Losing someone close is one of the hardest things a person goes through. In the days and weeks that follow, you are expected to grieve and navigate an unexpected maze of legal deadlines, financial notifications, and paperwork — often without any roadmap.
This guide is that roadmap. It walks through everything that needs to happen in the first 30 days after a loved one dies in Nevada, organized by timeframe so you know what is urgent, what can wait, and when you need legal help. If you have questions about Nevada probate, estate administration, or trust settlement, the Trust & Probate Litigation team at Hutchison & Steffen is here to help.
Before anything else can happen legally, an official pronouncement of death must be made. How this works depends on where the death occurs:
Without this legal declaration, no funeral arrangements can be made and no estate or legal proceedings can begin.
There is no legal requirement here, only a human one. Reach out to the people who need to know. If your loved one had close friends, colleagues, or community members who would want to be told directly rather than hearing through others, make those calls in the first day or two.
Once the death has been officially declared, contact a licensed funeral home to take custody of the body. If your loved one had pre-arranged funeral plans or expressed preferences in writing, locate those documents first. Nevada funeral homes will guide you through the immediate decisions: burial versus cremation, service planning, and the information they need to prepare the death certificate.
As soon as possible, make arrangements to secure your loved one's home. Change the locks if others have access, lock vehicles in the garage, and ensure that no one removes personal items, jewelry, documents, or other property before the estate is administered. This is not about distrust — it is about protecting the estate from loss or unauthorized transfers. Under Nevada law, the executor's authority to manage estate assets begins with their appointment, and protecting those assets before that appointment is an important preliminary step. If you need guidance on what steps to take before formal estate administration begins, contact Hutchison & Steffen for a consultation.
Contact the United States Postal Service to forward your loved one's mail to a trusted family member who will be handling the estate. Mail that sits at a vacant home signals to potential intruders that the property is empty, and important financial or legal notices can easily be missed.
The death certificate is the single most important document you will need in the weeks ahead. You will need multiple certified copies, not photocopies, for almost every legal, financial, and institutional step in the process. Order at least 10 to 12 certified copies upfront. In Nevada, certified copies typically cost $20 each through the county clerk or recorder. Ordering extras now is far cheaper than reordering later.
You will need certified copies for:
Search for your loved one's original will, any trust documents, beneficiary designation forms, insurance policies, real estate deeds, and financial account statements. These documents govern what happens to the estate and who is authorized to act. If a will exists, Nevada law requires that the person in possession of it deliver it to the clerk of the district court within 30 days of the date of death (NRS 136.050). This deadline applies even if the estate does not ultimately need to go through probate. Failing to lodge the will within 30 days can create legal complications.
If your loved one worked with an estate planning attorney, contact that attorney as soon as possible. They may know the location of important documents and can begin advising you on next steps. If no estate planning attorney was involved, this is the time to reach out to a trust and probate attorney to understand what the estate requires and what your obligations are.
Contact the Social Security Administration as soon as possible to report the death. Social Security will continue sending benefit payments until they are formally notified. If a payment arrives after the date of death, do not deposit it. Return it with a written notice of the death. Keeping a Social Security payment issued after death can create repayment obligations and legal complications.
If your loved one was receiving Social Security benefits, you may also be entitled to a one-time death benefit of $255 for eligible surviving spouses or children. Ask the SSA about this when you call.
If your loved one was still working at the time of death, contact their employer's human resources department. You will need to address unused vacation pay, final paychecks, employer-sponsored life insurance, pension or retirement plan benefits, and continuation of health coverage under COBRA if other family members were on the plan.
Contact every bank, credit union, investment account, and credit card company your loved one used. Notify them of the death and provide a certified copy of the death certificate. This protects the accounts from unauthorized activity and begins the process of freezing or transferring accounts. Do not attempt to withdraw funds from accounts held solely in the deceased's name until you have been formally appointed as executor or administrator. This is an important protection against personal liability.
Contact the three major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, to report the death. This helps prevent identity theft and fraud using the deceased's credit information. Each bureau has a process for placing a deceased alert on the credit file. Provide a certified copy of the death certificate when you contact them.
Review your loved one's recurring subscriptions, utilities, insurance policies, and other automatic payments. Cancel what is no longer needed, transfer what must be maintained to protect property (homeowner's insurance, auto insurance, utility service to a property), and notify service providers of the death. Subscription services that continue billing can quietly drain estate funds if not addressed promptly.
Not every estate in Nevada must go through the court-supervised probate process. Whether probate is required depends primarily on how your loved one's assets were held and their total value. Under Nevada law updated by SB 404 (effective October 1, 2025), there are four main paths:
Assets that pass outside of probate entirely include accounts with designated beneficiaries (life insurance, IRAs, 401(k)s), accounts held jointly with right of survivorship, assets held in a properly funded living trust, and real property held as community property with right of survivorship. Understanding which assets are probate assets and which are not is one of the first things a Nevada probate attorney will help you determine.
If a will exists and probate is required, the will must be lodged with the district court clerk in the county where the deceased lived. In Clark County (Las Vegas), that is the Eighth Judicial District Court. In Washoe County (Reno), that is the Second Judicial District Court. The 30-day deadline runs from the date of death. Even if you are not sure whether probate will be necessary, lodge the will on time to avoid complications. If you have questions about where or how to file, reach out to Hutchison & Steffen for guidance.
If probate is required, the next step is filing a petition with the probate court to formally open the estate and be appointed as personal representative (the Nevada term for executor or administrator). Once appointed, the court issues Letters Testamentary (if there is a will) or Letters of Administration (if there is no will). These documents are your legal authority to act on behalf of the estate, and most banks, title companies, and institutions will not deal with you without them.
If your loved one died without a will, they died "intestate," and Nevada's intestacy laws govern how the estate is distributed. Under NRS Chapter 134, the estate passes to the deceased's closest relatives in a statutory order: first to a surviving spouse, then to children, then to parents, then to siblings, and so on. An administrator is appointed by the court rather than named in a will, and the court follows a priority order in selecting that person.
Dying without a will does not mean the estate avoids probate. In many cases it means the opposite: more court involvement because there is no document expressing the deceased's wishes. If your loved one died without a will and the estate has significant assets, consulting with a Nevada probate attorney early can help the family understand what the distribution will look like and whether any disputes are likely.
Once letters are issued, the personal representative must publish a notice to creditors in a local newspaper once a week for three consecutive weeks (NRS 155.010). This starts the clock on the creditor claim period. Under general administration, creditors have 90 days from the first publication to file claims against the estate. Under summary administration, the period is 60 days. Known creditors must also be notified directly by mail. Managing creditor claims correctly is important because paying invalid claims, or paying in the wrong priority order, can expose the personal representative to personal liability.
The personal representative is responsible for identifying and documenting all probate assets, including their value as of the date of death. This inventory must be filed with the probate court (NRS 144.040). For real property, a formal appraisal may be required. For financial accounts, statements as of the date of death establish values. For personal property of significant value, including jewelry, art, vehicles, and business interests, professional appraisal may be necessary. Copies of the inventory must be sent to all heirs and beneficiaries.
While the estate is open, the personal representative must keep up with obligations that protect the estate's value:
Several tax filings may be required after a death in Nevada:
Nevada does not have a state income tax or a state estate tax, which simplifies the tax picture considerably compared to many other states. Still, the federal tax obligations must be met. A tax identification number (EIN) must be obtained for the estate, and the deceased's personal Social Security number should not be used for estate transactions. If estate tax returns or complex income tax situations are involved, working with both a probate attorney and a CPA is advisable. Hutchison & Steffen can refer you to qualified tax professionals if needed.
Not all assets require probate. Accounts with named beneficiaries, such as life insurance policies, IRAs, 401(k) accounts, and payable-on-death bank accounts, transfer directly to the named beneficiary outside of the probate process. Contact each institution holding these accounts with a certified copy of the death certificate and the claim forms they require. These accounts do not go through the estate and cannot be used to pay the estate's debts.
An increasingly important but often overlooked category is digital assets: online banking accounts, investment platforms, email accounts, social media accounts, cryptocurrency wallets, cloud storage, and subscriptions. If your loved one had a digital estate plan or provided account credentials, follow those instructions. If not, many platforms have their own processes for memorializing or closing accounts. Cryptocurrency requires special attention because access may be permanently lost if private keys or recovery phrases are not located.
This is one of the most common questions families ask, and the honest answer is: it depends.
Under routine circumstances:
In Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, current court backlogs have extended timelines to 8 to 12 months even for otherwise routine cases. Working with an experienced Nevada probate attorney helps ensure that filings are done correctly and on time, minimizing unnecessary delays.
Probate costs in Nevada include court filing fees, publication costs, appraisal fees, personal representative compensation, and attorney fees. For small and routine estates:
Nevada personal representatives are entitled to statutory compensation based on the value of the estate: 4% on the first $15,000, 3% on the next $85,000, and 2% on amounts over $100,000 (NRS Chapter 150). These amounts must be approved by the court. Nevada has no state estate tax, which is one significant cost advantage over states like Massachusetts or Oregon.
For families navigating a loss right now, probate avoidance may feel like a topic for another day. But for those who also want to understand why the estate is in the situation it is in, or how to prevent their own estate from putting their family through the same process, it is worth understanding the tools that allow estates to bypass probate entirely:
If you are thinking about how to structure your own estate to avoid putting your family through this process, Hutchison & Steffen's Asset Protection & Business Planning team can design an estate plan built around your specific assets and goals.
Use this checklist as a quick reference. Not every item applies to every estate, and the order may vary depending on your circumstances.
Days 1 to 3
Days 1 to 7
Days 7 to 14
Days 14 to 30
The first legal step is obtaining an official pronouncement of death from a medical professional or emergency responder. Once that declaration is made, you can proceed with funeral arrangements and begin notifying institutions. Practically speaking, the most urgent early actions are securing the deceased's property and ordering certified death certificates.
For small estates using an affidavit, there is no court process and the 40-day waiting period is the main constraint. Summary administration for estates between $150,001 and $500,000 typically takes 3 to 6 months. General administration for larger estates generally takes 9 to 18 months in straightforward cases, and longer in contested matters. Clark County currently has backlogs that are extending timelines to 8 to 12 months for many routine cases.
Basic probate costs for routine estates under $150,000 typically range from $3,000 to $6,000 in total attorney fees and court costs. Larger estates start around $8,000 and increase with complexity. Nevada has no state estate tax, and the federal estate tax only applies to estates exceeding approximately $13.99 million in 2025.
Not always. If assets were held in a funded living trust, jointly with right of survivorship, or with named beneficiaries, those assets bypass probate entirely. If the total probatable estate is $150,000 or less in personal property, an affidavit procedure may be used without court involvement. Real estate always requires some form of court process to transfer title unless it was held jointly or in trust.
Nevada's intestacy laws under NRS Chapter 134 govern distribution. Assets pass to the deceased's closest relatives in statutory order: surviving spouse first, then children, then parents, then siblings and their descendants. An administrator is appointed by the court. The estate still goes through probate, and in many cases dying without a will adds complexity and potential for family disputes. See Hutchison & Steffen's blog on contesting a will in Nevada for more on what happens when estate plans are disputed.
The most time-sensitive financial steps are notifying the Social Security Administration immediately to prevent overpayment, freezing access to accounts held solely in the deceased's name, filing beneficiary claims for life insurance and retirement accounts, and opening a dedicated estate bank account once letters are issued. All financial transactions on behalf of the estate should be run through that estate account with detailed records maintained.
The most effective tools are a properly funded revocable living trust, beneficiary designations on all financial accounts and insurance policies, payable-on-death or transfer-on-death designations, joint tenancy with right of survivorship, and community property with right of survivorship for married couples. Working with a Nevada estate planning attorney to implement these tools before death is the only way to guarantee probate avoidance. If you want to understand how to structure your own estate, Hutchison & Steffen's Asset Protection & Business Planning team can help.
The weeks after a loved one dies are not the time to figure out Nevada probate law on your own. Hutchison & Steffen's Trust & Probate Litigation team works with families throughout Nevada to navigate this process with clarity and efficiency. We handle:
We serve clients throughout Nevada with offices in Las Vegas (702.385.2500) and Reno (775.853.8746). If you have questions about what comes next, contact Hutchison & Steffen to schedule a consultation.
This post is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Estate administration involves legal deadlines and requirements that vary based on your situation. If you have questions about Nevada probate or trust administration, consult a qualified attorney about your specific circumstances.
