NRS 123.220 provides that all property, other than that stated in NRS 123.130, acquired after marriage by either husband or wife, or both is community property. NRS 123.130(2), however, provides:
All property of the husband owned by him before marriage, and that acquired by him afterward by gift, bequest, devise, descent or by an award for personal injury damages, with the rents, issues and profits thereof, is his separate property.
Basically, any property that a spouse owned before marriage or was given after marriage is presumed to be that spouse’s separate property even without a prenuptial agreement. If, however, a person has separate property and commingles it with community property or puts his or her spouse’s name on title to the property, the separate nature of the property may be waived. Additionally, under NRS 125.150(2), if a party uses separate property to purchase property during marriage, the court may have the discretion whether or not to reimburse that spouse for the separate property.
In sum, a prenuptial agreement is the best way to protect separate property and avoid any misunderstandings as to the intent one had when purchasing property during marriage. A postnuptial agreement may accomplish the same objective. In the absence of an agreement, however, the court may have the discretion to determine whether property is separate or community.