Practice Area - Family Law

What You Built Deserves
a Rigorous Defense.

The decisions made in a dissolution of marriage carry legal and financial implications that can define a person’s circumstances for decades. Lauren brings analytical precision and strategic creativity to high-stakes dissolution proceedings and contested custody matters across Northern Nevada.

Focus
High-stakes dissolution, complex asset division, contested custody
Approach
Rigorous, methodical, and focused on long-term client interests
Location
Reno, Nevada — Second Judicial District Court

Family Law
in Nevada

Family law occupies a unique intersection of statutory complexity, constitutional principle, and deeply human consequence. Lauren Gorman's family law practice focuses on high-stakes dissolution proceedings, complex property and asset division, and contested custody matters for clients in Reno, Nevada and throughout the region. Her approach is rigorous, methodical, and uncompromising in its focus on the client's long-term interests, not simply the resolution of the immediate dispute.

Family law litigation, at its best, is not about winning arguments, it is about achieving durable outcomes that reflect the law, the facts, and the client's genuine long-term interests.

For clients navigating a high-stakes dissolution or complex custody matter in Northern Nevada, Lauren offers the rare combination of nationally recognized expertise and deep familiarity with the courts and practitioners of this region.

The Legal Framework:
Nevada Divorce Law

Nevada is a no-fault divorce jurisdiction. Under NRS 125.010, a marriage may be dissolved on the ground of incompatibility without any requirement to establish fault, misconduct, or wrongdoing on the part of either spouse. Nevada courts are not concerned with why a marriage ended; they are concerned with how its dissolution is structured.

Jurisdiction in Nevada requires satisfaction of the residency requirement under NRS 125.020: at least one party must have been domiciled in Nevada for not less than six weeks immediately preceding the commencement of the action. This requirement is a jurisdictional prerequisite, not a technicality.

Nevada's District Courts have jurisdiction over divorce proceedings. In Washoe County, the Second Judicial District Court handles family law matters and has developed a substantial body of local practice that a seasoned practitioner navigates with precision.

Community Property:
Statutory Framework and Analytical Complexity

Nevada is one of nine community property states in the United States. The foundational principle, codified in NRS 123.220 and NRS 125.150, is that all property acquired by either spouse during the course of the marriage regardless of title, form of ownership, or whose income generated it, is community property, owned in equal undivided shares by both spouses. Upon dissolution, NRS 125.150(1)(b) requires the court to make an equal disposition of community property, absent a compelling reason supported by written findings. Caselaw has fleshed out what constitutes a compelling reason to depart from equal division including marital waste — financial misconduct that includes the dissipation, secretion, unauthorized transfer, or destruction of community assets. Separate property, as defined by NRS 123.130, encompasses assets owned prior to marriage and property acquired during the marriage by gift or inheritance. The analytical challenge in complex dissolutions lies in the tracing of separate property contributions through years of commingling, transmutation, and cross-investment. In high-net-worth matters, the landscape of separate and community property extends well beyond bank accounts and real estate. Lauren is able to analyze and litigate:
  • Closely held business interests, professional practices, and partnership equity
  • Executive compensation structures including restricted stock units, stock options, and deferred compensation
  • Retirement assets
  • Investment portfolios, brokerage accounts, and alternative investments
  • Real property, including primary residences, investment properties, and vacation holdings
Lauren works with forensic accountants, business valuation experts, and financial analysts to develop and defend valuations that reflect economic reality — and to challenge methodologies that do not.

Spousal Support:
Principled Analysis Under NRS 125.150

Alimony in Nevada is neither automatic nor formulaic. Under NRS 125.150(1)(a), the court is authorized to award support to either spouse in such amount as appears "just and equitable" — a standard that vests substantial discretion in the trial court and requires thorough advocacy on both sides of the question.

The factors informing a spousal support determination include the duration of the marriage, the standard of living established during the marriage, the financial condition and earning capacity of each party, the career and educational sacrifices made by one spouse in support of the other, and the extent to which either spouse's marketable skills have been diminished by time out of the workforce.

Lauren approaches spousal support with the same analytical framework she brings to trial: a systematic evaluation of the statutory factors, a critical examination of the opposing party's financial disclosures, and a clear narrative that contextualizes the numbers within the arc of the marriage. She is equally prepared to pursue substantial support awards on behalf of economically disadvantaged spouses and to defend against overreaching claims that do not withstand scrutiny.

Child Custody:
The Best Interests Standard

Nevada's child custody framework is governed by NRS 125C.0035, which establishes the best interests of the child as the sole consideration in any determination of physical custody. The statute is explicit: no preference may be given to either parent on the basis of gender, and the court must set forth specific findings regarding the statutory factors it weighed in reaching its determination. Nevada law establishes a presumption in favor of joint physical custody under NRS 125C.0025. Joint physical custody is defined as an arrangement in which each parent has the child at least 40% of the time. Where joint custody is not feasible due to domestic violence, substance abuse, geographic constraints, or demonstrated parental unfitness, the court may award primary physical custody to one parent. The statutory factors the court must consider include the nature and quality of each parent's relationship with the child, the mental and physical health of the parties, each parent's demonstrated willingness to support and facilitate the child's relationship with the other parent, and, where the child is of sufficient age and maturity, the child's own expressed preferences.

Post-Decree Matters

Post-decree matters are an equally important dimension of custody practice. Lauren handles custody modifications under NRS 125C.0045, which require a showing of substantial change in circumstances, and relocation petitions under NRS 125C.007, where a custodial parent seeks to remove a child from Nevada. Relocation cases are factually intensive and legally nuanced, requiring a compelling affirmative showing that the proposed move serves the child's best interests.

Child
Support

Child support in Nevada is governed by NRS Chapter 125B and calculated according to a statutory formula based on each parent's gross monthly income and the number of children. The guidelines establish presumptive support amounts, but courts retain discretion to deviate in cases where the guidelines would produce an unjust or inappropriate result. This includes cases involving extraordinary expenses, high income levels, or unusual parenting arrangements.

In high-income cases, strict application of the formula may not adequately account for a child's established standard of living or special needs. Lauren presents the factual and legal case for appropriate deviations when the guidelines fall short, and contests inflated support claims with the same rigor she applies to other financial issues in the dissolution.

Prenuptial and
Postnuptial Agreements

Nevada's Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, codified at NRS Chapter 123A, provides a robust statutory framework for the enforcement of prenuptial agreements. A valid premarital agreement must be voluntarily executed, supported by full and fair disclosure of each party's financial circumstances, and must not be unconscionable at the time of execution. Agreements that fail these requirements are subject to challenge and may be set aside in whole or in part.

Lauren drafts prenuptial and postnuptial agreements for clients with complex asset structures, family wealth, business interests, prior marriages, and estate planning considerations. She also provides critical review of proposed agreements, examining them not only for formal compliance with NRS Chapter 123A, but for substantive fairness and long-term enforceability under Nevada's evolving case law.

Consultations available for high-stakes dissolution and custody matters in Northern Nevada.

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