Nevada family-law case summaries

This case concerns the difference between a divorce and an annulment, and what a court must prove before it can declare that a marriage never legally existed. Maria Rosa Dos Santos, who is originally from Argentina and was living in the United States on an expired visa, met Mark Vincent Dreibelbis, a U.S. citizen and Nevada real estate agent, through a dating app in late 2021. They married in Las Vegas in February 2022, despite a language barrier (Mark spoke English, Maria spoke only Spanish), and Maria moved in with Mark in Henderson. Mark supported Maria financially and began helping her apply for permanent residency, but the application was never filed because his real estate business struggled as mortgage interest rates rose. As their finances worsened, the relationship broke down. By October 2022, Maria had moved into a friend's home and told police that Mark had strangled her during a domestic violence incident. Police observed visible injuries, went to Mark's home, and arrested him; he denied the allegations. Mark was charged with domestic battery by strangulation, but the charge was later dismissed after Maria did not appear to testify. In May 2023, Maria filed for divorce. Mark responded by asking the court to annul the marriage - an annulment treats the marriage as if it was never valid, rather than ending a valid marriage as a divorce does. Mark claimed Maria married him only to get immigration benefits and that she had made up the domestic violence accusations to support an immigration petition. He submitted translated WhatsApp messages that he said showed Maria admitting she fabricated the abuse claims and used the marriage to get legal status. Maria denied writing the messages and said Mark - who had created her WhatsApp account and had access to her devices - fabricated them. Mark acknowledged he knew about her immigration status before the marriage and had agreed to support her and help her get documentation for legal residency. After a trial, the district court granted the annulment. It found that Maria had fraudulently induced the marriage solely for immigration purposes and that her domestic violence allegations were not credible, concluding that Mark had "sufficiently proven" his allegations. On appeal, the Court of Appeals agreed with Maria that the district court used the wrong standard of proof. Under Nevada law, a person seeking an annulment based on fraud must prove that fraud by "clear and convincing evidence" - a demanding standard. The trial court instead said only that Mark had "sufficiently proven" his claims, and it never identified or applied the clear-and-convincing standard. The appellate court also noted that the trial court never worked through the specific elements that make up fraud. Because of this, the Court of Appeals reversed the annulment and sent the case back so the district court can apply the correct standard and analyze the elements of fraud properly. The court added that if, on remand, the district court concludes Mark did not prove fraud by clear and convincing evidence, it should instead enter a decree of divorce.