Small estate checker for Nevada
Enter the date of death and what the person owned. The page adds what the state counts and compares it with the limit for that date. It does not decide anything.
The limits this checker uses
These come from the state's law as we checked it. The checker picks the row that matches the date of death you enter.
Affidavit of Entitlement (claimant who is not the surviving spouse)
40 days after the death.
Petition to Set Aside Estate Without Administration
| Date of death | Limit |
|---|---|
On or after October 1, 2025 | $150,000 |
On or before September 30, 2025 | $100,000 |
30 days after the death.
Also in Nevada (not tested here)
These procedures have their own rules, so the checker does not test them. See the state page.
- Affidavit of Entitlement (surviving spouse)
- Summary administration
What counts toward the limit in Nevada
For the affidavit of entitlement, add up the gross value of the person's property in Nevada; do not subtract debts. Leave out money owed for military service and vehicles registered to the person. If the person owned any Nevada real estate (or a mortgage or lien on real estate), the affidavit cannot be used. For the set aside petition, use fair market value minus liens and encumbrances.
Law: NRS 146.080, 146.070(17)
In this state the total is counted at full value, without subtracting debts.
| Kind of property | How it is treated | Details |
|---|---|---|
Bank accounts in the person's name alone | Counts | Bank accounts in the person's name alone count. Law: NRS 146.080(1) |
Joint or payable-on-death (POD) bank accounts | Left out | Money that passes to a surviving joint owner or pay-on-death beneficiary is a nonprobate transfer, not property collected by affidavit. Law: NRS 111.721 |
Cars and other vehicles | Left out | Vehicles registered to the person are not counted. Heirs can transfer them with DMV form VP 024. Law: NRS 146.080(1), (2)(c) |
Boats and mobile or manufactured homes | Not clear | Ask the court self-help center how a boat or mobile home is treated. Law: NRS 146.080 |
Real estate in Nevada | Own procedure, up to $150,000 | If the person owned any Nevada real estate, the affidavit cannot be used. A set aside petition can cover an estate with real estate worth up to $150,000 after liens. Law: NRS 146.080(1), 146.070 |
Main home (primary residence) | Own procedure, up to $150,000 | A home in Nevada rules out the affidavit. It can go through a set aside petition if the estate is worth up to $150,000 after liens. Law: NRS 146.080(1), 146.070 |
Real estate in another state | Left out | Only property in Nevada is counted. Law: NRS 146.080(1) |
Unpaid wages owed to the person | Counts | Money owed to the person, such as a final paycheck, counts. Law: NRS 146.080(1) |
Military pay owed to the person | Left out | Money owed to the person for service in the U.S. Armed Forces is not counted. Law: NRS 146.080(1), (2)(c) |
Life insurance or retirement money paid to a named person | Left out | Benefits paid by contract to a named beneficiary pass outside the estate. Law: NRS 111.721 |
Life insurance or retirement money paid to the estate | Counts | Insurance proceeds payable to the person or the estate count. Law: NRS 146.080(1) |
Property in a living trust | Not clear | Ask the court self-help center how trust property is treated. Law: NRS 146.080 |
Property owned jointly with right of survivorship | Left out | Property that passes by right of survivorship is a nonprobate transfer and is not collected by affidavit. Law: NRS 111.721(1)(a) |
Property going to a surviving spouse | Counts | The surviving spouse's own half of community property is the spouse's property, not the person's. The person's half counts. A spouse who signs the affidavit has the $150,000 limit. Law: NRS 123.250, 146.080(7) |
Stocks, bonds and brokerage accounts | Counts | Stocks and bonds in the person's name alone count. Securities registered transfer-on-death pass to the beneficiary and are not counted. Law: NRS 146.080(5), 111.721(1)(c) |
Furniture, jewelry and other belongings | Counts | Jewelry, furniture and other belongings count. Law: NRS 146.080(1) |
Source: Official page
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
- Wait until at least 40 days after the death.
- Pay, or provide for, all the person's debts, including funeral and burial costs and any money owed to Medicaid.
- 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.
- Fill in the affidavit and list the property you claim.
- Sign it in front of a notary and attach the certified death certificate.
- 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
Petition to Set Aside Estate Without Administration
A short court case for estates worth up to $150,000 after liens, including real estate. The judge orders who gets the property after a hearing.
- Limit
Up to $150,000 (deaths on or after October 1, 2025) Counted after subtracting liens (what is owed on the property).
Date of death Limit On or after October 1, 2025$150,000On or before September 30, 2025$100,000The estate, minus liens and encumbrances, cannot be worth more than $150,000. This amount took effect October 1, 2025; it was $100,000 before. A part of the estate that a will leaves to the trustee of the person's existing living trust can also be set aside, whatever its value.
- What counts
The fair market value of the estate on the date of death, minus all enforceable liens and encumbrances. Unsecured debts are not subtracted.
- Waiting period
The petition cannot be filed until at least 30 days after the death.
- Who can use it
Any person entitled to the estate; the self-help center suggests a surviving spouse or child file, because the court can give them the entire estate without paying creditors.
- Court or where to file
District court in the county.
- Notary
The petition is verified (sworn).
- Papers to attach
- Copy of the death certificate
- Copy of the will, if there is one
- Itemized list of assets with estimated values, liens and debts
- Names, addresses and relationships of heirs and devisees
- Civil cover sheet and notice of hearing
- Certificate of mailing
- Steps
- Wait at least 30 days after the death.
- List all assets, liens, debts, heirs and devisees.
- Fill out the cover sheet, notice of hearing and petition, and file them at the district court.
- Mail the notice to all heirs, devisees, creditors and Nevada Medicaid Estate Recovery; publish in a newspaper if someone cannot be found.
- Go to the hearing; the court's order names who gets each item.
- Fee
The filing fee is different in every county; ask the district court clerk. No court or clerk's fees may be charged for an estate worth $2,500 or less.
- If you can't pay
You can ask the court to waive the filing fee; see the Self-Help Center's Filing Fees and Waivers page.
- Debts and responsibility
The court sets aside the estate first to the petitioner's attorney fees, then funeral and last-illness costs, money owed to Medicaid and creditors, then to heirs. If there is a surviving spouse or minor child, the court must set the estate aside for them without paying creditors unless that would be a manifest injustice; the court may reduce this if they already received nonprobate transfers.
Law: NRS 146.070; Stats. 2025 (SB 404), secs. 8-9
Source: Official page
Bank accounts after a death in Nevada
Money in an account with a surviving joint owner or a pay-on-death beneficiary passes to that person outside probate. For an account in the person's name alone, an heir can use the affidavit of entitlement after 40 days if the Nevada estate (not counting vehicles and military pay) is under $25,000, or $150,000 for a surviving spouse, and there is no Nevada real estate.
Law: NRS 146.080, 111.721
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.
- Civil Law Self-Help Center (Clark County, linked from the Nevada Self-Help Center)
- State Bar of Nevada: Find a Lawyer
- Nevada Supreme Court Self-Help Center: Small Estates
- Nevada Self-Help Center: Affidavit of Entitlement
- Nevada Self-Help Center: Petition to Set Aside Without Administration
- Nevada Self-Help Center: Direct Transfer of Property
- LawHelp.org
- Legal Services Corporation (LSC) - Find legal aid
- Eldercare Locator · 1-800-677-1116
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (debt collection and mortgage complaints) · (855) 411-2372