Nevada Probate and Intestate Succession: What Happens Without a Will (2026)

Nevada probate cases are filed in the District Court for the county where the decedent lived. Nevada is one of nine community property states, and recent legislation sharply raised the dollar thresholds for its simplified small-estate procedures, effective October 2025.

Information last verified on 2026-07-16. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

How Probate Works in Nevada

Nevada probate cases begin with a petition filed in the District Court for the county where the decedent resided, under NRS 139.010. Nevada has not adopted the national Uniform Probate Code and does not use "formal" or "informal" terminology the way UPC states do. Instead, Nevada's own Probate Code, NRS Title 12, Chapters 132 through 156, sorts estates into tiers based mainly on size and complexity.

The smallest estates can use the Affidavit of Entitlement, NRS 146.080, or Set-Aside Without Administration, NRS 146.070, both of which avoid a full court administration. Mid-sized estates typically qualify for Summary Administration under NRS Chapter 145, a lighter-weight court process than full administration. The largest or most complex estates, including contested matters, go through General Administration, which involves the most court oversight and the longest creditor-claim period. Senate Bill 404, effective October 1, 2025, substantially raised the dollar thresholds separating these tiers, discussed below.

Intestate Succession in Nevada: Who Inherits Without a Will

When a Nevada resident dies without a valid will, two different bodies of law apply depending on what kind of property is involved: NRS 123.250 for community property, and NRS Chapter 134 for separate property.

Community property. Nevada is one of 9 U.S. community property states. Under NRS 123.250, each spouse already legally owns an undivided one-half interest in property the couple acquired during the marriage as community property, a co-ownership that exists independent of inheritance law. When one spouse dies, the surviving spouse already owns their own half of that community property outright as separate property. Only the decedent's half of the community property actually passes by intestate succession, and if there is no will, Nevada law directs that half entirely to the surviving spouse. Property specifically held as "community property with right of survivorship" vests automatically in the survivor and does not pass through probate at all.

Separate property. For a decedent's separate property, the shares depend on who survives, under NRS 134.030 and following sections:

• If the decedent leaves a surviving spouse and exactly one child, or that child's descendants, the separate property splits evenly: one-half to the spouse and one-half to the child or descendants.
• If the decedent leaves a surviving spouse and more than one child, or a child plus the descendants of a deceased child, the spouse takes one-third and the children or descendants share the remaining two-thirds by representation.
• If there is a surviving spouse but no children, the spouse generally takes the entire separate estate, subject to any surviving parents.
• If no spouse survives, the estate passes to the decedent's children; if none, to parents; if no parent survives, NRS 134.060 sends it to siblings and the children of any deceased sibling by representation, extending further to more distant relatives before the estate would ever escheat to the State of Nevada.

Watch out: Community property status is not automatic just because a couple lives in Nevada. Whether a specific asset counts as community property or separate property, for example property owned before the marriage, or received individually by gift or inheritance, determines which of these two sets of rules applies to it.

One way to make sure your property goes to the people you actually choose, rather than following Nevada's intestate succession order, is to have a valid will in place. recordinglaw.com's free Nevada Last Will and Testament Generator can help you create one, with no account required.

Small Estate and Simplified Probate in Nevada

Nevada significantly expanded who qualifies for its simplified probate procedures when Senate Bill 404 took effect on October 1, 2025. The Affidavit of Entitlement, under NRS 146.080, now lets a general heir or successor claim up to $25,000 in personal property, excluding vehicle value, without any court filing, and lets a surviving spouse claim up to $150,000, up from the prior $100,000 cap; either can be used starting 40 days after death but covers personal property only, not real estate.

The Set-Aside Without Administration procedure, under NRS 146.070, available when a surviving spouse or minor children need direct access to estate assets, now covers estates up to $150,000, up from $100,000. Summary Administration, under NRS Chapter 145, a lighter court process than full administration, now covers estates up to $500,000, up from $300,000. Only estates above $500,000 require full General Administration. Readers relying on older, pre-October-2025 sources should be aware that many online guides still cite the prior, lower thresholds.

Does Nevada Have an Estate or Inheritance Tax?

Nevada has no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax. Nevada also has no state income tax. The only death-related tax that can reach a Nevada estate is the federal estate tax, which as of 2026 applies only to the portion of an estate exceeding roughly $15 million per person, a threshold that affects a very small share of estates. Heirs and beneficiaries of a Nevada estate generally owe no state tax on what they inherit.

Do You Need a Probate Attorney?

Nevada's tiered system is designed so that genuinely small, uncontested estates, those qualifying for the Affidavit of Entitlement or Set-Aside, rarely require a lawyer. A probate attorney becomes more valuable once an estate needs Summary or General Administration, involves real estate or a business, raises a dispute over community versus separate property, or includes a blended family where the community-property and separate-property rules interact in ways that surprise people. For a broader look at how other states compare, see Probate by State.

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about probate and intestate succession in Nevada as of the verification date above. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is not a substitute for advice from a probate attorney licensed in Nevada, particularly for a contested estate, a dispute over community versus separate property, a business interest, or a blended family. Figures and thresholds cited, including those set by Senate Bill 404, change over time; verify current details directly with the Nevada Legislature or the District Court before relying on any figure here.

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Last updated: 2026-07-16. Figures and statutes cited reflect their in-force version as of 2026-07-16.