas, 124 Nev. 224, 227-28, 181 P.3d 670, 672 (2008),…
SCHMIDT VS. FAY
Aug 12, 202525-35259 · 87592-COA · Nevada (SCOTN/COA)
Affirmed. ("we affirm the district court divorce decree and the subsequent denial of Schmidt's motion to amend the decree.")The Court of Appeals reviewed a challenge to a stipulated divorce decree, applying settled contract principles to settlement agreements. The court reiterated that when parties to pending litigation enter into a…
CLELAND VS. CLELAND (CHILD CUSTODY)
Mar 19, 202424-09697 · 86558-COA · Nevada (SCOTN/COA)
Affirmed.The Court of Appeals reviewed the child custody decision for an abuse of discretion, Ellis v. Carucci, 123 Nev. 145, 149, 161 P.3d 239, 241 (2007), affirming factual findings supported by substantial evidence, id. at…
MARTINEZ VS. AVILA, JR. (CHILD CUSTODY)
Jun 30, 2022138 Nev. Adv. Op. 49, 512 P.3d 758 (2022) · 83023 · Nevada Supreme Court
Affirmed.**Standard of review.** The court applies deferential review to the district court's factual findings, setting them aside only if clearly erroneous or unsupported by substantial evidence, while reviewing legal questions…
HARGROVE VS. WARD
Mar 24, 2022138 Nev. Adv. Op. 14, 506 P.3d 329 (2022) · 81331 · Nevada Supreme Court
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.Standard of review: A district court's child support determination is reviewed for abuse of discretion. Miller v. Miller, 134 Nev. 120, 125, 412 P.3d 1081, 1085 (2018). Statutory construction is reviewed de novo. Id. at…
COLT VS. PLUMMER (CHILD CUSTODY)
Jan 24, 202222-02423 · 82662-COA · Nevada (SCOTN/COA)
Affirmed. ("ORDER the judgment of the district court AFFIRMED.")The Court of Appeals reviewed a child custody decision for abuse of discretion, affirming district court determinations if supported by substantial evidence — evidence a reasonable person may accept as adequate to…
NGUYEN VS. BOYNES (CHILD CUSTODY)
Jun 22, 2017133 Nev. Adv. Op. 32 (2017) · 69166 · Nevada Supreme Court
Affirmed.Standard of review. The Court reviewed application of the equitable adoption doctrine de novo as a question of law, citing Rennels v. Rennels, 127 Nev. 564, 569, 257 P.3d 396, 399 (2011). It reviewed the parentage…
Druckman v. Ruscitti
Jun 26, 2014130 Nev. Adv. Op. 50 (2014) · 60598 · Nevada Supreme Court
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.The court, per Douglas, J., en banc, addressed the custodial rights of unmarried parents where paternity has been established by voluntary acknowledgment under NRS 126.053 but no judicial custody order exists. A…
St. Mary v. Damon
Oct 3, 2013129 Nev. 647, 309 P.3d 1027 (2013) · 58315 · Nevada Supreme Court
Reversed and remanded with instructions.The court reviewed the legal questions de novo, citing State Indus. Ins. Sys. v. United Exposition Servs. Co., 109 Nev. 28, 30, 846 P.2d 294, 295 (1998) ("Questions of law are reviewed de novo."). Parentage is…
LOVE VS. LOVE (PATERNITY)
May 19, 1998114 Nev. 572, 959 P.2d 523 (1998) · 29729 · Nevada Supreme Court
Reversed and remanded (the order resolving the paternity complaint and the attorney's fees award reversed; increased child support and private tuition left in place pending the district court's further decisions on remand).A divorce decree establishing paternity is generally res judicata and precludes relitigation between the parties. Harris v. Harris, 95 Nev. 214, 217, 591 P.2d 1147, 1148-49 (1979). However, res judicata does not bar…
HERMANSON VS. HERMANSON (PATERNITY)
Dec 22, 1994110 Nev. 1400, 887 P.2d 1241 (1994) · 25113 · Nevada Supreme Court
Reversed and remanded for further proceedings; the derivative award of joint legal custody to David also reversed.The court applied the substantial-relationship test for choice of law (Sievers v. Diversified Mtg. Investors, 95 Nev. 811, 815, 603 P.2d 270, 273 (1979)): the state whose law applies must have a substantial relationship…
HARRIS VS. HARRIS (PATERNITY)
Mar 15, 197995 Nev. 214, 591 P.2d 1147 (1979) · 9957 · Nevada Supreme Court
Reversed. ("The order is reversed.")The court reversed a post-decree order declaring that a child previously adjudged the issue of the marriage was not the respondent's child and setting aside prior support and custody orders. Although NRS 125.140(2)…
FLOWERS VS. SCOTT (PATERNITY)
Apr 10, 197288 Nev. 254, 495 P.2d 610 (1972) · 6514, 6297 · Nevada Supreme Court
Affirmed (both appeals).In consolidated appeals concerning a child born out of wedlock, the court affirmed both the dismissal of the stepfather's adoption petition and the denial of the mother's petition to terminate the natural father's…
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.