FreeQDRO

Glossary · 67 terms · free & public

The words, in plain language.

Every term of art used across FreeQDRO’s tools and case summaries, defined for a person meeting it for the first time - with the statute, regulation, or case behind each one. Definitions describe what things are; what any of it means for your own case is a question for a licensed Nevada attorney.

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10/10 rule
A payment-mechanics rule for divided military retired pay: if the marriage lasted at least 10 years overlapping at least 10 years of creditable service, DFAS (the military pay agency) sends the former spouse's property share directly. If 10/10 is not met, the former spouse is still entitled to the awarded share - the retired member simply pays it personally instead of DFAS. It controls who writes the check, not whether there is one.
10 U.S.C. 1408(d)(2)
See also: Military retired pay (USFSPA), Disposable retired payUsed in: QDRO Preparer

A

Abuse of discretion
The standard appellate courts use to review a trial judge's discretionary calls - custody, alimony, property division, and similar rulings. The appellate court asks whether the decision was arbitrary, capricious, or unsupported by the evidence, not whether it would have decided differently itself. Many family-law appeals turn on this standard, which is why case summaries mention it so often.
See also: Affirmed / reversed / remanded / vacated, Specific findingsUsed in: Case Library
Affirmed / reversed / remanded / vacated
The four common outcomes of an appeal. Affirmed: the trial court's decision stands. Reversed: it is overturned. Remanded: the case is sent back to the trial court to redo something, often with instructions. Vacated: the order is wiped out as though it had not been entered. Combinations are common - 'reversed and remanded' means overturned and sent back.
See also: Abuse of discretion, RemandUsed in: Case Library
Alimony (spousal support)
Court-ordered support paid by one former spouse to the other after (or during) a divorce. It is separate from child support and separate from the property division - a court can award alimony in addition to dividing the community property. Nevada courts weigh statutory factors; there is no fixed formula.
NRS 125.150
See also: Community property, Decree of divorceUsed in: Case Library
Alternate payee
The person a retirement order directs the plan to pay - in divorce, the spouse or former spouse receiving a share of the other spouse's retirement benefit. The plans' own paperwork uses this term, so it appears throughout division orders even though it just means 'the receiving spouse.'
29 U.S.C. 1056(d)(3)(K); NRS 286.6703
See also: Participant (member), QDRO (Qualified Domestic Relations Order)Used in: QDRO Preparer, Retirement Division calculator
Arrears (arrearage)
Support payments that came due under a court order and were not paid. In Nevada each missed child-support installment becomes enforceable as a judgment on the date it was due, without going back to court, and unpaid amounts accrue interest - and, for periods before 2020, a statutory penalty as well.
NRS 125B.140; NRS 99.040; NRS 125B.095
See also: Installment, Judgment interest, Penalty (support delinquency), PrincipalUsed in: Arrears calculator, Interest & Penalties calculator, Case Library

B

Best interest of the child
The governing standard for every Nevada custody decision: the court decides according to what serves the child's welfare, guided by a statutory list of factors (the child's relationship with each parent, each parent's ability to cooperate, any history of violence or abduction, and more). It controls over the parents' preferences, and appellate decisions frequently test whether the trial court tied its ruling to these factors.
NRS 125C.0035
See also: Physical custody, Legal custody, Specific findingsUsed in: Case Library

C

Caption
The heading block on the first page of a court filing: the court's name, the parties (Plaintiff and Defendant), the case number, and the department. Every paper filed in a case carries the same caption so the clerk can match it to the file. The preparer builds it from the details on your existing divorce papers.
See also: Decree of divorce, In proper person (pro se)Used in: QDRO Preparer
Child support obligation
The monthly amount a parent is ordered to pay for a child's support, set in Nevada by regulation as tiered percentages of the paying parent's gross monthly income, adjusted for the custody arrangement and statutory factors. Nevada moved the schedule from statute into regulation in 2020; the current regulation is Chapter 425 of the Nevada Administrative Code.
NAC ch. 425; NRS 125B
See also: Arrears (arrearage), Obligor / obligee, NAC (Nevada Administrative Code)Used in: Child Support calculator, Case Library
COAP (Court Order Acceptable for Processing)
The federal Office of Personnel Management's name for a court order dividing a federal civilian pension (CSRS or FERS). OPM only honors orders that use the precise formats in its regulations - its model paragraphs are codified as an appendix to the rules - which is why a COAP is drafted differently from a QDRO even though it does a similar job.
5 CFR part 838
See also: FERS (Federal Employees Retirement System), CSRS (Civil Service Retirement System), QDRO (Qualified Domestic Relations Order)Used in: QDRO Preparer, Retirement Division calculator
Community property
Nevada's marital-property rule: with narrow exceptions, everything either spouse earns or acquires during the marriage belongs to both spouses together - including wages, and retirement benefits earned by working during the marriage. At divorce the court makes an equal division of community property unless it finds a compelling reason in writing to divide unequally.
NRS 123.220; NRS 125.150(1)(b)
See also: Separate property, Coverture fraction, Time ruleUsed in: QDRO Preparer, Retirement Division calculator, Malmquist calculator, Case Library
Contempt
A court's enforcement power against someone who disobeys its order - including support and custody orders. Consequences can include fines and, in serious cases, jail, after notice and a hearing. In family cases it is a common enforcement route for unpaid support alongside wage withholding and judgment collection.
NRS ch. 22
See also: Arrears (arrearage)Used in: Case Library
Coverture fraction
The fraction that measures how much of a pension was earned during the marriage: service time during the marriage divided by total service time. Married for 10 of the 20 years a pension was earned, the coverture fraction is 10/20 - half the pension is marital. It is the arithmetic heart of the time rule Nevada uses to divide pensions.
Gemma v. Gemma, 105 Nev. 458 (1989); Fondi v. Fondi, 106 Nev. 856 (1990)
See also: Time rule, Community propertyUsed in: QDRO Preparer, Retirement Division calculator
CSRS (Civil Service Retirement System)
The older of the two federal civilian pension systems, generally covering employees hired before 1984. It is divided at divorce by a COAP under OPM's rules, and its maximum former-spouse survivor annuity is 55% of the employee's annuity.
5 U.S.C. ch. 83; 5 CFR part 838
See also: FERS (Federal Employees Retirement System), COAP (Court Order Acceptable for Processing)Used in: QDRO Preparer, Retirement Division calculator

D

Decree of divorce
The court order that ends the marriage and resolves the case - custody, support, and the division of property and debts. Its entry date matters in Nevada retirement division because the community ends at divorce: benefits earned after the decree are the earning spouse's separate property. A decree that divides a retirement plan still needs a separate order (a QDRO or its government equivalent) before the plan itself will pay.
NRS 125.150; Forrest v. Forrest, 99 Nev. 602 (1983)
See also: QDRO (Qualified Domestic Relations Order), Community property, Valuation dateUsed in: QDRO Preparer, Retirement Division calculator, Case Library
Deemed election (SBP)
The former spouse's own filing that locks in Survivor Benefit Plan coverage awarded by a court order. Because the member might not submit the election, the law lets the former spouse 'deem' it done by sending DFAS the required form (DD Form 2656-10) - but only within one year of the order. Missing that window can forfeit the coverage even though the order awarded it.
10 U.S.C. 1450(f)(3)
See also: SBP (Survivor Benefit Plan), Military retired pay (USFSPA)Used in: QDRO Preparer
Defined-benefit plan
A retirement plan that promises a monthly payment for life at retirement - a traditional pension - rather than an account balance. The employer bears the investment risk. Nevada PERS, military retired pay, FERS/CSRS, and traditional company pensions are all defined-benefit plans; they are divided by formulas and elections rather than by splitting a balance.
See also: Defined-contribution plan, Time rule, Survivor benefitUsed in: QDRO Preparer, Retirement Division calculator
Defined-contribution plan
A retirement plan that is an account with a balance - a 401(k), 403(b), 457(b), or the federal TSP. Contributions go in, investments rise and fall, and the balance is what it is. At divorce these are divided by assigning a percentage or dollar amount of the balance as of a chosen date, often with gains and losses following the share until it is paid out.
See also: Defined-benefit plan, Valuation date, Gains and losses, VestedUsed in: QDRO Preparer, Retirement Division calculator
Disposable retired pay
The portion of military retired pay a court may treat as divisible property: gross retired pay minus specific deductions the statute lists (most notably amounts waived to receive VA disability compensation). Awards in military division orders are stated against disposable retired pay, which is why the divisible amount can be smaller than the gross figure on the retiree's statement.
10 U.S.C. 1408(a)(4)
See also: Military retired pay (USFSPA), 10/10 ruleUsed in: QDRO Preparer
District court
Nevada's trial court, where divorce and custody cases start and where orders like QDROs are signed. Each judicial district covers a county or group of counties - the Eighth Judicial District Court is Clark County (Las Vegas), and its Family Division hears family cases. Appeals go from the district court to the Nevada appellate courts.
See also: Affirmed / reversed / remanded / vacated, CaptionUsed in: QDRO Preparer, Case Library
Domicile
A person's permanent legal home - the state they live in and intend to remain in or return to, shown by things like voter registration, a driver's license, and tax filings. It matters in military divorce because a Nevada court can divide retired pay only if the member is domiciled here, resides here for reasons other than military orders, or consents to the court's authority.
10 U.S.C. 1408(c)(4)
See also: Jurisdiction, Military retired pay (USFSPA)Used in: QDRO Preparer
Due process
The constitutional guarantee of fair procedure before a court takes away rights - at minimum, notice of what is at stake and a meaningful chance to be heard. In family cases it is the ground appellate courts use when a parent's rights were changed without adequate notice or a hearing.
See also: Evidentiary hearingUsed in: Case Library

E

Election
A choice the law leaves to the parties rather than fixing for them - which division approach, which survivor treatment, whether a share adjusts for market gains. Division orders must state many elections expressly because silence is itself treated as a choice (sometimes a harsh one). The preparer presents each election with its consequences and authority; the user chooses.
See also: Survivor benefit, Gains and lossesUsed in: QDRO Preparer
ERISA
The federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, the law governing most private-employer retirement plans. ERISA normally forbids assigning retirement benefits to anyone else; the QDRO is the exception it carves out for divorce. Government plans - PERS, military, federal civil service, TSP - are exempt from ERISA and use their own equivalents.
29 U.S.C. ch. 18; 29 U.S.C. 1056(d)(3)
See also: QDRO (Qualified Domestic Relations Order), PERS (Public Employees' Retirement System of Nevada), COAP (Court Order Acceptable for Processing)Used in: QDRO Preparer, Retirement Division calculator
Evidentiary hearing
A court proceeding where the judge takes actual evidence - sworn testimony, exhibits, cross-examination - rather than deciding on the papers and lawyers' arguments alone. Many family-law appeals turn on whether a parent who asked to change custody made a sufficient showing to get one.
Rooney v. Rooney, 109 Nev. 540 (1993)
See also: Prima facie, Modification (changed circumstances)Used in: Case Library

F

FERS (Federal Employees Retirement System)
The current federal civilian retirement system, generally covering employees hired since 1984. A FERS employee typically has both a pension (divided by a COAP) and a Thrift Savings Plan account (divided by a separate RBCO) - two orders for two benefits. The maximum former-spouse survivor annuity under FERS is 50% of the employee's annuity.
5 U.S.C. ch. 84; 5 CFR part 838
See also: CSRS (Civil Service Retirement System), COAP (Court Order Acceptable for Processing), TSP (Thrift Savings Plan)Used in: QDRO Preparer, Retirement Division calculator

G

Gains and losses
Investment movement on a retirement account between the date it is divided on paper and the day the receiving spouse's share is actually separated or paid. An order for a 401(k) or TSP states whether the awarded share moves with the market during that gap or stays frozen at the valuation-date figure - under TSP's rule, an order that says nothing means no earnings.
DOL EBSA QDRO guidance; 5 CFR 1653.4(f)(1)
See also: Valuation date, Defined-contribution planUsed in: QDRO Preparer
Guardianship
A court appointment giving someone legal authority over another person's care or finances - for a child, typically when neither parent can provide care; for an adult, upon incapacity. It is a distinct case type from custody between parents, with its own statutes and procedures.
NRS ch. 159; NRS ch. 159A
Used in: Case Library

H

High-3
The base used to compute modern military retired pay: the average of the member's highest 36 months of basic pay. Since the 2016 change to the USFSPA, an order dividing a still-serving member's retired pay must recite the member's High-3 amount as of the divorce date, freezing the divisible benefit at what had been earned by then.
10 U.S.C. 1407; 10 U.S.C. 1408(a)(4)(B)
See also: Military retired pay (USFSPA), Disposable retired payUsed in: QDRO Preparer

I

In proper person (pro se)
Representing yourself in court without a lawyer. Nevada filings by self-represented parties identify the filer as the party 'In Proper Person' in the spot where an attorney's name and bar number would otherwise go; 'pro se' is the same idea in Latin. Self-representation is routine in Nevada family courts, and the Family Law Self-Help Center in Las Vegas exists to support it.
See also: CaptionUsed in: QDRO Preparer
Installment
One scheduled payment under a support order - typically one month's support. Arrears math runs installment by installment: each one that goes unpaid becomes a judgment on its due date and starts accruing its own interest from that day, which is why an accurate arrears schedule reconciles every installment separately.
NRS 125B.140
See also: Arrears (arrearage), Judgment interest, PrincipalUsed in: Arrears calculator, Interest & Penalties calculator
IRA transfer incident to divorce
The tax-code mechanism for dividing an IRA at divorce: the decree or a court order directs the transfer, and the custodian moves the money by retitling or direct trustee-to-trustee transfer, tax-free. No QDRO exists for an IRA - the QDRO statute does not apply to them. A withdrawal-and-handover instead of a transfer is a taxable distribution, potentially with an additional 10% tax.
26 U.S.C. 408(d)(6); IRS Pub. 590-A
See also: QDRO (Qualified Domestic Relations Order), Defined-contribution planUsed in: QDRO Preparer, Retirement Division calculator

J

Joint custody
A custody arrangement shared between parents. Joint legal custody means sharing major decisions about the child; joint physical custody means the child lives substantially with each parent - Nevada decisions have used an approximate guideline of at least a 40% timeshare, applied with flexibility in light of the child's best interest.
NRS 125C.0025; Rivero v. Rivero, 125 Nev. 410 (2009); Bluestein v. Bluestein, 131 Nev. 106 (2015)
See also: Physical custody, Legal custody, Best interest of the childUsed in: Child Support calculator, Case Library
Judgment interest
The interest the law adds to unpaid judgments - including each unpaid support installment. Nevada's default rate is the prime rate at Nevada's largest bank plus 2%, reset every January 1 and July 1, so the applicable rate changes over time and an accurate arrears calculation applies each period's rate to that period.
NRS 99.040; NRS 17.130
See also: Arrears (arrearage), Prime rate, Installment, PrincipalUsed in: Interest & Penalties calculator, Arrears calculator
Jurisdiction
A court's power to decide a case and bind the people in it. In family law it appears in several distinct senses - power over the parties, power over the subject (which state decides custody), and continuing power to modify old orders - and appeals often turn on whether the district court had it. For dividing military retired pay, federal law limits which courts' orders DFAS will honor.
10 U.S.C. 1408(c)(4)
See also: Domicile, District courtUsed in: QDRO Preparer, Case Library

L

M

Malmquist apportionment
Nevada's method for splitting a home bought with a mix of separate and community money - most commonly a house one spouse bought before marriage and the couple paid down during it. The Nevada Supreme Court's Malmquist decision set formulas apportioning the equity and appreciation between the separate and community estates in proportion to their contributions.
Malmquist v. Malmquist, 106 Nev. 231, 792 P.2d 372 (1990)
See also: Community property, Separate propertyUsed in: Malmquist calculator
Military retired pay (USFSPA)
Retirement pay for members of the uniformed services. The Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act lets state courts divide it as property at divorce - by its own kind of order under federal rules, not a QDRO. Since 2016, when a still-serving member divorces, the divisible amount is frozen at what the member had earned as of the divorce date.
10 U.S.C. 1408
See also: Disposable retired pay, High-3, SBP (Survivor Benefit Plan), 10/10 ruleUsed in: QDRO Preparer, Retirement Division calculator
Modification (changed circumstances)
Changing an existing custody or support order. Courts require a real change: primary physical custody can be modified only on a substantial change in circumstances affecting the child plus the child's best interest, and support orders are modifiable on statutory triggers such as a significant change in income. Accrued arrears, by contrast, generally cannot be retroactively reduced.
Ellis v. Carucci, 123 Nev. 145 (2007); NRS 125B.140(1)(b); NRS 125B.145
See also: Evidentiary hearing, Arrears (arrearage), Best interest of the childUsed in: Case Library

N

NAC (Nevada Administrative Code)
Nevada's compiled agency regulations - rules adopted by state agencies under authority the Legislature delegates, with the force of law. Nevada's child-support schedule lives in the NAC (Chapter 425) rather than in the statutes, which is why support figures cite NAC 425 while enforcement cites NRS 125B.
NAC ch. 425
See also: NRS (Nevada Revised Statutes), Child support obligationUsed in: Child Support calculator
NRS (Nevada Revised Statutes)
Nevada's codified statutes - the laws passed by the Legislature, organized by chapter. Citations like 'NRS 125.150' point to a specific section (chapter 125, section 150). Family law lives mostly in chapters 123 through 130, PERS in chapter 286.
See also: NAC (Nevada Administrative Code)Used in: QDRO Preparer, Child Support calculator, Interest & Penalties calculator, Arrears calculator, Malmquist calculator, Case Library

O

Obligor / obligee
In support law, the obligor is the parent ordered to pay support and the obligee is the person entitled to receive it. The terms appear in statutes and arrears calculations because they are precise about direction of payment where 'father/mother' or 'plaintiff/defendant' are not.
See also: Child support obligation, Arrears (arrearage)Used in: Arrears calculator, Interest & Penalties calculator

P

Participant (member)
The spouse whose retirement plan is being divided - the employee who earned the benefit. Private plans say 'participant'; Nevada PERS and the military say 'member'; OPM says 'employee.' Division orders use these terms because the plans' own rules are written in them.
29 U.S.C. 1002(7); NRS 286.6703
See also: Alternate payee, QDRO (Qualified Domestic Relations Order)Used in: QDRO Preparer, Retirement Division calculator
Penalty (support delinquency)
A statutory add-on Nevada formerly imposed on delinquent child support: 10% per year on the delinquent amount, in addition to interest. It was repealed by AB 278 (2017), effective February 1, 2020 - penalties that accrued before that date remain due, but nothing new accrues on or after it. Accurate arrears math applies the penalty only to pre-2020 delinquency periods.
Former NRS 125B.095 (repealed eff. Feb. 1, 2020, by AB 278 (2017))
See also: Arrears (arrearage), Judgment interest, InstallmentUsed in: Interest & Penalties calculator, Arrears calculator
PERS (Public Employees' Retirement System of Nevada)
The pension system for Nevada's state and local government employees - state workers, county and city staff, school employees, police, and fire. PERS is exempt from ERISA and is divided at divorce by a domestic relations order following PERS's own model under Nevada statute, with the benefit valued as of the divorce and survivor treatment stated expressly.
NRS ch. 286; NRS 286.6703; NRS 125.155
See also: QDRO (Qualified Domestic Relations Order), Time rule, Survivor benefitUsed in: QDRO Preparer, Retirement Division calculator
Physical custody
Where the child lives and which parent supervises day to day. 'Primary physical custody' means the child lives mostly with one parent; 'joint physical custody' means substantial time with each. The physical-custody label also drives which child-support formula applies, which is why it is contested even when parenting time barely changes.
NRS 125C.003; Rivero v. Rivero, 125 Nev. 410 (2009)
See also: Legal custody, Joint custody, Best interest of the child, Child support obligationUsed in: Child Support calculator, Case Library
Plan administrator
The office that runs a retirement plan and decides whether a division order qualifies under the plan's rules - a private plan's administrator, PERS's Executive Officer, DFAS for the military, OPM for federal pensions, the TSP for federal accounts. The administrator's determination, not the judge's signature alone, is what makes the plan actually pay.
29 U.S.C. 1056(d)(3)(G)
See also: Preapproval (draft review), QDRO (Qualified Domestic Relations Order)Used in: QDRO Preparer
Preapproval (draft review)
Sending a draft division order to the plan administrator for review before the judge signs it. Most administrators - Nevada PERS expressly - encourage it, because a defect found at the draft stage costs nothing to fix, while a signed-and-rejected order means going back to court. It is the standard quality gate in retirement-division practice.
See also: Plan administrator, QDRO (Qualified Domestic Relations Order)Used in: QDRO Preparer
Prima facie
Latin for 'at first look': a showing that, taken at face value, would satisfy the legal standard if unrebutted. In family cases it is the threshold a parent must meet - for example, to obtain an evidentiary hearing on changing custody - before the court digs further.
See also: Evidentiary hearingUsed in: Case Library
Prime rate
The benchmark lending rate Nevada uses to set judgment interest: the prime rate at Nevada's largest bank, to which the statute adds 2%. The rate is captured each January 1 and July 1, so interest on old support arrears is computed period by period as the rate moved.
NRS 99.040
See also: Judgment interest, Arrears (arrearage)Used in: Interest & Penalties calculator, Arrears calculator
Principal
The base amount owed before interest and penalties - in arrears math, the sum of the unpaid installments themselves. Interest accrues on principal; payments are credited against the components in the order the law or the court directs. Schedules separate principal, interest, and penalty so each figure can be checked independently.
See also: Arrears (arrearage), Judgment interest, Penalty (support delinquency)Used in: Arrears calculator, Interest & Penalties calculator

Q

QDRO (Qualified Domestic Relations Order)
The court order that lets a private (ERISA) retirement plan pay part of a participant's benefit to a former spouse. Federal law otherwise forbids assigning retirement benefits; a domestic relations order becomes 'qualified' when the plan administrator determines it meets the statutory requirements. Government plans are divided by their own equivalents - a PERS order, a military division order, a COAP, or a TSP order - and 'QDRO' is often used loosely for the whole family.
29 U.S.C. 1056(d)(3); 26 U.S.C. 414(p)
See also: Alternate payee, Participant (member), Plan administrator, ERISAUsed in: QDRO Preparer, Retirement Division calculator
Qualified survivor annuities (QJSA / QPSA)
The survivor protections federal law builds into private pensions: the qualified joint and survivor annuity (protection once payments start) and the qualified preretirement survivor annuity (protection if the participant dies before they start). Divorce strips a former spouse of these unless the QDRO expressly restores them by treating the former spouse as the surviving spouse in whole or in part.
29 U.S.C. 1055; 29 U.S.C. 1056(d)(3)(F)
See also: Survivor benefit, QDRO (Qualified Domestic Relations Order)Used in: QDRO Preparer

R

RBCO (Retirement Benefits Court Order)
The Thrift Savings Plan's name for a court order dividing a TSP account at divorce. TSP's rules are unusually rigid: the award must be a stated percentage or dollar amount (no formulas), the order cannot pick investment funds or set an earnings rate, and silence about earnings means the share earns nothing.
5 CFR part 1653
See also: TSP (Thrift Savings Plan), Gains and lossesUsed in: QDRO Preparer, Retirement Division calculator
Relocation
A custodial parent's move with the child far enough away - out of state, or within Nevada at a distance that substantially impairs the other parent's time - that Nevada law requires the other parent's written consent or a court's permission first. The statutes set the factors the court weighs; moving without consent or permission has serious consequences.
NRS 125C.006-125C.007
See also: Physical custody, Best interest of the childUsed in: Case Library
Remand
An appellate court's order sending a case back to the trial court for further proceedings - to hold a hearing, make required findings, or redo an analysis under the correct standard. A remand does not by itself decide who wins; it restarts the part of the case that was done wrong.
See also: Affirmed / reversed / remanded / vacated, Specific findingsUsed in: Case Library

S

SBP (Survivor Benefit Plan)
The military's survivor annuity: premiums are deducted from retired pay, and when the retiree dies the covered beneficiary receives a lifetime monthly annuity. It matters at divorce because retired pay - including a former spouse's share - stops at the member's death; former-spouse SBP coverage is what replaces it, and it comes with a strict one-year election deadline.
10 U.S.C. 1447-1455; 10 U.S.C. 1448(b)(3)
See also: Deemed election (SBP), Military retired pay (USFSPA), Survivor benefitUsed in: QDRO Preparer
Separate interest / shared payment
The two ways a QDRO can divide a pension. Separate interest carves the former spouse's share out as their own benefit, payable over their own lifetime and not ended by the participant's death. Shared payment gives the former spouse a slice of each payment, only when and while the participant is paid. Federal law requires neither; the choice controls timing, duration, and survivorship, and once the participant's payments have started only shared payment remains available.
DOL EBSA QDRO guidance Q3-3; 29 U.S.C. 1056(d)(3)(D)
See also: QDRO (Qualified Domestic Relations Order), Survivor benefit, Defined-benefit planUsed in: QDRO Preparer
Separate property
Property that belongs to one spouse alone: what they owned before the marriage, and gifts and inheritances received during it, together with the traceable growth of those assets. At divorce, separate property is confirmed to its owner rather than divided - and when separate and community money are mixed in one asset, Nevada apportions it (the Malmquist method, for homes).
NRS 123.130
See also: Community property, Malmquist apportionmentUsed in: Malmquist calculator, Retirement Division calculator, Case Library
Specific findings
The written, on-the-record reasons statutes and case law require a judge to give for certain rulings - tying a custody decision to the best-interest factors, or justifying an unequal property division. Appellate courts regularly send cases back when the findings are missing, because without them the ruling cannot be meaningfully reviewed.
Davis v. Ewalefo, 131 Nev. 445 (2015)
See also: Best interest of the child, Remand, Abuse of discretionUsed in: Case Library
Survivor benefit
The umbrella term for what protects a former spouse's stream of retirement income if the employee-spouse dies first: a PERS payout option that continues payments, a private plan's survivor annuity, a federal former-spouse survivor annuity, or military SBP. In Nevada, survivor protection is never automatic in a division order - it must be stated expressly, and omitting it is the classic, often irreversible drafting failure.
NRS 125.155(3); Henson v. Henson, 334 P.3d 933 (Nev. 2014)
See also: Qualified survivor annuities (QJSA / QPSA), SBP (Survivor Benefit Plan), ElectionUsed in: QDRO Preparer, Retirement Division calculator

T

Time rule
Nevada's standard method for dividing a pension earned partly during marriage: the marital portion is the pension times the coverture fraction (service during marriage over total service), and the former spouse typically receives half of that portion. For Nevada PERS the benefit itself is valued as of the divorce, excluding post-divorce raises and promotions.
Gemma v. Gemma, 105 Nev. 458 (1989); Fondi v. Fondi, 106 Nev. 856 (1990); NRS 125.155
See also: Coverture fraction, Community property, PERS (Public Employees' Retirement System of Nevada)Used in: QDRO Preparer, Retirement Division calculator
TSP (Thrift Savings Plan)
The federal government's defined-contribution plan - the 401(k) counterpart for federal employees and service members, held at tsp.gov. It is separate from the FERS/CSRS pension and from military retired pay: a family with both a pension and a TSP account needs a separate order for each. TSP accounts are divided by an RBCO under the plan's own rules.
5 U.S.C. 8351, 8401 et seq.; 5 CFR part 1653
See also: RBCO (Retirement Benefits Court Order), Defined-contribution plan, FERS (Federal Employees Retirement System)Used in: QDRO Preparer, Retirement Division calculator

V

Valuation date
The date as of which a retirement account is measured for division. Nevada practice commonly uses the date the decree is entered, because the community ends at divorce rather than at separation - property and earnings after the decree are separate. The order then states what happens to investment movement after that date.
Forrest v. Forrest, 99 Nev. 602 (1983)
See also: Gains and losses, Decree of divorce, Defined-contribution planUsed in: QDRO Preparer, Retirement Division calculator
Vested
The portion of a retirement benefit the employee owns outright and cannot forfeit by leaving the job. Employee contributions are always vested; employer contributions often vest on a schedule over several years. Division orders for account plans typically assign a share of the vested balance.
See also: Defined-contribution plan, QDRO (Qualified Domestic Relations Order)Used in: QDRO Preparer, Retirement Division calculator
Visitation (parenting time)
The scheduled time a child spends with the parent they do not primarily live with; Nevada statutes and courts increasingly say 'parenting time.' It is distinct from custody itself: a parent can hold rights to substantial parenting time without holding joint physical custody, and the schedule's details drive both daily life and the support calculation's custody classification.
NRS 125C.010
See also: Physical custody, Joint custodyUsed in: Case Library

W

Writ of mandamus
An order from a higher court compelling a lower court or official to perform a required duty or to correct a clear abuse of discretion. In family cases it is the vehicle for challenging rulings that cannot wait for a normal appeal - case summaries mentioning a 'writ petition' describe this route.
NRS 34.160
See also: Abuse of discretion, Affirmed / reversed / remanded / vacatedUsed in: Case Library