Yes — Nevada is a pure no-fault divorce state. Under NRS 125.010, a divorce may be granted on only three grounds: incompatibility, living separate and apart for one year without cohabitation, or insanity existing for two years before the case was filed. No ground requires proving that either spouse did anything wrong, and fault-based grounds like adultery or cruelty do not exist in Nevada law.

What does “no-fault divorce” mean?

In a fault-based system — the historical norm in American law — a spouse seeking divorce had to prove the other spouse committed specific marital misconduct, such as adultery, abandonment, or cruelty. The accused spouse could fight the divorce by disputing the accusation.

A no-fault system removes blame from the question entirely. The court does not ask who broke the marriage; it asks only whether the legal ground exists. In Nevada, a spouse who states that the couple is incompatible has stated a ground for divorce. The Family Law Self-Help Center puts it plainly: the person asking for a divorce does not have to prove that anybody did anything wrong. Some states retain both fault and no-fault grounds side by side. Nevada does not — its statute lists no fault grounds at all, making it a pure no-fault state.

What are Nevada’s three grounds for divorce?

NRS 125.010 lists the only causes for divorce:

  1. Incompatibility. The spouses do not get along, and the marriage cannot continue. The statute does not define incompatibility or demand evidence of it beyond the parties’ claims; this is the ground used in nearly every Nevada divorce.
  2. Living separate and apart for one year without cohabitation. A couple that has already lived apart for a year has an independent ground, regardless of whether they would call themselves incompatible.
  3. Insanity existing for two years prior to the commencement of the action. This ground is rare and, unlike the other two, involves proof — courts require evidence of the condition and its duration.

Because incompatibility is available to everyone and requires no waiting or proof of misconduct, the other two grounds see little use.

Can a spouse refuse or block a no-fault divorce?

The structure of no-fault law answers this: a spouse cannot preserve a marriage by contesting blame, because blame is not the question. If one spouse asserts incompatibility, there is no accusation to disprove. A spouse who refuses to participate in the case does not stop it either — the court can proceed and ultimately enter a decree even without the other spouse’s cooperation.

What a spouse can contest are the terms: how property is divided, whether alimony is awarded, and how custody and support are set. Disagreement over terms turns an uncontested case into a contested one — slower and more expensive, as covered in How long does a divorce take in Nevada? and How much does a divorce cost in Nevada? — but it does not change the outcome on the divorce itself.

Does adultery or other misconduct affect property division?

Generally, no. Nevada divides marital property under NRS 125.150, which directs the court, “to the extent practicable,” to make an equal disposition of the community property. The court may make an unequal division only if it finds a compelling reason and sets forth that reason in writing.

The statute’s framework is economic, not moral. The factors it addresses — the parties’ finances, contributions, earning capacity, and the property itself — concern fairness in dividing what the marriage accumulated, not punishing behavior within the marriage. Adultery is not listed anywhere in NRS 125.150 as a basis for an unequal division. The example most often discussed in Nevada practice as a “compelling reason” is financial misconduct — one spouse wasting or concealing community assets — not personal misconduct like infidelity. In short: cheating is not what the property statute is aimed at; dissipating the community’s money is much closer to what it addresses.

The same logic runs through alimony. NRS 125.150 lets a court award alimony “as appears just and equitable,” weighing factors such as each spouse’s financial condition, earning capacity, the length of the marriage, and the standard of living during it — again, economic considerations rather than blame. The full picture is in How is property divided in a Nevada divorce? and How does alimony work in Nevada?

Does fault matter anywhere in a Nevada divorce?

Conduct can still matter where it connects to the specific questions a court must decide — just not as “fault” for the divorce itself:

  • Children. Custody is decided under the best-interest-of-the-child standard, so conduct that bears on parenting — domestic violence most prominently — carries real legal weight, including statutory presumptions against the offending parent. See How does child custody work in Nevada?
  • Money. As noted above, financial misconduct with community assets can supply the “compelling reason” for an unequal property division under NRS 125.150.

What Nevada law does not do is reward or punish spouses for why the marriage ended. That design — no fault grounds, no misconduct-based property rules, and a short residency requirement — is what made Nevada a divorce destination decades before no-fault became the American norm. For the complete overview of the process built on these grounds, see the complete guide to divorce in Nevada