Nevada Probate Thresholds 2025: What SB 404 Changed for Small Estates

In October 2025, Nevada's Senate Bill 404 took effect and quietly changed the financial math for thousands of Nevada families settling estates. The legislation raised the thresholds that determine whether an estate can skip formal probate — or use faster, cheaper alternatives. If you're settling an estate in Nevada now, these numbers directly affect how much time and money you'll spend.

Here's what changed, why it matters, and who benefits.

What SB 404 Did: The Three Key Changes

1. Affidavit of Entitlement (NRS 146.080) — Raised to $150,000 for Surviving Spouses

The Affidavit of Entitlement is Nevada's simplest estate tool: a notarized document that lets heirs claim personal property (bank accounts, vehicles, personal effects) without going to court at all. No judge, no filing fee, no waiting for a hearing date.

Before SB 404, a surviving spouse could use this affidavit to claim personal property worth up to $100,000. The new limit is $150,000. For any other claimant — adult children, siblings — the limit remains at $25,000.

The affidavit cannot be presented to a bank or other asset holder until at least 40 days after the date of death. That 40-day window hasn't changed.

The critical limitation that also hasn't changed: this affidavit only works for personal property. If the estate includes real estate anywhere in Nevada, the affidavit process is not available and the estate must go through some form of court process — either set-aside without administration, summary administration, or general administration.

2. Set Aside Without Administration (NRS 146.070) — Raised to $150,000

When an estate includes real property but the net value (assets minus debts and encumbrances) is relatively modest, Nevada courts can issue an order "setting aside" the entire estate directly to the surviving spouse or minor children without formal probate administration. This process requires a petition and a court hearing, but it is substantially faster and cheaper than full administration — there's no extended creditor claim period and no inventory and accounting requirements.

Before SB 404, the threshold for set-aside was $100,000 net estate value. It is now $150,000.

Important note: courts have discretion to reduce the set-aside amount if the surviving spouse has already received substantial assets through non-probate transfers (large life insurance payouts, joint accounts that passed automatically). The set-aside is designed to protect families, not to give the surviving spouse double the benefit if non-probate transfers have already covered their needs.

3. Summary Administration (NRS 145.040) — Raised to $500,000

Summary Administration is the middle tier of Nevada probate — faster than full general administration, but involving actual court supervision. SB 404's most dramatic change was here: the summary administration ceiling jumped from $300,000 to $500,000.

This is significant. An estate worth $350,000 — previously subject to general administration with its 90-day mandatory creditor claim period and higher attorney fees — now qualifies for summary administration, where the creditor claim period is reduced to 60 days and certain notice requirements (like newspaper publication) are waived.

4. General Administration — Unchanged, But Now Starts at $500,001

Estates with a gross value over $500,000 still go through general administration, the longest and most expensive pathway. Nevada district court filing fees for these estates are $537.50 in Clark County and $522.50 in Washoe County. Attorney fees for general administration are often substantial — Nevada law allows statutory fees based on a percentage of the gross estate value.

Who Benefits Most

Surviving spouses with modest joint assets: If the couple owned a home and had bank accounts totaling under $150,000 in the surviving spouse's name alone (after the home), the affidavit process may now cover the financial accounts without court involvement. The home itself still needs the set-aside petition.

Middle-class families with a home: Nevada housing prices have risen significantly. A house worth $250,000 with a mortgage of $120,000 leaves a net estate value of $130,000 in the home alone — now within the $150,000 set-aside threshold. Before SB 404, that same estate would have needed summary administration at minimum.

Estates in the $300,000–$500,000 range: These estates now qualify for summary administration instead of general administration. Depending on attorney fees and the estate's complexity, this could save a family months of waiting and thousands of dollars in legal costs.

What Hasn't Changed

• The 40-day waiting period before an Affidavit of Entitlement can be presented
• The requirement that real estate trigger some form of court process
• The out-of-state executor rules — if the decedent owned Nevada real property but lived in another state, ancillary probate in Nevada is still required regardless of the estate's size
• Filing fees in Clark County (Eighth Judicial District) and Washoe County (Second Judicial District) — these are set separately and were not changed by SB 404
• Medicaid Estate Recovery — MERP can still pursue Nevada estates even when the probate pathway is simplified. The recovery rules for surviving spouses, disabled children, and hardship waivers are unchanged

Practical Implications for Executors Right Now

If you're currently administering a Nevada estate, the first step is calculating the gross estate value (for determining which administration tier applies) and the net estate value (for set-aside eligibility). These are different numbers.

Gross value includes all assets before subtracting debts — used to determine the probate tier and the Clark/Washoe filing fee bracket.

Net value is what's left after mortgages, liens, and encumbrances — used specifically for the set-aside threshold.

A $250,000 house with a $110,000 mortgage counts as $250,000 toward the gross value but only $140,000 toward the net value for set-aside purposes.

If you're not sure which pathway applies to the estate you're settling, the Nevada Funeral Laws & Consumer Rights Guide includes a step-by-step framework for determining the correct administration pathway, the required documents for each tier, and the specific NRS citations executors need when dealing with Nevada courts and asset holders.

Verify Current Thresholds Before Filing

SB 404 went into effect in October 2025. Confirm with the Clark County Eighth Judicial District Court or the Washoe County Second Judicial District Court that no subsequent legislation or county commission rule has modified these figures before you file. Legislative sessions can alter thresholds, and county fee schedules update separately from the statute.

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