Nevada Intestate Succession: Who Inherits When There Is No Will

When someone dies in Nevada without a valid will, state law — not the family — decides who gets what. The rules are spelled out in NRS Chapter 134, and they apply automatically. There is no negotiation, no family vote, and no consideration of what the deceased might have wanted.

Nevada's intestate succession rules treat community property and separate property differently. Understanding this split is the first step in figuring out who inherits.

Community Property vs. Separate Property

Nevada is a community property state. Property acquired during a marriage generally belongs equally to both spouses, regardless of whose name is on the account or title. When one spouse dies intestate, the surviving spouse automatically inherits the deceased's half of the community property. Children, parents, and siblings have no claim to the community property share.

Separate property — assets owned before the marriage, gifts received individually, and inheritances — follows a different path entirely. The surviving spouse's share of separate property depends on whether the deceased also left children.

The Inheritance Hierarchy for Separate Property

If the deceased is survived by a spouse and one child: The surviving spouse inherits half of the separate property. The child inherits the other half.

If the deceased is survived by a spouse and two or more children: The surviving spouse inherits one-third of the separate property. The children split the remaining two-thirds equally.

If the deceased is survived by a spouse but no children: The surviving spouse inherits all separate property.

If the deceased is survived by children but no spouse: The children inherit everything equally. If a child predeceased the deceased but left their own children (the deceased's grandchildren), those grandchildren inherit their parent's share by representation.

If no spouse and no children survive: The estate passes to the deceased's parents. If both parents are deceased, it goes to siblings. If no siblings survive, it passes to nieces and nephews, then grandparents, then aunts and uncles, continuing outward through the family tree.

If no living relatives can be found: The estate escheats (reverts) to the State of Nevada. This is rare but does happen, particularly with isolated individuals who had no close family connections.

Domestic Partners and Unmarried Couples

Nevada's intestate succession laws apply only to legally married spouses and, under NRS 122A, registered domestic partners. If the deceased had a long-term partner but they were not legally married or registered as domestic partners, the surviving partner has no automatic inheritance rights under intestate succession — regardless of how long they lived together or how financially intertwined their lives were.

Common-law marriage is not recognized in Nevada for couples who began their relationship in Nevada. However, Nevada will recognize a common-law marriage that was validly established in another state.

Stepchildren and Adopted Children

Legally adopted children are treated identically to biological children under Nevada intestate succession. They inherit the same share.

Stepchildren who were never legally adopted have no inheritance rights under intestate succession. Even if the deceased raised them from childhood, paid for their education, and considered them family, the law does not recognize stepchildren as heirs unless formal adoption occurred.

How This Affects the Probate Process

Intestate succession determines who inherits, but it does not change the probate requirements. If the estate includes assets solely in the deceased's name (bank accounts without payable-on-death designations, real property held individually, vehicles without transfer-on-death beneficiaries), those assets still go through one of Nevada's formal administration pathways based on value:

• Affidavit of Entitlement: For estates under $25,000 (or $150,000 for a surviving spouse) with no real property
• Set Aside Without Administration: For estates under $150,000
• Summary Administration: For estates between $150,000 and $500,000
• General Administration: For estates over $500,000

The intestate heirs are the ones who petition the court, and the court appoints an administrator (the intestate equivalent of an executor) to manage the estate through the process.

Practical Complications

Mixed community and separate property: In long marriages, classifying each asset as community or separate can become genuinely difficult. If one spouse used separate funds (an inheritance, for example) to make mortgage payments on a community property home, the separate and community interests become commingled. Untangling this may require a formal tracing analysis.

Out-of-state property: Nevada intestate succession law governs personal property (bank accounts, vehicles, investments) regardless of where the property is located. But real property is governed by the law of the state where the land sits. If the deceased owned a vacation home in California, California's intestate succession rules apply to that property.

Debts exceed assets: Intestate succession only distributes what remains after creditors are paid according to Nevada's statutory priority. If the estate is insolvent, heirs may inherit nothing — but they are not personally liable for the deceased's debts.

What Intestate Succession Does Not Cover

Nevada's intestate rules only apply to the probate estate — assets held solely in the decedent's name without a survivorship right or named beneficiary. A substantial portion of most estates passes completely outside of intestate succession:

• Life insurance with a named beneficiary transfers directly to that beneficiary, regardless of who the intestate heirs are
• Retirement accounts (IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, pensions) with named beneficiaries pass to those beneficiaries
• Bank accounts with Payable on Death (POD) designations transfer to the named recipient
• Real property held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship or as community property with right of survivorship passes to the surviving owner
• Living trusts distribute according to the trust terms, not intestate law

If the decedent held most of their wealth in accounts or policies with beneficiary designations and owned property jointly with the surviving spouse, the intestate succession rules may govern very little — or nothing at all.

Why Intestate Succession Leads to Disputes

When there is no will, family members must often work together to agree on who has authority to act and how assets should be distributed. This process creates friction:

• Blended families: If the decedent had children from a prior relationship, those children inherit under Nevada intestate law the same as children from the current marriage. A surviving spouse does not receive the entire estate if separate property was involved — the children's share is statutory, not optional.

• Disagreements over who qualifies as an heir: Establishing parentage for children born outside of marriage, tracing biological children given up for adoption, or verifying registered domestic partner status can require additional legal proceedings before the estate can be distributed.

• Creditors versus heirs: Intestate succession determines who inherits what is left after creditors are paid. In Nevada, probate creditors are paid according to a strict nine-tier priority. General unsecured creditors — credit cards, personal loans — are last in line. If the estate is insolvent, heirs receive nothing, but they are not personally responsible for the shortfall.

• Out-of-state relatives: When heirs live in other states (or other countries), coordinating the probate process — who will serve as administrator, who will appear for hearings, how funds will be distributed — adds complexity that a will could have avoided entirely.

How to Avoid These Complications

A basic will overrides all of Nevada's intestate succession defaults. It does not need to be elaborate. A will naming a specific executor and specifying who receives what — or explicitly excluding someone who would otherwise inherit — provides clarity that saves the family time, legal fees, and conflict. Nevada also allows transfer-on-death designations for bank accounts, vehicles, and real estate that accomplish similar goals for individual assets without requiring a formal will.

For anyone who has significant assets and has not yet made a will or updated their beneficiary designations, the time to do so is now — not after a health event has already occurred.

If you are settling an estate where the decedent died without a will, the full process — from identifying who has legal authority to act, through distributing assets to the correct heirs — requires careful navigation of Nevada's probate system. The Nevada Estate Settlement Guide provides the complete roadmap, including the intestate succession rules, simplified estate procedures, and the exact steps for each county. Get the complete guide here.

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