Wednesday, March 19, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- A proposed major overhaul of Nevada's alimony law could have far-reaching repercussions.
A bill was introduced Monday by the Assembly Judiciary Committee to revise the alimony law and to require rich parents to pay more in child support.
Peter Jaquette, a Carson City lawyer who helped draft part of the bill, said "Alimony awards are all over the board. There is no predictability when trying to settle."
Marshal Willick, a family law attorney in Las Vegas, hails the bill as badly needed reform.
"Alimony is the last great crap shoot of Nevada divorce law," Willick said. He said the question of alimony is decided long after the divorce, a factor that's very inconvenient to couples.
Depending on a parent's income, the bill allows for the current maximum of $500 a month in child support to be raised.
"Child support should not be looked at as merely to provide the basic needs but also to allow the child to share in the fortunes of the parent," Jaquette said.
Assembly Bill 278, which includes the alimony and child support changes, is expected to generate controversy.
"Father and mother groups are equally vocal," Jaquette said.
The bill sets guidelines and formulas for a district judge to follow in deciding on alimony and how much should be awarded. Some factors to be considered by the judge would be the length of the marriage, the age and education of the spouse to be awarded monthly payments and if the spouse was partially or totally disabled.
The judge would apply a series of percentages to come up with the alimony payment.
For instance, in the case of a couple married seven or more years, the district judge would determine the difference in incomes of the husband and wife. Then the judge would multiply the number of years of marriage beyond five years by 1.25 percent. The longer the marriage, the higher the percentage.
This would be only one of numerous factors used. Willick says these formulas are only a "starting point" for the judge, who would have the discretion to set the amount. There's no way of telling whether this bill will mean higher or lower alimony payments.
"No one, either a rich guy or a poor guy, can look at the bill and say it's good or bad for him," Willick said. But it would create a system for the judges to follow, he said, which could help avoid long and costly lawsuits.
Using these guidelines, both sides could determine what alimony would likely be awarded. And that could produce settlements. And it would result in consistency among courts in Nevada, Willick said.
The proposed change in the divorce law was developed by the executive council of the family law section of the State Bar Association. The section meets Thursday in Tonopah to endorse, reject or change the proposal.
The child support changes were drafted by a committee of family law attorneys. Jaquette said there's a wide background among the attorneys on the committee. Some primarily represent husbands, others handle cases from wives, and some have been divorced.
Current law on child support ranges from 18 percent of gross income for one child to 31 percent for four children -- with a cap of $500 per month per child. Under the new bill, the percentage would be applied up to the first $10,000 a month a supporting spouse makes, meaning the new maximum for one child would be $1,800.
The bill also says child-care expenses should be shared by the two parents according to their income. Jaquette says the presumption under the current law is that the parent who has custody pays the child care. "We're trying to share the burden of child care," he said.
Also clarified is the obligation of a father who has support payments to two families. Jaquette says the court will not be able to reduce the payments to the child in the first family if the father has to support a second family. But it will allow the father to deduct from his gross monthly income the amount he pays for the first family.
So the gross monthly income, on which child support payments are based, will be reduced, Jaquette said.
Robert Crowell, president of the State Bar, said the bar is not endorsing the bill. The proposals, he said, come from committees and not the bar itself.
A bill has already been introduced by Assemblyman Mark Amodei, R-Carson City, to raise the maximum child support payment from $500 to $750. Assemblyman Bernie Anderson, D-Sparks, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said the two bills will be melded together.
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