Explained in plain English
What the work involves and what each document does, before you sign anything.
Estate planning · Nevada
Estate planning under Nevada law.
Nevada gives a plan three things to work with: no state income or estate tax, statutory forms the hospitals and banks recognize, and a deed that can move a home outside probate. A good plan uses all three.
The short answer
A Nevada estate plan is usually built from a revocable living trust or a will, a financial power of attorney, a health-care directive, and the deed work that puts the home into the trust. Nevada’s rules shape each of those documents: community property decides what each spouse can give away, the state’s statutory forms decide what a bank or hospital will accept, and with no state estate or income tax, the plan is mostly about who is in charge and who receives what. Which combination fits depends on what you own and who you want to protect, and the first conversation will tell you which.
What a Nevada plan is built from
- A revocable living trust, for most homeowners, so the house and accounts pass without a court case and are managed for you if you are ever unable to manage them yourself.
- A will, either as the lead document for a simpler estate or as a pour-over will behind the trust, and the only place to name a guardian for minor children.
- A financial power of attorney and an advance health-care directive, on the forms Nevada’s statutes set out, so the people you choose can act without a guardianship.
- The deed that moves your home into the trust, recorded with the county where the property sits. In Reno and Sparks, that is the Washoe County Recorder.
Nevada-specific detail
Community property
Nevada is a community property state. Most of what a married couple earns or acquires during the marriage belongs to them half and half, whichever spouse’s name is on the account, and each spouse can only give away their own half. A plan for a married couple starts there. Nevada also lets couples hold community property with a right of survivorship, so it passes to the surviving spouse by title alone.
No state tax on what you leave
Nevada has no estate tax, no inheritance tax, and no personal income tax. Only the federal estate tax applies, and only to estates above the federal exemption. For most people planning here, the decisions are about who is in charge and who receives what. Tax rarely drives them.
Statutory forms
Nevada’s statutes set out a form for a financial power of attorney and a form for an advance directive for health care. Documents written on those forms are the ones Nevada hospitals, care facilities, and banks recognize on sight. A power of attorney from another state is usually still valid here, but it is the document most likely to be questioned in an emergency, which is why it is the first thing to replace after a move.
The transfer-on-death deed
Nevada allows a deed that names who receives a piece of real estate at the owner’s death, recorded now and effective only then. For a single property with simple wishes, it can be enough on its own. For a home that would need to be managed during an illness, or an estate with more than one moving part, a trust usually does the job better. Which fits is part of the first conversation.
Wills, handwritten and electronic
Nevada recognizes a will that is entirely handwritten and signed by the person making it, without witnesses, and it was among the first states to recognize electronic wills. Both are valid, and both still go through the probate court.
Trust law with unusual reach
Nevada permits a person to create a trust for their own benefit that, once the statutory conditions are met, is protected from most future creditors. It also allows a trust to run for generations. Most families need neither. Whether one belongs in a plan is a judgment made with the attorney.
What the first conversation covers
Your family and your property. You describe who is in your life, what you own, and what you would want to happen. You hear what the whole process looks like from beginning to end, and then only the first step. Estate plans here are quoted as a single flat fee at the consultation, so you leave knowing the number before anything is drafted.
When you are ready to find out what your family needs under Nevada law, and what it doesn’t, call the office or send the form.
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What you will know before any work begins.
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Nothing starts until you know how the work is priced and how payment works.
One flat fee, quoted at the consultation.
Estate plans are quoted as a single flat fee at the consultation.
Questions
Do I need a trust in Nevada, or is a will enough?
It depends mostly on whether you own real estate. A will alone does not avoid probate in Nevada, because a will is a set of instructions for the court. If you own a home, a funded revocable living trust is usually the better fit. The first conversation will tell you which.
Does Nevada tax what I leave behind?
Nevada has no state estate tax, no inheritance tax, and no personal income tax. Only the federal estate tax applies, and only to estates above the federal exemption.
I have a plan from another state. Is it still good in Nevada?
Usually it is still valid, but it may no longer fit. Nevada has its own statutory forms for powers of attorney and health-care directives, and hospitals and banks here expect them. Those documents are the first things to review after a move, then how each asset is titled.
What should I bring to the first meeting?
A list of what you own and roughly what it is worth, the names of the people you would want in charge and the people you want to provide for, and any documents you already have. Nothing has to be organized.
When you’re ready
Start with what you own, and who you’d want in charge.
You’ll hear the whole process first, then the first step and the flat fee.