Part 5: Introduction and NRS 125B.080(9)(f)
NRS 125B.080(9)(f). The value of services contributed by either parent: This is a rather broad, vague factor which, although it could be used in many ways, has not been addressed by the supreme court or the legislature and has probably not been addressed much at the trial level. The question of whether the services that the custodial parent provides should be considered in calculating a las vegas nevada child support award was presented in Lewis v. Hicks, but the supreme court declined to address it.
The custodial parent’s income is only indirectly reflected in the statutory formula, but the guidelines should not overlook the value of the custodial parent’s own child care services and should encourage the desirability that the custodial parent remain in the home as a full-time parent. It is inconsistent to reimburse a custodial parent in whole or in part for the expense of paid child care while denying any financial recognition for the value of the care provided. This inconsistency could be resolved by dividing the cost of full-time day care between the parents in all cases and allowing the custodial parent to spend this allotment any way that parent desires. Of course, it then follows that if the noncustodial parent exercised greater than average visitation or provides “day care services,” then that parent, too, should be provided consideration.
Rearing children requires expenditures of both time and money. Less tangible, but no less important, is the income the custodial parent forgoes by working less and spending more time with the child. These “opportunity costs” borne by the custodial parent may be measured in terms of reduced working hours, greater time away from work, limits on after hours commitments, and being forced to accept lower paying and less challenging jobs, in order to be nearer and more available to the children and to accommodate their school schedules. Because of the additional demands that go along with being the primary parent, the custodial parent also enjoys less leisure time.
Although the Nevada Supreme Court declined to address the issue, in Wisconsin the statute provides that the court should consider the desirability that the custodian remain in the home as a full-time parent. It also provides that the court should consider the value of custodial services performed by the custodian if the custodian remains in the home. And in Arkansas, an unemployed spouse will be counted as two dependents for the purpose of calculating support.
(This blog series is from excerpts of the article written by Bruce I. Shapiro, a Las Vegas family law attorney with Pecos Law Group, titled “The Lost Factors of NRS 125B.080(9): Deviating From Child Support Guidelines, 12 Nevada Family Law Report 1 (Spring, 1997) and is used with permission of the State Bar of Nevada. The footnotes have been deleted from these excerpts.