Division of Welfare and Support Services

• The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services provides free child support enforcement assistance to any resident but may charge a $25 annual fee for all new cases where the Department collects at least $500 in child support. Additionally, through the federal government's offset assignment program, parents receiving certain government benefits must assign their child support collections to the agency to offset the cost of the federal assistance programs. The agency helps residents locate parents who violate existing court orders by withholding mandatory child support; helps residents set up new child support cases; and helps residents establish original paternity to begin a child support case. Once the Department obtains a child support order or when parents have existing orders, the Department can help them collect court-ordered child support through income withholdings and garnishments.
  
  

State Bar of Nevada

• The State Bar of Nevada provides free self-help information through its online library. Anyone can download their informational brochures to help them understand their legal rights. For family law help, the Bar offers a "Divorce" informational brochure containing the state's child support guidelines and how courts calculate child support. Parents can use the brochure to understand common legal terminology. The Bar also offers a lawyer referral service helping clients find attorneys with specialized experience. The lawyer referral directory includes dozens of lawyers in the state specializing in family law and child support issues.
  
  

Nevada Judicial Branch

• The state's family law courts offer several different self-help instruction pamphlets for pro se litigants or those who are self-represented. For example, in Washoe County, Nevada, the Family Division of the Second Judicial District offers a Self-Help Center with many different packets of family law information. The online free pamphlet "List of Packets and Forms Used in the Family Division of the Second Judicial District Court" offers a full list of all motions and petitions that the court normally hears and when parents should use the packets to file their motions. The instructions for packet "M-1" state that it contains the court's Motion for Temporary Child Custody and Child Support for litigants to use at the same time they file an original complaint or answer to order child support during the litigation between the initial case filing and final order.
  
  

Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada

• The Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada helps the state's low-income residents find legal assistance to help tackle their legal problems. To receive pro bono legal assistance, the clinic requires income proof. For example, for 2011, a family of four cannot make more than $34,322 to qualify for free assistance. Additionally, clients may not have over $5,000 in available resources other than a qualified vehicle and work-related supplies and equipment. The clinic offers several free programs to help parents with family law issues. The "Family Law Ask-A-Lawyer Program" is a personal assistance program that allows unrepresented parents to find help every Thursday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Self-Help Center of the state's Family Court. Parents can obtain a 15-minute legal consultation at no cost.