A house or land without probate in Nebraska

A sworn statement recorded with the county register of deeds that transfers the person's Nebraska real estate to the people who inherit it.

Checked against official sources: October 30, 2026.

Affidavit for Transfer of Real Property without Probate (succession to real property by affidavit)

A sworn statement recorded with the county register of deeds that transfers the person's Nebraska real estate to the people who inherit it.

Limit

Up to $100,000

The person's interest in all their Nebraska real estate cannot be worth more than $100,000, using the assessed value for the year of death minus unpaid real estate taxes. The limit was raised from $50,000 to $100,000 by a 2024 law (LB 1195).

What counts

The value of the person's interest in all real property in Nebraska, taken from the assessment rolls for the year of death, minus real estate taxes and interest due at death.

Waiting period

Thirty days must have passed since the death.

Who can use it

Everyone claiming as successor to the real estate (under the will, by inheritance law, or through the homestead, exempt property or family allowance) must sign, or someone legally acting for them. No personal representative may have been appointed or applied for in Nebraska.

Court or where to file

Filed with the register of deeds of each Nebraska county where the real estate is.

Notary

The affidavit is sworn before a notary.

Papers to attach
  • Certified or authenticated copy of the death certificate
  • Copy of the will, if you claim under the will
  • Legal description of the real property
  • Nebraska Department of Revenue Form 521 (Real Estate Transfer Statement), if the register of deeds requires it
Steps
  1. Wait until 30 days after the death.
  2. Look up the assessed value of the person's Nebraska real estate for the year of death.
  3. Fill in form CC 15:41, describing the property and the person's interest, and stating the value of the whole estate.
  4. All successors sign before a notary.
  5. File it with the death certificate at the register of deeds in the county where the property is, and record it in any other county where the property is.
Fee

The register of deeds charges a recording fee; ask the county office.

Debts and responsibility

Your liability to the person's creditors cannot be more than the value of the property you receive. A creditor cannot recover from you for the person's debt after three years from the death or one year after the property was distributed, whichever is later. You must also answer for the property to a personal representative appointed later or to anyone with a better right.

What the bank or holder must do

A successor named in the recorded affidavit has the same protection as a person who received a deed of distribution from a personal representative, and buyers and lenders dealing with that successor are protected the same way. Mortgages and other liens stay in place.

Law: Neb. Rev. Stat. secs. 30-24,129, 30-24,130

Source: Official page

Transfer-on-death (TOD) and payable-on-death (POD) in Nebraska

Real estate (TOD deed)

Yes · Transfer on death deed

An owner can sign a transfer on death deed so Nebraska real estate passes to named beneficiaries at death without probate. The deed must be recorded before the owner's death. Medicaid estate recovery can still reach property passing by a TOD deed.

Law: Neb. Rev. Stat. secs. 76-3401 et seq; Neb. Rev. Stat. secs. 68-919(4)(b)

Source: Official page

Does real estate count toward the small estate limit?

Kind of propertyHow it is treatedDetails
Real estate in Nebraska
Own procedure, up to $100,000

Nebraska real estate is not counted for the personal property affidavit. It can pass by the separate real property affidavit if its assessed value is $100,000 or less.

Law: Neb. Rev. Stat. secs. 30-24,125(a)(1), 30-24,129

Main home (primary residence)
Own procedure, up to $100,000

A home in Nebraska is real estate: it can pass by the real property affidavit if the person's Nebraska real estate is worth $100,000 or less (assessed value).

Law: Neb. Rev. Stat. sec. 30-24,129

Surviving spouse in Nebraska

In a probate case, a surviving spouse of a person who lived in Nebraska is entitled to a homestead allowance of $20,000 and exempt property worth up to $12,500 (household furniture, cars, appliances and personal effects) for deaths before January 1, 2027; for deaths on or after January 1, 2027 the amounts are $25,000 and $17,500. The spouse and dependent children can also get a reasonable family allowance during administration. The personal representative may set the family allowance as a lump sum of up to $20,000 ($25,000 for deaths on or after January 1, 2027). A successor who takes real estate through these allowances can use the real property affidavit.

Law: Neb. Rev. Stat. secs. 30-2322 to 30-2325, as amended by Laws 2026, LB 838

Who inherits with no will in Nebraska

If there is no will, the spouse gets everything if no child, grandchild or other descendant and no parent survives. If a parent survives but no descendants, or if all descendants are also the spouse's, the spouse gets the first $150,000 plus one-half of the rest (the first amount was $100,000 before LB 838, operative July 18, 2026). If some descendants are not the spouse's, the spouse gets one-half. The rest goes to descendants, then parents, then brothers and sisters and their descendants, then grandparents' families, then the next of kin.

Law: Neb. Rev. Stat. secs. 30-2302 (as amended by Laws 2026, LB 838), 30-2303

Source: Official page

Related pages

Free help in Nebraska

A court self-help center or a legal aid office can check whether the estate qualifies, free of charge or at low cost.