NRS126.031. Relationship of parent and child not dependent on marriage; primary physical custody of child born out of wedlock.

      1.  The parent and child relationship extends equally to every child and to every parent, regardless of the marital status of the parents.

      2.  Except as otherwise provided in a court order for the custody of a child:

      (a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b), the mother of a child born out of wedlock has primary physical custody of the child if:

             (1) The mother has not married the father of the child; and

             (2) A judgment or order of a court, or a judgment or order entered pursuant to an expedited process, determining the paternity of the child has not been entered.

      (b) The father of a child born out of wedlock has primary physical custody of the child if:

             (1) The mother has abandoned the child to the custody of the father; and

             (2) The father has provided sole care and custody of the child in her absence.

      3.  For the purposes of this section, “abandoned” means failed, for a continuous period of not less than 6 weeks, to provide substantial personal and economic support.

      4.  As used in this section, “expedited process” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 126.161.

      (Added to NRS by 1979, 1270; A 1993, 1425; 1997, 2303)