Nevada Small Estate Affidavit

The $25,000 limit, and what actually counts

The 40-day waiting period

40 days, counted from the date of death of the decedent. Stated twice: NRS 146.080(1) ('may, 40 days after the death of the decedent, without procuring letters of administration or awaiting the probate of the will, collect...') and NRS 146.080(2)(d) (affidavit must state 'that at least 40 days have elapsed since the death of the decedent, as shown in a certified copy of the certificate of death of the decedent attached to the affidavit'). Independent, cumulative 14-day period under NRS 146.080(2)(h): written notice by personal service or certified mail to every person whose right to succeed is equal or superior to the affiant's, with at least 14 days elapsed since service/mailing before the affidavit is signed. The Nevada self-help center instructs that the 14-day notice must be given before signing the form. In practice a non-spouse affiant with equal-priority siblings must wait the greater of 40 days from death and 14 days from notice. Do not confuse this with the 30-day waiting period in NRS 146.070(8), which governs the separate court set-aside petition.

Who can sign the affidavit

A person who has a right to succeed to the decedent's property under Nevada intestate succession or under the decedent's valid will, signing on behalf of all persons entitled to succeed to the property claimed. Alternatively, the Director of the Nevada Health Authority (the codified text was renamed from "Director of the Department of Health and Human Services" by a separate 2025 act; S.B. 404's enrolled text still said DHHS), or, as applicable, the public administrator or a person employed or contracted with pursuant to NRS 253.125, on behalf of the State or others entitled to the property. The affiant must be personally entitled to full payment/delivery, or hold the written authority of all other successors with an interest (NRS 146.080(2)(i)).

either

The affidavit must be signed in front of a notary. Most banks and UPS Stores have a notary; many charge under $15.

Can it transfer a house or land in Nevada?

Real property does not pass under the NRS 146.080 affidavit, and there is no companion real-property affidavit in Nevada (unlike CA Prob. Code 13200). NRS 146.080(1) conditions the whole procedure on the decedent leaving 'no real property, nor interest therein, nor mortgage or lien thereon, in this State', an eligibility gate, not a valuation carve-out. Any Nevada real estate interest of any value defeats the affidavit entirely. The correct route for real property is the court procedure: NRS 146.070 'Set Aside Estate Without Administration': threshold $150,000 (raised from $100,000 by S.B. 404 (2025) sec. 9, eff. Oct. 1, 2025), measured under NRS 146.070(17) as fair market value reduced by all enforceable liens and encumbrances, valued as of the date of death. NRS 146.070 requires a district court petition (30-day wait after death, NRS 146.070(8)), a clerk-set hearing, NRS 155.010 notice to heirs and devisees and to the Director, and a court order that vests the property (NRS 146.070(14) requires the order to name each distributee and the property distributed). Where the estate exceeds $150,000, the next step up is summary administration under NRS 145.040, raised from $300,000 to $500,000 gross (after deducting encumbrances) by S.B. 404 (2025) secs. 6-7; above that, general administration. Non-probate real-property alternatives: deed upon death / transfer-on-death deed, NRS 111.655-111.699, and joint tenancy with right of survivorship.

How to use a small estate affidavit in Nevada

1. 1

   Confirm you're under the limit and past the wait

   Add up the property that passes through the estate and check it against the $25,000 ceiling. Two-tier "applicable amount" defined in NRS 146.080(7): $150,000 if the claimant is the decedent's surviving spouse; $25,000 for any other claimant. Measured on the gross value (not net of debts) of the decedent's property in Nevada, "over and above" two exclusions: (a) amounts due the decedent for services in the U.S. Armed Forces, and (b) the value of any motor vehicles registered to the decedent. The cap applies to the whole Nevada estate, not merely the asset being claimed. Separate absolute gate: the decedent must leave no real property, no interest therein, and no mortgage or lien thereon in Nevada, regardless of value. The 25000 value reported here is the general/non-spouse figure; use 150000 when the affiant is the surviving spouse.

2. 2

   Gather the documents

   You'll need certified copies of the death certificate: order at least three, since institutions often keep one: plus account numbers, the vehicle title or VIN, and the names and addresses of every heir.

3. 3

   Complete the affidavit

   Fill in Affidavit of Entitlement (small estate affidavit) under NRS 146.080. "Estates not exceeding certain amounts: Transfer of assets without issuance of letters", listing the decedent, the heirs and their relationships, the assets and their values, and the known debts.

4. 4

   Sign it in front of a notary

   Sign in front of a notary public. Banks, credit unions and shipping stores all offer notarization, usually for a small fee.

5. 5

   Present it to whoever holds the property

   NRS 146.080(1): upon being furnished an affidavit showing the affiant's right, the person, representative, corporation, officer or body owing the money, having custody of the property, or acting as registrar/transfer agent must pay the money, deliver the property, or transfer the evidences of interest, indebtedness or right to the claimant. NRS 146.080(4) safe harbor: 'A person who receives an affidavit containing the information required by subsection 2 is entitled to rely upon that information, and if the person relies in good faith, the person is immune from civil liability for actions based on that reliance.' NRS 146.080(5)(a): a securities transfer agent shall change the registered ownership from the decedent to the claiming successor. NRS 146.080(5)(b): a governmental titling agency shall issue a new certificate of title, ownership or registration, and MAY NOT refuse an affidavit containing the required information 'regardless of the form of the affidavit', useful leverage against DMV clerks demanding a proprietary form. Note the statute does not impose an express penalty on a private bank or employer that refuses; the practical remedy is the NRS 146.080(6) ex parte petition or the self-help center's Ex Parte Petition for Transfer of Property.

Where to take the signed affidavit

Debts and your personal liability

NRS 146.080(2)(f) requires the affiant to swear that all debts of the decedent, including funeral and burial expenses and money owed to the State (Nevada Health Authority / formerly DHHS) as a result of Medicaid benefits, 'have been paid or provided for.' NRS 146.080(2)(j) requires a sworn statement of no knowledge of existing personal injury or tort damages claims. The statute does not require an itemized creditor schedule or court-supervised creditor notice/publication. Affiant exposure is in NRS 146.080(3): (a) if the affidavit does not meet the subsection-2 requirements or contains statements that are not entirely true, any money or property the affiant receives is subject to all debts of the decedent; (b) if the affiant fails to give the required notice to other successors, any money or property received is held by the affiant in trust for all other successors who have an interest. NRS 146.080(2)(k) requires acknowledgment that filing a false affidavit is a felony in Nevada. Contrast the court route: NRS 146.070(2) sets a payment waterfall (petitioner's attorney fees and costs, then funeral expenses/last illness/Medicaid recovery/creditors, then other creditors, then the balance to will beneficiaries or intestate heirs), and NRS 146.070(4) lets the court set aside the estate to a surviving spouse or minor children without paying creditors except as needed to prevent manifest injustice.

When you can’t use it

Nevada takes the affidavit route off the table when:

• Decedent left any real property in Nevada, any interest in real property, or any mortgage or lien on real property. This is an absolute bar regardless of value (NRS 146.080(1), (2)(c)); use NRS 146.070 set-aside instead
• Gross Nevada estate (excluding Armed Forces pay due and registered motor vehicles) exceeds the applicable amount: $150,000 for a surviving spouse, $25,000 for any other claimant (NRS 146.080(7))
• Fewer than 40 days have elapsed since the date of death (NRS 146.080(1), (2)(d))
• A petition for appointment of a personal representative is pending or has been granted in any jurisdiction (NRS 146.080(2)(e))
• Debts of the decedent, including funeral and burial expenses and Medicaid recovery owed to the State, have not been paid or provided for (NRS 146.080(2)(f))
• Affiant has knowledge of an existing personal injury or tort damages claim against the decedent (NRS 146.080(2)(j))
• Affiant has not served written notice (personal service or certified mail) on every person whose right to succeed is equal or superior, or fewer than 14 days have elapsed since that notice (NRS 146.080(2)(h)), not a hard bar to signing, but any property received is then held in trust for those successors under NRS 146.080(3)(b)
• Affiant is not entitled to full payment and lacks the written authority of all other interested successors (NRS 146.080(2)(i))
• No certified copy of the death certificate available to attach (NRS 146.080(2)(d))

If any of those apply, a probate attorney is the right call. A typical small-estate proceeding runs $1,000–$3,000 plus the court’s fee.

Nevada small estate affidavit FAQ

Statute and sources

Last verified July 29, 2026. S.B. 404 (2025, 83rd Session), enrolled, sec. 10 amended NRS 146.080(7)(a) to raise the surviving spouse applicable amount from $100,000 to $150,000; NRS 146.080(7)(b) ($25,000 for any other claimant) was not changed. Same act, secs. 8-9, raised the NRS 146.070 set-aside-without-administration threshold from $100,000 to $150,000; secs. 6-7 raised NRS 145.040 summary administration from $300,000 to $500,000 gross after deducting encumbrances; sec. 32 repealed NRS 139.060. Effective date: October 1, 2025, the enrolled bill contains no effective-date section, so the Nevada default applies (an act without a stated effective date takes effect on the October 1 following passage; other provisions of the same bill reference conduct 'on or after October 1, 2025'). Separately, a second 2025 act (history note cites Stats. Nev. 2025, at 3616 for NRS 146.080 and 3613 for NRS 146.070) replaced references to the 'Director of the Department of Health and Human Services' with the 'Director of the Nevada Health Authority' in the codified text; the currently posted statewide affidavit form still recites DHHS, which is a cosmetic mismatch rather than a defect. Current NRS 146.080 history note: (Added to NRS by 1957, 130; A 1975, 1773; 1979, 478; 1983, 194; 1995, 2574; 1997, 1250, 1488; 1999, 2306; 2001, 2346; 2003, 476, 882; 2015, 789; 2019, 1545; 2025, 2314, 3616). Prior relevant change: 2019 raised the surviving-spouse amount to $100,000.

• NRS 146.080
• NRS 146.080(1)
• NRS 146.080(2)(c)
• NRS 146.080(2)(d)
• NRS 146.080(2)(e)
• NRS 146.080(2)(f)
• NRS 146.080(2)(h)
• NRS 146.080(3)
• NRS 146.080(4)
• NRS 146.080(5)
• NRS 146.080(6)
• NRS 146.080(7)
• NRS 146.070
• NRS 146.070(8)
• NRS 146.070(11)
• NRS 146.070(12)
• NRS 146.070(17)
• NRS 145.040
• NRS 136.050
• NRS 155.010
• NRS 253.125
• NRS 111.365
• NRS 111.655-111.699
• NRS 111.699
• S.B. 404 (2025, 83rd Sess.), secs. 6-10
• Stats. Nev. 2025, at 2311, 2314, 3613, 3616

• leg.state.nv.us(opens in a new tab)
• archive.leg.state.nv.us(opens in a new tab)
• selfhelp.nvcourts.gov(opens in a new tab)
• selfhelp.nvcourts.gov(opens in a new tab)
• leg.state.nv.us(opens in a new tab)
• leg.state.nv.us(opens in a new tab)
• selfhelp.nvcourts.gov(opens in a new tab)

Kinclaim is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. We provide self-help software and statutory forms.