What to gather for a small estate in Nevada

Pick a procedure and check off what you already have. Download or print the list to take with you.

Papers most holders ask for
Papers for this procedure: Affidavit of Entitlement (claimant who is not the surviving spouse)
Other formats

Your checklist

Affidavit of Entitlement (claimant who is not the surviving spouse)

A sworn statement you give to a bank, company or agency holding the property, so they pay or transfer it to you. It is not filed with the court. It cannot be used if the person owned any real estate in Nevada.

Limit

Up to $25,000 Counted at full value, without subtracting debts.

If you are not the surviving spouse, the person's Nevada property cannot be worth more than $25,000 gross, not counting military pay owed and registered vehicles.

What counts

The gross value of the person's property in Nevada. Money owed for service in the U.S. Armed Forces and vehicles registered to the person are not counted. The person must have left no Nevada real estate, interest in real estate, or mortgage or lien on real estate.

Waiting period

At least 40 days must have passed since the death, as shown by a certified death certificate. You must also give written notice to every person with an equal or better right to inherit at least 14 days before you sign.

Who can use it

A person who has the right to inherit the property under the will or under state law, acting for everyone entitled to it, with written authority from the other successors who have an interest. The Director of the Nevada Health Authority or a public administrator may also use it.

Court or where to file

Not filed with a court. You give it to the person, company or agency holding the property.

Notary

Sign in front of a notary. Filing a false affidavit is a felony in Nevada.

Papers to attach
  • Certified copy of the death certificate
  • Written authority of the other successors, if you collect for them
Steps
  1. Wait until at least 40 days after the death.
  2. Pay, or provide for, all the person's debts, including funeral and burial costs and any money owed to Medicaid.
  3. Send written notice of your claim, by personal service or certified mail, to everyone with an equal or better right to inherit, and wait at least 14 days.
  4. Fill in the affidavit and list the property you claim.
  5. Sign it in front of a notary and attach the certified death certificate.
  6. Give it to the holder of the property.
Fee

No court filing fee, because the affidavit is not filed with the court.

Debts and responsibility

If the affidavit does not meet the legal requirements or is not entirely true, what you receive is subject to all the person's debts. If you did not give the required notice to other successors, you hold what you receive in trust for them.

What the bank or holder must do

A person who receives an affidavit with the required information may rely on it and, if acting in good faith, is immune from civil liability. A transfer agent must re-register securities, and a government agency that issues titles must issue a new title; the agency may not refuse an affidavit with the required information because of its form. If a holder needs a court order (for example, stocks transferred by an out-of-state agent), you can file an ex parte petition for a court order directing the transfer.

Law: NRS 146.080

Source: Official page

Death certificates in Nevada

Include a copy of your photo ID and proof of relationship.

Where to get it
Nevada Office of Vital Records (Division of Public and Behavioral Health)
Official page
Official page

Car or vehicle title after a death in Nevada

If there is no probate case or trust and no transfer-on-death beneficiary, heirs can transfer the title with the Affidavit for Transfer of Title for Estates Without Probate (VP 024), signed before a notary or an authorized DMV representative, with a certified death certificate, after 40 days. Any loan or lien on the vehicle must be paid off first. Vehicles are not counted toward the affidavit limit.

Law: NRS 146.080(1), (5)(b); NRS 482.247

Agency
Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)
Form
VP 024 Affidavit for Transfer of Title for Estates Without Probate (rev. 10/2026)
Waiting period
40 days after the death
Fee

The DMV lists a $20 title fee for a transfer-on-death transfer, and a $20 title fee plus an $8.25 processing fee for a VP 024 transfer.

Transfer-on-death title

An owner can add a transfer-on-death beneficiary to the title with form VP 239 (not allowed with a lienholder or tenants in common). After all owners die, the beneficiary submits the title or form VP 241, the certified death certificate and the title fee; there is no waiting period.

Source: Official page

Surviving spouse in Nevada

Nevada is a community property state: at death, half of the community property is the surviving spouse's own property, and only the person's half is subject to probate. A surviving spouse can use the affidavit of entitlement up to $150,000 (deaths from October 1, 2025). In a set aside, if there is a surviving spouse or minor child, the court must set the estate aside for them, generally without paying creditors. The spouse and minor children may stay in the homestead and keep household items and clothing.

Law: NRS 123.250; NRS 146.070(3)-(4); NRS 146.010

Related pages

Free help in Nevada

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