What happens if I don’t pay child support or alimony in Nevada?

Nevada NRS § 201.020 makes it a crime to fail to pay court-ordered child support or spousal support (alimony). Penalties can include incarceration, fines, restitution, a driver’s license suspension, and even garnishment of your wages. It can even impact your child custody rights.

In this article, our Las Vegas criminal defense attorneys discuss the following topics related to nonpayment of child support and alimony:

• 1. Elements
• 2. Penalties
• 3. Defenses
• 4. Federal Law
• Additional Reading

1. Elements

For you to be convicted of violating NRS 201.020 in Nevada, the D.A. must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you “knowingly” defied a court order to pay support to your:

• spouse or former spouse,
• minor child, or
• incapacitated adult child.

To prove you acted “knowingly,” prosecutors typically try to show that:

• you are voluntarily unemployed or underemployed without good cause, with the intention of avoiding paying, or without using reasonable diligence to secure sufficient employment, or
• you are unable to pay because of excessive spending, indebtedness, or another legal obligation.

Note that there is no “marital privilege” that applies in cases for nonpayment of support. Therefore, your (ex)spouse can testify against you in court.¹

Failing to pay court-ordered child support or alimony is a Nevada crime.

2. Penalties

The punishment for nonpayment of child support or alimony in Nevada depends on how much is owed and whether you have past convictions, as the following table shows:

License Suspension

If your case involves child support, the Nevada DMV may suspend your driver’s license if you owe:

• at least $1,000 and
• at least two months of support.²

Child Custody

The family court handling your case may take into consideration your nonsupport conviction(s) when determining your child’s physical and legal custody.³

Civil Contempt

Nevada courts can also place find you in civil contempt for failing to pay alimony or child support. The standard penalty for civil contempt is:

• up to $500 in fines and/or
• up to 25 days in jail.⁴

The court can even issue an order to garnish your wages.

If you cannot pay alimony or child support due to forces beyond your control, you are not criminally liable.

3. Defenses

Here at Las Vegas Defense Group, we have represented countless people charged with nonpayment of alimony or child support. In our experience, the most common defense is that you were unable to make payments at no fault of your own. Charges may be dropped if we can demonstrate that either:

• you diligently searched for a job but with no luck,
• you were too ill or incapacitated to work, or
• you were incarcerated and had insufficient funds in the bank.

Is not a defense to NRS 201.020 charges

1. that you did not realize you were not making payments or
2. that you simply forgot.

The fact that the money was not paid is enough for the court to presume that your conduct was “knowing.”

Typical NRS 201.020 penalties are incarceration and fines as well as restitution.

4. Federal Law

Nonpayment of child support becomes a federal crime when:

1. you willfully did not pay child support for a child who lives in another state – or you traveled to another state with the intent to avoid paying child support; and
2. the nonpayment has lasted for longer than one year or amounts to more than $5,000.⁵

Federal Penalties

Nonpayment of child support carries up to six months in Federal Prison and/or a fine if the following conditions are true:

1. it is your first offense for nonpayment; and
2. you did not leave the state to avoid paying child support; and
3. the nonpayment lasted no more than two years, or the amount in arrears is no more than $10,000.

Otherwise, nonpayment of child support carries up to two years in prison and/or a fine.

In addition, the court will order that you pay full restitution equal to the amount of the unpaid child support.⁶

Federal Defenses

Failing to pay child support is a crime under federal law only if the nonpayment is willful.⁷ Therefore, the most common defense is that any nonpayment resulted from an accident, a mistake, or that you had no means to pay.

Federal courts presume you are financially able to pay a legal child support obligation. However, this presumption may be rebutted by such defenses as the ones used in Nevada state courts described above.⁸

Federal v. Nevada Law

Even if you and your child live in different states, federal court has jurisdiction over child support matters only if:

• the nonpayment spanned more than a year, and
• you are more than $5,000 in arrears.

This is different than in Nevada state court, where you can be prosecuted for missing just one small payment.

Furthermore, all federal cases of nonsupport of children in Nevada are prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and are handled in either:

• the Lloyd D. George Federal Courthouse in Las Vegas or
• the Bruce R. Thompson Federal Courthouse in Reno.

In contrast, Nevada state child support cases are prosecuted by county district attorneys in county justice and district courts.

Federal and State Charges

You can face charges for nonpayment of child support in both Nevada state and federal courts. If you are convicted in both courts, you would serve the sentences consecutively (one after the other).⁹

In certain cases, nonpayment of child support is a federal crime.

Additional Reading

For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:

• What Happens When the Amount of Child Support Due Is a Burden? Revisiting the Relationship between Child Support Orders and Child Support Payments – Social Service Review.
• A New Peonage: Pay, Work, or Go to Jail in Contemporary Child Support Enforcement and Beyond – Seattle University Law Review.
• Piling on Debt: The Intersections between Child Support Arrears and Legal Financial Obligations – UCLA Criminal Justice Law Review.
• Fudging Failure: The Economic Analysis Used to Construct Child Support Guidelines – University of Chicago Legal Forum.
• Fathers behind Bars: Rethinking Child Support Policy toward Low-Income Noncustodial Fathers and Their Families – Journal of Gender Race & Justice.

Note that Nevada has various organizations devoted to ensuring children receive enough financial support such as the Nevada Department of Health and Human Service’s Child Support Enforcement Program. For families living in and around Las Vegas, the Clark County, Nevada Family Court offers various self-help services.

Legal References