This is the next post in my series on collecting back child support in Las Vegas and other Nevada areas. My last article discussed the fact that Nevada allows a parent to collect four years of unpaid support if no prior order is in place. How much support will be owed for the four-year period is an issue which the Court will determine after analyzing the evidence. In this article I will discuss the fact that it is possible for a parent to toll (pause) this four-year limitation. If you are in need of assistance then contact my office today to speak with a family law lawyer.
Nevada law generally allows one to request up to four years of back child support if the parents are unmarried and have never lived together. This means that if a child is six years old, for example, then the parent seeking reimbursement may only receive support for the last four years. The law allows this statute of limitations to be tolled, or paused, however, if the parent has sent a letter to the last known address of their counterpart. So as an example, suppose Jack and Jill are unmarried and have never lived together. They have a six-year old son. When the child is one year old, Jill sends Jack a letter requesting that he begin paying support. Jack ignores the request. Five years later, when Jill files a custody and support action, she may request support going back to the time of the letter.
An important issue will be proving that the letter requesting support was actually sent. It is common for a paying parent to claim that they never received the request. If a parent can produce proof of a certified mailing, then the Court is likely to believe that a demand was, in fact, sent. Other evidence which the Court may consider is email correspondence or text messages between the parties which reference the letter. If there is no evidence which supports the claim that a demand was sent to the parent, then the Court may question why the requesting parent waited so long to file an action. In such a situation, the Court may be more likely to only permit a period of four years for back support. It must be remembered that how the Court will rule in any given situation will always depend on the specifics of the case.
Parents must understand that the four year period of limitations only applies to situations in which the parties have never had a custody or support order and have not lived together. If an order for support exists, then the paying party can be required to make good on all amounts dating back to the original order. This means, for example, that if Jack and Jill have an order stating Jack must pay $400 per month for child support, and he does not pay for a period of six years, then Jill may seek the entire unpaid amount. She may also seek to hold Jack in contempt for non-payment. How to best proceed in any situation, however, is something which should be discussed with an attorney.
If you or a family member are in need of assistance then contact my office online or by telephone today to speak with a Las Vegas child support lawyer. I practice solely in the area of domestic relations law and I understand that this is an important time in your life. Contact us online or by telephone today to get started.