Your Nevada estate plan is either protecting your family or exposing them. There is no middle ground.
Every month, families walk into Clark County and Washoe County probate courts because someone assumed their assets would "just pass" to the right people. They discover that Nevada's intestacy rules split separate property by formula — half to a spouse, half to a child, or one-third to the spouse when there are multiple children. Stepchildren get nothing. Unmarried partners get nothing. And the entire proceeding is public, expensive, and takes six to twelve months.
The people who avoid this are not wealthier or more organized. They used the right tools — tools Nevada specifically created to keep average estates out of court. A will that meets NRS 133.040 requirements. A transfer-on-death deed under NRS 111.655. Beneficiary designations that match the will instead of contradicting it. These instruments cost nothing to execute — the hard part is knowing which ones apply to your situation and filing them correctly.
That is what the Nevada Basic Estate Planning Kit delivers: the Nevada Compliance System — a complete, statute-by-statute walkthrough that translates NRS requirements into plain-English checklists, execution guides, and county-specific filing instructions. Not legal advice. Not a trust sales pitch. The operational knowledge that Nevada law already gives you the right to use.
What makes this different from free courthouse forms or a $99 online service
Nevada's courthouse self-help portals — the Civil Law Self-Help Center, Clark County Family Court — provide free forms for post-death probate administration: small estate affidavits, set-aside petitions, probate inventories. They are excellent at what they do. But they explicitly do not offer pre-death planning documents. No will template. No deed upon death form. No beneficiary coordination worksheet. The free forms handle the aftermath — this kit prevents the aftermath.
National platforms like LegalZoom charge $99 to $129 for a basic will and $399+ for a trust package, then add $149 for deed preparation and push monthly subscription fees. Their templates are national — they do not account for Nevada's SB 404 probate thresholds, the Deed Upon Death formatting requirements that vary by county recorder, or the community property titling that preserves your family's double step-up in tax basis. You pay more and get less Nevada-specific coverage.
The kit fills the gap between free government forms that only work after death and expensive platforms that charge for national templates dressed up in state-specific packaging.
What's inside — 15 chapters, every statute referenced
Why Nevada Estate Planning Is Different — Community property rules under NRS 123.220, no state income or estate tax, the SB 404 probate threshold changes, and what these mean for transplants from common law states who assume their old documents still work.
What Happens If You Die Without a Plan — The full intestacy distribution under NRS Chapter 134. How separate property splits between a surviving spouse and children. Why stepchildren and unmarried partners are excluded entirely. The administrator appointment rules that force out-of-state family members to hire a local co-administrator.
Your Nevada Will — Every requirement of NRS 133.040: written form, age and capacity standards, two competent witnesses, and why "interested witnesses" who are also beneficiaries create litigation risk. The self-proving affidavit under NRS 133.050 that eliminates court testimony. Holographic wills under NRS 133.090 — when they work and when they fail.
Trusts — When You Need One and When You Don't — An honest comparison of costs and benefits. How SB 404's raised thresholds ($150,000 set-aside, $500,000 summary administration) make trusts unnecessary for most Nevada families. When a trust still makes sense: multi-state property, Medicaid planning, minor beneficiaries, or estate values above the summary threshold.
The Deed Upon Death — Step-by-step execution under NRS 111.655–111.699. Legal property description, beneficiary naming, notarization, and county recorder filing. The mandatory statutory disclosure under NRS 111.695. County-specific formatting requirements under NRS 247.110 that prevent your deed from being rejected on first filing.
Powers of Attorney — Durable financial power of attorney and healthcare directive under Nevada law. Who can serve as your agent, what powers to grant and what to limit, capacity standards, and how to coordinate your healthcare directive with a POLST order.
Beneficiary Designations — The coordination problem most plans miss: your will does not control life insurance, retirement accounts, or payable-on-death accounts. The divorce trap where NRS 133.115 revokes spousal will designations but leaves 401(k) beneficiary forms untouched. Why naming minor children directly triggers court-supervised guardianship.
The Medicaid Estate Recovery Trap — Nevada's expanded definition of "estate" that includes non-probate transfers. Mandatory federal exemptions. The 30-day hardship waiver timeline. The critical mistake of selling the family home during a recipient's lifetime.
Digital Asset Planning — NRS Chapter 722 authorization requirements. Why sharing passwords violates terms of service and federal law. How to document digital access authority in your will and power of attorney so your executor can actually manage your accounts.
Plus: county-specific filing costs, real property transfer tax exemptions, special situations (blended families, nonresident property owners, unmarried partners), a when-to-hire-a-professional decision framework, and a 21-item quick-start checklist.
Who this is for
- Retirees who moved to Nevada — Your out-of-state will was drafted under different rules. Nevada's community property system, witness requirements, and probate thresholds are different from what you had in California, Illinois, or New York. This kit updates your documents to match where you actually live.
- Homeowners protecting their largest asset — If your home is titled wrong, it goes through probate. A transfer-on-death deed keeps it out of court. The kit walks through the exact execution and recording process for your county.
- Blended families — Second marriage, children from prior relationships, stepchildren with no default inheritance rights. The kit shows you how to structure a will that protects everyone — not just the people Nevada's default formula happens to include.
- Parents with adult children out of state — Without a will, Nevada requires any out-of-state administrator to appoint a local co-administrator. A will lets you name your adult child as sole executor regardless of where they live.
- Nonresident property owners — You live out of state but own a rental property, vacation home, or timeshare in Nevada. Without a deed upon death, your heirs face ancillary probate in a Nevada county court just to transfer that single property.
What you can stop worrying about
"A downloadable kit cannot be legally valid." Nevada does not require estate planning documents to be drafted by an attorney. The kit uses the exact statutory language from NRS 133.050 for the self-proving affidavit and NRS 111.695 for the deed upon death disclosure. Your documents are valid when you execute them correctly — the kit shows you how.
"I need an expensive trust to avoid probate." Since SB 404, estates up to $150,000 qualify for a court set-aside and estates up to $500,000 qualify for summary administration. A will plus a deed upon death plus coordinated beneficiary designations handles what a trust does — without the trust's cost.
"I'll make a filing mistake." The kit includes county recorder formatting requirements — paper weight, margin specifications, recording fees by county — so your deed upon death is recorded correctly on the first attempt.
— Less Than One Hour of Attorney Time
Nevada estate planning attorneys charge $1,500 to $3,500 for a comprehensive trust package. Even budget options start at $99 for a basic will, with upsells into trust territory from the first meeting. The kit gives you the Nevada-specific guidance and execution checklists that cover what 80% of families actually need — for less than one hour of attorney time.
Not a replacement for complex estate planning. A replacement for paying complex prices when your situation calls for a straightforward plan.
Instant download. 10 PDFs — the complete guide, 8 standalone worksheets and reference cards, plus a quick-start checklist. Complete your estate plan in one weekend.