Recent Nevada Divorce Bills React to Violent Acts During Divorce Disputes!
While the divorce process can be very stressful and difficult, some unfortunately violent actions, including the murder of a wife and attempted homicide of a judge in a Reno divorce, have prompted various pieces of Nevada divorce legislation addressing alimony and custody debates.
State lawmakers are currently considering several Nevada divorce bills which were prompted in large part by these publicized and disturbing cases.
. AB52, which would write into Nevada divorce law the rules guiding judges during alimony disputes, was prompted by a man charged with killing his wife and trying to murder the judge who presided over his Reno divorce case. Specifically, Darren Mack was not happy with how Judge Chuck Weller was treating him during his divorce with his wife Charla, with whom he had a now 10-year-old daughter.
According to an Elko Daily Free Press story and CBS' 48 Hours Mystery television program, Mack felt that Weller was favoring his wife throughout the proceeding. In May 2005, Weller ordered Mack, an estimated millionaire with a reported $500,000 annual salary, to pay his wife $10,000 a month in temporary Nevada alimony payments. Mack, who friends had described as thinking of himself as a patron for father rights, is accused of stabbing his wife to death on June 12, 2006 and then later shooting into an office containing Weller, who was hit by shrapnel but survived. Mack then fled to Mexico for a week before turning himself him. He has pleaded not guilty to murder and attempted murder charges, and his trial is set for October of this year.
After hearing of the tragedies surrounding this Reno divorce case, Nevada Assemblyman John Carpenter said in the Elko Daily Free Press story that he had to introduce legislation defining the rules for determining Nevada alimony payments. Current Nevada law does not provide any guidelines for a judge to determine alimony. Carpenter said that judges are supposed to base their Nevada alimony decisions off several precedent-setting state Supreme Court decisions, but admitted that it's unclear whether judges always do so.
While Weller has denied Darren Mack's allegations of favorable treatment towards his wife, Carpenter wondered whether such tragedies could have been ultimately avoided if these guidelines had been spelled out. Under his Nevada divorce legislation, courts would now have clear guidelines when determining alimony payments. According to this Nevada divorce bill, judges would have to consider a series of specific points in addition to any other factors used to determine alimony payments.
Specifically, this Nevada divorce bill would mandate courts to examine the financial condition of each spouse, the nature and value of property of each spouse, and the contribution of the spouse to any property held by the couple when determining alimony. Judges would also have to consider the duration of the marriage, standard of living during the marriage, and the income, earning capacity, age, and mental and physical health of each spouse. View some other requirements in the blue, original text of this Nevada divorce bill.
Following Nevada Divorce Bills Also a Product of Violence!
. Nevada divorce bill AB125, requiring judges to consider any history of domestic abuse when determining alimony, was prompted in large part by the case of Kathryn Mershon Conrad, who had to pay her husband alimony despite the fact that he had physically abused her in the past. According to a Las Vegas Sun story, Conrad's husband once broke her leg during a dispute, and yet she was ordered to pay him alimony each month after their divorce. Assemblyman Mark Manendo sponsored this Nevada divorce legislation, which he said would make sure that alimony payments are never again rewarded to spousal abusers.
In addition to being related to AB52, this Nevada divorce bill would have had interesting implications in the Mack case if this possible law existed at the time. Mack, who was a part-time bodybuilder, had alleged that his wife Charla, a former actress, had physically abused him in the past. Friends of Charla have denied all such claims, saying that Darren Mack once grasped her around the neck and tried to strangle her, according to the 48 Hours Mystery story.
. AB45, which would eliminate parental rights for anyone convicted of soliciting murder, was prompted in large part by the case of Florela McCorkle, who was convicted of trying to have her husband Rob murdered during their Nevada divorce. While currently serving a prison term, Florela still retains some custody rights over the ex-couple's daughter, a situation which the Elko Daily Free Press story has left Rob very frustrated and upset. Current Nevada law eliminates parental rights in similar cases only if the child is under the state's custody.
Visit Total Lawyers for the latest developments on these Nevada divorce bills. And if you're considering divorce or already have been served with divorce papers, speak to a local divorce lawyer as soon as possible to learn more about the laws in your state and your legal rights.