WHAT THE WORDS MEAN

Also called squatter's rights, taking land by use

A claim to land that is not established unless the land has been occupied and claimed continuously for 5 years and every tax levied on it for that period paid. Without a deed or other written instrument, the land counts as possessed only if it was enclosed or usually cultivated or improved.

Also called adult, lawful age

18, at which a person under no legal disability can enter into any contract and is considered of lawful age, as is a person declared emancipated.

Also called mandatory arrest, domestic violence arrest

A peace officer's duty, warrant or not, to arrest a person the officer has probable cause to believe committed a battery on a spouse or former spouse, a relative by blood or marriage, a dating partner, the other parent of the person's child, or the minor child of any of them, among others, unless mitigating circumstances exist.

Also called universal background check, private sale check

The check a licensed dealer runs on the buyer before one unlicensed person may sell or transfer a firearm to another, with both appearing at the dealer with the firearm.

Also called disturbing the peace

Maliciously and willfully disturbing a neighborhood or person by loud or unusual noises, tumultuous and offensive conduct, threats, quarreling, challenging to fight, or fighting, a misdemeanor.

Also called two way left turn lane, center lane

A lane used only to turn left, driven in for no more than 200 feet before turning off, and no more than 50 feet after turning on before merging.

Also called title, pink slip

The document the seller and the buyer both sign, in writing or electronically, with the buyer's residence address, when a Nevada vehicle changes hands.

Also called park closure, park conversion

One of the grounds on which a manufactured home park landlord may end a lot tenancy, on written notice served 180 days in advance.

Also called C-4, workers comp claim

The claim an employee who sought medical treatment for a work injury, or was off work because of it, files with the insurer within 90 days after the accident.

Also called burden of proof

The standard of proof the person asking for a guardian has to meet to show that a guardian of the person, of the estate, or of both is necessary.

Also called marriage by living together

A marriage made by consent alone, without solemnization. Nevada recognizes none formed after March 29, 1943.

Also called concealed carry, carrying concealed

A weapon carried so that it is not discernible by ordinary observation. Carrying a concealed firearm, another dangerous or deadly weapon, a pneumatic gun or an explosive without a permit is a category C felony.

Also called same day registration, registering at the polls

Registering in person at a polling place on election day with a current Nevada driver's license or identification card, after which the voter casts a provisional ballot there before leaving.

Also called accident report, DMV crash report

The written or electronic report a driver forwards to the Department of Motor Vehicles within 10 days of a crash that injures or kills someone or does apparent damage of $750 or more.

Also called data breach notice

A business that owns or licenses computerized personal information, and discloses a breach of its system's security to every Nevada resident whose unencrypted personal information was, or is reasonably believed to have been, acquired by an unauthorized person.

Also called lethal force, police shooting

Force an officer may use to make an arrest only after a warning if feasible, and only with probable cause to believe the person committed a felony involving the infliction or threat of serious bodily harm or the use of deadly force, or poses an imminent threat of serious bodily harm or death to the officer or others.

Also called living will, advance directive

A declaration, signed and attested by two witnesses, governing the withholding or withdrawal of life sustaining treatment, which becomes operative when communicated to the attending physician and the declarant is in a terminal condition and no longer able to decide.

Also called balance after repossession

What is still owed after a repossessed vehicle is sold or leased again, owed only if the notice was given within 60 days after repossession and itemizes the balance and any delinquency, collection or repossession costs.

Also called brandishing

Drawing or exhibiting a dirk, sword or other deadly weapon in a rude, angry or threatening manner, in the presence of two or more persons and not in necessary self defense, a misdemeanor.

Also called paraphernalia, pipe, bong

Equipment used, intended or designed for growing, making, testing, packaging, storing, concealing or introducing into the body a controlled substance in violation of the drug chapter, including scales, baggies, pipes, bongs and roach clips.

Also called power of attorney, POA

A power of attorney that survives the principal's incapacity. One created under the uniform act is durable unless it expressly provides otherwise.

Also called helping at a crash, render assistance

A driver's duty after a crash to give reasonable assistance to anyone injured, including carrying or arranging to carry them for treatment when it is apparently needed or they ask.

Also called e-bike

A two or three wheeled device recognized as a bicycle, with fully operable pedals, a seat or saddle, and an electric motor of not more than 750 watts, in one of three classes.

Also called Good Samaritan, helping at an accident

Emergency care or assistance given in an emergency, in good faith, by someone the person helped is not required or expected to pay, for which the helper is not liable for civil damages unless it amounts to gross negligence.

Also called no heat, no air conditioning, no water

Heat, air conditioning, running water, hot water, electricity, gas, a working door lock or another essential item a landlord is required to supply. A willful or negligent failure that makes the place unfit, left unremedied 48 hours after written notice with weekends and holidays excepted, opens the tenant's remedies.

Also called Medicaid claim, Medicaid lien after death

The Medicaid agency recovering benefits correctly paid for a recipient from the recipient's estate, as far as federal law allows.

Also called insurance card, proof of insurance

What the owner keeps in the vehicle and surrenders to a peace officer on demand. Driving without it is a misdemeanor with a fine of $600 to $1,000.

Also called spanking, physical discipline

Corporal punishment that may result in physical or mental injury constituting abuse or neglect of a child.

Also called fleeing, eluding

Willfully failing to stop, or fleeing or trying to elude, when a peace officer in a readily identifiable vehicle signals by flashing red lamp and siren, a misdemeanor.

Also called civil forfeiture, seized property

A civil proceeding in which the government takes proceeds of a felony and other property the statutes declare forfeitable, after proving by clear and convincing evidence that the property is subject to forfeiture.

Also called market value, assessed value

The value an owner compares with the taxable value computed for the property; where it is less, the owner may appeal to the county board of equalization not later than January 15.

Also called grandparents rights, third party visitation

A reasonable right to visit an unmarried minor child that a district court may grant grandparents, great grandparents and some others in the situations the section lists, such as a parent's death, divorce or loss of parental rights, and only after a parent denied or unreasonably restricted visits.

Also called habitability, fit to live in

The condition a landlord keeps a unit in throughout the tenancy. It is not habitable if it violates housing or health codes or substantially lacks weatherproofing, working plumbing, hot and cold running water, adequate heat, safe electrical systems, or the air conditioning and appliances the landlord supplies, among other things.

Also called initiation

An activity in which a person intentionally or recklessly endangers another's physical health for initiation into, or affiliation with, a student organization, academic association or athletic team at a high school, college or university.

Also called family member who can sue

In a wrongful death action, someone who would inherit the decedent's separate property if there were no will. The heirs may sue for their own grief, lost support and companionship.

Also called someone used my identity, personal identifying information

Knowingly obtaining someone's personal identifying information and, intending an unlawful act, using it to harm the person, to impersonate the person, or for another unlawful purpose such as getting credit, goods or services in the person's name. It is a category B felony.

Also called recording a phone call, wiretap

Intercepting a phone call, which in Nevada is unlawful unless it is made with the prior consent of one of the parties and an emergency exists in which it is impractical to obtain a court order first.

Also called dying without a will, inheritance

Who takes a decedent's estate when there is no will. With children and no spouse, the estate goes all to one child or equally to all of them; with a spouse and one child, half each.

Also called recording the police, filming police

What a person who is not under arrest or in custody may record, by camera, phone, sound or written notes, keeping the recording and the device.

Also called hit and run

Failing to stop and remain at a crash. Where someone was injured or killed it is a category B felony of 2 to 20 years with no probation or suspended sentence; where only a vehicle or property was damaged, a misdemeanor.

Also called court interpreter, interpreter

What entitles a defendant or a witness in a criminal proceeding to an interpreter appointed at public expense, ordinarily one certified or registered by the Court Administrator.

Also called notice of pending action

A recorded notice that an action about the property is pending. To void a trustee's sale, one is recorded in the county where the sale took place within 5 days after the action begins.

Also called recording a conversation, bugging

A device used to surreptitiously listen to, monitor or record a private conversation of other persons, which is unlawful unless one of the persons in the conversation authorized it.

Also called legal 2000, 72 hour hold, involuntary hold

Taking a person into custody without a warrant for assessment, evaluation, intervention and treatment at a mental health facility or hospital, on probable cause from personal observation or a court order that the person is in a mental health crisis.

Also called minimum coverage, 25/50/20

The coverage every Nevada owner keeps continuously: at least $25,000 for one person's injury or death, $50,000 for two or more, and $20,000 for property of others, in one crash.

Also called notario, licenciado

A title a notary public who is not a Nevada attorney may not use in any advertisement of notary services, along with notario, licenciado or any equivalent term in another language.

Also called notice of default, NOD

The notice of a breach that a beneficiary or trustee records in each county where the property lies and mails, starting the 35 days to make good the deficiency and the 3 months before a trustee's sale.

Also called reporting a work injury, injury report

The written notice, on the Administrator's form, an injured employee gives the employer as soon as practicable but within 7 days after the accident.

Also called 15 day notice, prelien notice

The notice everyone but a laborer serves on the owner and the prime contractor of a home, by personal delivery or certified mail, before recording a lien, which extends the time to record by 15 days.

Also called mechanics lien, contractor's lien

What a contractor, supplier or worker records with the county recorder to perfect a lien, within 90 days after the latest of completion, the last delivery or the last work.

Also called use of force, reasonable force

The only level of force an officer uses when force is necessary: what is objectively reasonable under the circumstances to bring the incident or person under control and accomplish a lawful purpose.

Also called public meeting, sunshine law

A meeting of a public body that everyone may attend in person or by its remote technology system, with written notice at least 3 working days ahead except in an emergency, and which any member of the public may record.

Also called CCW, carry permit

The permit a sheriff issues to carry a concealed firearm, applied for by a resident in the county where the resident lives and by a nonresident in any county, to an applicant 21 or older, or 18 and serving in or honorably discharged from the military, who is not prohibited from possessing a firearm and has a safety course certificate.

Also called trustee's sale, nonjudicial foreclosure

The trustee's power under a deed of trust to sell the property after a breach, once the notices and waiting periods the statute sets have run.

Also called legal father, paternity presumption

A man the law presumes to be a child's natural father, such as one married to the mother when the child was born or within 285 days after the marriage ended, or one who took the child into his home and openly held the child out as his own.

Also called who started it, dual arrest

Where both people appear to have committed a battery, the one the officer tries to identify, weighing prior domestic violence, the severity of the injuries, the risk of future injury and whether one acted in self defense.

Also called felon in possession, cannot own a gun

Someone Nevada bars from owning, possessing or having custody or control of a firearm, including a person convicted of a felony or of domestic battery, a person under an extended protective order that bars firearms, and an unlawful user of a controlled substance.

Also called ward, person under guardianship

The person a guardianship petition is about, for whom the court appoints an attorney unless the person wishes to retain, or has retained, one of the person's own choosing.

Also called court approval of an interception

A court's approval of an emergency interception, applied for in writing to a justice of the Supreme Court or a district judge within 72 hours of the interception.

Also called getting the property back from the treasurer

Having property the treasurer holds in trust deeded back by paying the accrued taxes, costs, penalties and interest, up to the close of business on the third business day before the treasurer's sale.

Also called withholding rent, escrow account

The account the justice court provides for rent a tenant withholds over a habitability failure the landlord did not remedy within 14 days of written notice.

Also called fix it and take it off the rent

Having a smaller repair done after 14 days' written notice and deducting the reasonable cost from rent, where it costs less than $100 or one month's rent, whichever is greater, up to that amount in any 12 month period.

Also called self help repossession, repo

A secured party taking the collateral after a default without going to court, which it may do only if it proceeds without breach of the peace.

Also called crosswalk, jaywalking

Where no signal is operating, the driver yields to a pedestrian in a crosswalk on the driver's half of the road, or approaching so closely from the other half as to be in danger.

Also called redemption, getting the car back

Paying the debt in full during the notice period to get a repossessed vehicle back. The notice of intent to sell states the right and the total amount needed to redeem as of its date.

Also called right to sue letter

The notice after which a lawsuit over an unlawful employment practice may be brought within 90 days, where that is later than 180 days after the act complained of.

Also called rioting

Two or more people actually doing an unlawful act of violence, or a lawful act in a violent, tumultuous and illegal manner, a misdemeanor.

Also called advancing toward an unlawful act

Two or more people meeting to do an unlawful act on a common cause of quarrel and making advances toward it, a misdemeanor.

Also called 3 feet rule, passing a cyclist

On a road with one lane each way, the distance a driver passing a bicycle rider keeps, not less than 3 feet, crossing the center line or passing in a no passing zone to do it when safe.

Also called deposit, damage deposit

Money a tenant pays, which with any surety bond and the last month's rent may not exceed 3 months' periodic rent, and from which a landlord may claim only unpaid rent, repairs for damage beyond normal wear, and reasonable cleaning.

Also called overdose good samaritan, calling 911 for an overdose

Reporting an overdose or other medical emergency to police, 911, poison control, a medical facility or emergency medical services, helping someone else report it, caring for the person while help comes, or taking the person to a medical facility and notifying the authorities.

Also called service dog, assistance dog

The animal accompanying a person with a disability, whom a place of public accommodation may not refuse, charge an extra fee or deposit for, or ask for proof about. It may ask only whether the animal is a service animal and what tasks it is trained to perform.

Also called affidavit of entitlement, collection by affidavit

An affidavit by which a person entitled to inherit collects a decedent's property in the State 40 days after the death, without letters of administration or probate, where there is no real property here and the property does not exceed $25,000, or $150,000 for a surviving spouse.

Also called vaping, e-cigarettes

In the indoor smoking ban, smoking in any form, including electronic smoking devices that create an aerosol or vapor.

Also called 7 day notice, pay or quit

The supplemental remedy for unpaid rent on a dwelling rented by the month or less: a written notice to pay the rent or surrender by the seventh judicial day after service, and an order for removal if the tenant neither complies nor contests.

Also called deposit bond, deposit alternative

A bond a tenant may buy in place of all or part of a deposit if the landlord accepts it. A landlord may neither require one nor be required to take one.

Also called automatic knife, switchblade

A knife looking like a pocketknife, with a blade 2 or more inches long, that releases automatically by a button, pressure on the handle or another mechanism.

Also called detained, investigative stop

An officer holding someone encountered in circumstances that reasonably indicate a crime or civil infraction, only to learn the person's identity and the suspicious circumstances, for no longer than reasonably necessary and never longer than 60 minutes.

Also called answer to an eviction notice, contesting the notice

The sworn statement a tenant files with the court within the notice period saying the rent was tendered or is not in default, which sends the summary eviction to a hearing.

Also called tax certificate, delinquent tax certificate

The certificate after delinquent taxes that lets the county treasurer hold each property for 2 years, or 1 year if abandoned, unless it is redeemed, with interest on the taxes at 10 percent per annum.

Also called illegal gathering

Two or more people assembling to do an unlawful act and separating without doing or advancing toward it, a misdemeanor.

Also called holding over after a notice

Staying in possession after defaulting on rent, once a written notice to pay or surrender has gone uncomplied with for the period the statute sets: seven judicial days for a residence and ten days for a mobile home lot.

Also called job discrimination, workplace discrimination

An employer refusing to hire, discharging, or discriminating in pay, terms, conditions or privileges of employment because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age or disability.

Also called paternity affidavit, declaration of paternity

A signed declaration that has the same effect as a court judgment once the rescission period ends, without a court having to ratify it. A signer may rescind within 60 days after both sign.

Also called parental liability

A minor's willful act that injures or kills someone or damages property, imputed to the parents or guardian with custody, who are liable with the minor up to $10,000 for any one act.