Las Vegas Estate Planning Attorney 

What Nevada Estate Planning Actually Involves

Nevada is a community property state, so estate plans for married couples must distinguish community property (assets acquired during marriage) from separate property, including assets owned before marriage and property received as a gift or inheritance. A plan that doesn’t address this classification can expose a surviving spouse to probate complications or disputes among heirs over which assets were jointly owned.

Nevada doesn’t currently collect a state income tax, inheritance tax, or estate tax. At the federal level, tax applies only to estates above the basic exclusion amount. As of 2026, that amount is $15,000,000 per individual or $30,000,000 for a married couple using portability, and the federal estate and gift tax rate above the applicable exclusion remains 40%. Estate planning must coordinate property ownership, beneficiary designations, incapacity documents, and distribution instructions.

Estate Planning Services in Las Vegas

We prepare plans around each client’s assets, family circumstances, and decision-making needs. The documents must work together without creating conflicting instructions about financial authority, medical decisions, guardianship, or property distribution.

Revocable Living Trusts

A revocable living trust holds your assets during your lifetime and transfers trust-titled property to named beneficiaries when you die. Chapter 163 of the Nevada Revised Statutes governs these trusts, which can be amended or revoked while you’re alive. A properly funded trust can transfer covered assets under its terms rather than through probate in Clark County.

Wills & Pour-Over Wills

A will names who receives property not already held in a trust, designates guardians for minor children, and identifies a personal representative to manage probate when required. Chapter 133 of the Nevada Revised Statutes governs Nevada wills. Assets controlled by a will generally pass through probate before distribution, while a pour-over will directs remaining property into an established trust.

Nevada Domestic Asset Protection Trusts

Under NRS Chapter 166, Nevada allows self-settled spendthrift trusts, commonly called Domestic Asset Protection Trusts, with a two-year seasoning period for future creditor claims. Pre-existing creditors generally must bring an action within two years after a transfer or within six months after discovering the transfer, whichever is later. Asset-protection planning requires careful analysis of ownership, creditor exposure, trust terms, and transfer timing. See our Asset Protection page for details on how Domestic Asset Protection Trusts are structured.

Powers of Attorney

A durable financial power of attorney authorizes a named agent to manage bank accounts, pay bills, file taxes, and handle other financial responsibilities if you become incapacitated. Without this document or another source of authority, a family member who needs control over your finances may have to petition the Clark County court to establish a formal guardianship.

Healthcare Directives

A healthcare directive records your treatment preferences and designates someone to communicate those wishes to medical providers. Nevada’s requirements differ from those in other states, so documents prepared elsewhere should be reviewed after a move to Nevada.

Federal Gift & Estate Tax Planning

For Nevada residents whose estates may approach or exceed the federal lifetime gift and estate tax exemption, we structure gifting programs, irrevocable trusts, and other transfer mechanisms to address potential federal transfer-tax exposure. Planning decisions should account for current assets, prior taxable gifts, family goals, and possible changes to federal thresholds.

Trust Administration After Death or Incapacity

We provide trust administration services for Las Vegas residents and Nevada families following the death or incapacity of a trust settlor, the person who created the trust. Administration can involve reviewing the trust terms, identifying and managing property, communicating with beneficiaries, addressing expenses or claims, and making authorized distributions.

These Nevada rules are codified in NRS Chapter 164. A trustee must manage trust property solely in the beneficiaries’ interests and act impartially when beneficiaries have different interests. Nevada law also provides a formal notice procedure for proposed actions. When a trustee has reason to believe the settlor received Medicaid, the trustee must notify the Nevada Health Authority of the settlor’s death.

How Nevada Probate Works & What It Costs

Probate is the court-supervised process for administering assets that didn’t transfer through a trust, beneficiary designation, joint ownership, or another nonprobate mechanism. In Clark County, the Eighth Judicial District Court handles probate at the Regional Justice Center, 200 Lewis Avenue, in downtown Las Vegas. The court’s Probate Commissioners, who hear many probate and trust matters, are across the street in the Phoenix Building at 330 S. 3rd Street. Their recommendations go to a district judge for approval. The process involves identifying assets, notifying creditors, satisfying valid debts and taxes, and distributing the remaining property under court supervision.

Probate expenses depend on the estate’s assets, complexity, creditor issues, required appraisals, and whether interested parties contest the administration. Costs can include court filing fees, professional fees, valuation expenses, and other estate-specific administration costs.

A properly funded revocable living trust can keep trust-titled assets outside probate. Property left outside the trust may still require probate unless it transfers through a beneficiary designation, joint ownership arrangement, or another valid nonprobate method.

Do I Need an Estate Plan in Nevada?

Nevada residents with real property, minor children, business interests, or retirement accounts can use estate planning documents to address a court-supervised probate proceeding in Clark County’s Eighth Judicial District Court and state how their estate should be distributed. Without a valid plan, Nevada law determines how probate assets are distributed.

Three situations require more than a basic will:

• Married Nevada residents with separate property need clear documentation for assets owned before marriage and property received by gift or inheritance to avoid community property classification disputes among heirs.
• Business owners need succession documents coordinated with operating agreements and other governing documents.
• Parents of children under 18 can designate a preferred guardian in a valid Nevada will for the court to consider.

If you recently moved to Nevada from another state, your existing estate plan documents should be reviewed. Wills, trusts, and powers of attorney drafted elsewhere may need updates to function as intended under Nevada law.

What Happens If You Die Without a Will in Nevada?

If a Nevada resident dies without a will, assets pass under NRS Chapter 134’s intestate succession rules, which divide separate property between a surviving spouse and children according to set statutory shares when both survive, and pass to parents, then more distant relatives, in a defined statutory order when no spouse or children survive. Community property held jointly with a spouse passes to the surviving spouse outside probate, but separate property and assets titled solely in the deceased’s name go through the Clark County probate court. The court distributes that property according to statutory priority, not verbal wishes or informal lifetime arrangements.

When someone dies without a valid Nevada will, unmarried partners, close friends, stepchildren who weren’t formally adopted, and charitable organizations receive nothing from the estate regardless of the deceased’s intentions. The intestate succession statute has no mechanism for recognizing informal promises or long-term relationships outside legal marriage.

Updating Your Estate Plan After a Major Life Change

Estate plans become outdated after marriage, divorce, the birth or adoption of a child, the death of a named trustee or beneficiary, relocation to Nevada from another state, a significant change in asset value, or a change in federal transfer-tax law. We recommend reviewing your plan every 3 to 5 years and after any major life change.

Post-divorce updates require particular attention. Nevada’s divorce statutes automatically revoke certain will provisions and beneficiary designations related to a former spouse when the divorce decree is entered. However, they don’t update beneficiary designations on financial accounts held at banks or investment institutions, and they don’t revoke trust documents. A complete review should cover wills, trusts, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, trustees, personal representatives, and beneficiary designations on retirement accounts, life insurance, and other financial accounts. We handle post-divorce estate plan updates for Clark County clients, including those whose divorce was managed by our family law team.

Nevada’s Trust Law Advantages

Nevada law provides several features relevant to trust and asset-protection planning. Whether those features fit a particular plan depends on asset ownership, creditor exposure, tax considerations, family circumstances, and transfer timing.

• Self-settled spendthrift trusts, commonly known as Nevada Domestic Asset Protection Trusts, have a two-year seasoning period for future creditor claims.
• State-level tax treatment includes no Nevada individual income tax, inheritance tax, or estate tax.
• Transfer analysis considers existing creditor claims, ownership structure, trust terms, and whether a proposed transfer complies with Nevada law.

We draft Nevada Domestic Asset Protection Trusts and other trust structures based on the client’s planning objectives. The Trusts page covers Nevada revocable and irrevocable trust structures in detail. The Asset Protection page covers Domestic Asset Protection Trust structures and the Chapter 166 seasoning requirements specifically.

Estate Planning Pricing

Our Essential Estate Plan includes a living trust and costs $2,800. Our Comprehensive estate planning option costs $4,200. Custom estate planning options vary in price based on the planning required.

The appropriate option depends on the documents needed, family circumstances, asset ownership, and planning goals. We discuss those factors before recommending the scope of an estate plan.