Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Bill signed to strengthen child custody laws

A bill sponsored by the attorney general and passed by both the Nevada Senate and Assembly that will strengthen child custody laws was signed today by Gov. Jim Gibbons.

Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto said the new law creates a presumption against an award of child custody or unsupervised visitation for parents or other parties who have abducted a child in the past.

The law is intended to protect children from harm by reducing their risk of danger by those with histories of causing harm.

"As always, the focus of our efforts have been on protecting children and encouraging stable and wholesome environments for their nurturance," Masto said in a statement. "The hope of the bill is that it will reduce the incidence of parental abductions of children in Nevada, while fostering a promise of reunification of the parent-child relationship for parents who have made this mistake in the past."

The Nevada Assembly passed the bill, AB 59, by a 42-0 vote and the state Senate by a vote of 20-0.

About half of the child abduction cases in Nevada involve a prior abduction, attempted abduction or serious incidents of child custody interference by a parent. In 2008 Nevada had more than 100 parental abduction cases filed.

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