What the probate process looks like, step by step

If a parent has died and there is a house, a bank account, and a folder of papers nobody has opened, the hardest part is usually not knowing what happens in what order. This guide lays the sequence out in plain terms: what the court does, what the family does, and where the time goes. It is written for Nevada, and for Washoe County in particular.

Before anything else: is probate even needed?

The first job is sorting what the person owned into two piles. Some property passes on its own, by the way it was titled: anything held in a living trust, property owned in joint tenancy or as community property with right of survivorship, and accounts or policies with a named beneficiary, including most retirement plans and life insurance. Those need paperwork, not a court case.

The second pile is everything titled in the person’s name alone. Most often that is the house, a vehicle, and a solo bank or brokerage account. Only this pile decides whether probate is needed and which form it takes. Families sometimes brace for a full court case and find that the second pile is small enough for a simpler procedure. Sometimes a well-meaning teller has said “you won’t need probate” and the deed to the house says otherwise.

Nevada’s paths, from lightest to fullest

Nevada scales the process to the size of the estate, measured by the second pile only. Thresholds are set by the Legislature and change over time, so they are described here in words.

• Affidavit. For the smallest estates with no real estate, an heir can collect property with a sworn affidavit and a copy of the death certificate. There is no court case.
• Set-aside. For estates a step larger, a single petition asks the court to set the whole estate aside to the people entitled to it, without a full administration.
• Summary administration. A court-supervised administration with shortened notice periods, available below a statutory ceiling.
• General administration. Full supervision, for everything above that ceiling and for any estate where the simpler paths do not fit.

The rest of this guide follows a court-supervised administration, because that is the version most families are asking about. The shorter paths borrow pieces of it.

Step one: someone is put in charge

What the family does. Finds the original will, if there is one, and orders certified death certificates. Decides who will serve. If the will names an executor, that person usually serves. If there is no will, Nevada’s intestacy statutes name the heirs and the court appoints an administrator, ordinarily the closest willing relative.

What the court does. A petition is filed with the Second Judicial District Court, the will is lodged with the clerk, notice of the hearing goes to the heirs and to everyone named in the will, and the court holds a hearing. If nothing is contested, the judge admits the will and appoints the personal representative. The court then issues Letters, the document that proves to a bank, a title company, or the DMV that this person has authority to act. Almost nothing else can happen until the Letters exist.

Step two: gathering, valuing, and notice

What the family does. Secures the house and its contents, keeps the insurance and utilities current, forwards the mail, and builds a list of everything in the second pile with a value for each. Real estate and anything unusual is appraised. The personal representative opens an estate bank account so estate money is never mixed with anyone’s own.

What the court does. Receives the inventory and appraisal, which becomes the official record of what the estate holds. Notice to creditors is published in a newspaper, and known creditors are told directly. From that notice, creditors have a period fixed by statute to file a claim. This is the stretch that feels like nothing is happening. Something is: the clock the law requires is running, and a prepared family uses it to line up the appraisal, the tax work, and any sale so that nothing waits twice.

Step three: settling what is owed

What the family does. Reviews each claim. Valid ones are paid from estate funds in the order Nevada law sets. Doubtful ones are rejected in writing, and the creditor then has to decide whether to pursue it. The final income tax return is prepared, and an income tax return for the estate itself if it earned enough during administration.

What the court does. Stays involved wherever the law requires it. The sale of real estate in a Nevada administration ordinarily needs the court’s confirmation, though Nevada allows a personal representative with expanded authority to handle some steps by giving notice rather than holding a hearing. Disputed claims, and any disagreement among heirs, come back to the judge.

Step four: accounting and distribution

What the family does. The personal representative prepares a final account: every dollar that came in, every dollar that went out, and what is left. With it goes a petition asking the court to approve the account and order distribution according to the will, or to the intestacy statutes if there is none.

What the court does. Sets a hearing, gives the heirs a chance to object, approves the account, and signs the order of distribution. Property is then transferred, deeds are recorded, receipts are collected from each heir, and the personal representative is discharged. The estate is closed.

Where the time goes

When a probate runs long, it is almost always one of these. Notice periods and the creditor window are fixed by statute and cannot be shortened by effort. The court’s calendar sets when hearings can be held. A house that has to be sold takes as long as the market takes, plus the court’s confirmation. Out-of-state real estate usually means a second, ancillary proceeding in that state. Missing paperwork means weeks spent searching for it. And a dispute, whether a contested will, a surprise heir, or siblings who cannot agree about the house, can add more time than every other item combined.

None of that is a reason to wait. The statutory clocks start only when the case is filed, so a family that puts the folder in a drawer for three months has added exactly three months.

If there was a trust instead

When the person who died had a funded living trust, there is usually no court case at all. The successor trustee does much of the same work without a judge: notice to the beneficiaries, gathering and valuing what the trust holds, paying debts and taxes, keeping careful records, and distributing exactly as the trust directs. The duties are real, but the court stays out of it unless someone brings a dispute.

Common questions

Reviewed by Jenny McMenomy, Esq.

This guide is general information about Nevada law, not legal advice for your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney–client relationship.