There is no law that specifically provides that because a parent relocates with a child, the relocating parent must be responsible for the entirety of transportation costs.
The Nevada Administrative Code (“NAC”) § 425.150 (1)(e) provides that child support may be adjusted based upon travel costs to get a child to and from visitation. In Martinez v. Martinez, 140 Nev. Adv. Opn. 73 (November 27, 2024), the Nevada Supreme Court ruled that “[r]elocation alone is not a proper consideration for determining transportation costs.” Therefore, the Nevada Supreme Court concluded that when calculating child support, under the applicable law of NAC § 425.150 (1)(e), the issue of transportation costs must be considered when determining child support.
So, it is our belief that the proper mechanism of addressing travel costs is to calculate the child support obligation based upon the custodial timeshare under NAC § 425.115 (2) and (3). After calculating child support, the Court must then look at the travel costs between Nevada and the place where the parent is relocating with the minor child.
In our office, we oftentimes pull proposed travel costs from the airlines based upon an out-of-state visitation schedule, meaning summer and holidays. The reason we look at different times of the year is that travel costs historically increase during Spring Break, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. Therefore, if we only look at the time the Court is issuing the Order, we may not have an accurate cost projection. Besides travel costs for flights, we also look at specific airline guidelines regarding unaccompanied minor fees and/or costs for a travel companion if the child is too young to fly unaccompanied.
Using that information, we then do an Excel spreadsheet with information and calculate an average for the Court to consider. Remember, when doing these steps you must provide this information as a disclosure in advance of a Court hearing, trial, or evidentiary hearing.
Finally, we might also look at the additional factors under NAC § 425.150 (1)(a) through (h) as follows:
(a) Any special educational needs of the child;
(b) The legal responsibility of the parties for the support of others;
(c) The value of services contributed by either party;
(d) Any public assistance paid to support the child;
(e) The cost of transportation of the child to and from visitation;
(f) The relative income of both households, so long as the adjustment does not exceed the total obligation of the other party;
(g) Any other necessary expenses for the benefit of the child; and
(h) The obligor’s ability to pay.
