Nevada has no single statewide fill-in petition; the opening document is prepared to statute and filed with the District Court (probate jurisdiction; styled the Probate Division in the Eighth Judicial District / Clark County). After the court grants the petition, District Court clerk — Letters are signed by the clerk under the seal of the court after the court admits the will / grants the petition issues your Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (without a will).
Along with the petition, Nevada generally requires: Certified copy of the death certificate; Original will and any codicils, delivered to the clerk of the district court within 30 days after knowledge of the death (NRS 136.050(1)-(2)); Petition for probate of will and/or for issuance of letters stating the jurisdictional facts and NRS 136.090 contents (heirs/next of kin/devisees, character & estimated value of estate, felony-conviction statement, convenient-forum statement); intestate petitions plead NRS 139.090; Notice of hearing on the petition, served per NRS 155.020 on heirs, named devisees, non-petitioning personal representatives, and the Director of the Department of Human Services (NRS 136.100); Oath or affirmation of the personal representative, taken before a person authorized to administer oaths and filed by the clerk (NRS 142.010); Bond if the court requires one and it is not waived (NRS 142.020, 142.070).
Nevada does not require a bond by default before Letters issue, though the court can order one.
Nevada permits self-represented filers to open an estate. E-filing is available. The Self-File Probate Assessment compares self-filing and attorney costs for Nevada.
Yes. A revocable living trust passes assets to beneficiaries without any court appointment in Nevada — no petition, no Letters, no bond. A revocable trust built with SimplyTrust takes about 15 minutes.
Your kids shouldn't have to do this.
Court filings, creditor windows, frozen accounts — a revocable living trust skips them all.
Getting Appointed in NevadaNRS ch. 136 (probate of wills & petitions for letters); NRS 136.090 (petition contents); NRS ch. 138-139 (appointment & priority); NRS ch. 141 (letters)Verified Jul 15, 2026View source
Personal Representative (executor if testate, administrator if intestate)
Where you file
District Court (probate jurisdiction; styled the Probate Division in the Eighth Judicial District / Clark County)
The form that opens the estate
No statewide fill-in form · Attorney-drafted pleading
What the court issues (with a will)
Letters Testamentaryissued by District Court clerk — Letters are signed by the clerk under the seal of the court after the court admits the will / grants the petition
Letters are an output — the court issues them after granting the petition.
At a glance
UPC adoptedInformal trackE-filingSelf-represented filingLocal/county forms
E-filing is set per county. Washoe County (2nd JDC) makes electronic filing mandatory for all cases (eFlex, Administrative Order 2018-12); Clark County (8th JDC) e-files through Odyssey. Pro se probate filers are supported by the statewide AOC Self-Help Center, but summary/general-probate pleadings are not provided as fillable forms and must be drafted to NRS.
No statewide fillable form exists for summary or general probate, and no county supplies one either. The statewide Self-Help Center covers only small estate (set aside, affidavit of entitlement), special administration, and ex parte petitions — plus a free-text "Generic Probate Petition" shell ("PETITION FOR ____ / write a short title describing what you are asking the judge to order") that pleads none of the NRS 136.090 elements. Washoe County (2nd JDC) publishes a PR probate packet (e.g., PR-4 Petition for Letters of Special Administration; the Letters documents) but states: "We do not provide forms for the following case types: Set Aside, Summary Administration, and General Administration" — complex cases "you may want to file with professional help from an attorney." Clark County (8th JDC, probate departments PC-1 / PC-2) routes self-represented filers to the Civil Law Self-Help Center, whose probate forms library likewise carries no summary/general administration petition, and the court "strongly recommend[s] that you hire an attorney that practices in estate planning and probate."
Original will and any codicils, delivered to the clerk of the district court within 30 days after knowledge of the death (NRS 136.050(1)-(2))
Petition for probate of will and/or for issuance of letters stating the jurisdictional facts and NRS 136.090 contents (heirs/next of kin/devisees, character & estimated value of estate, felony-conviction statement, convenient-forum statement); intestate petitions plead NRS 139.090
Notice of hearing on the petition, served per NRS 155.020 on heirs, named devisees, non-petitioning personal representatives, and the Director of the Department of Human Services (NRS 136.100)
Oath or affirmation of the personal representative, taken before a person authorized to administer oaths and filed by the clerk (NRS 142.010)
Bond if the court requires one and it is not waived (NRS 142.020, 142.070)
Small-estate alternative
Bypasses full Letters
Yes
Form name
Petition to Set Aside Estate Without Administration (NRS 146.070 — "If the value of a decedent’s estate does not exceed $150,000, the estate may be set aside without administration") and Affidavit of Entitlement (NRS 146.080 — applicable amount is $150,000 for a surviving-spouse claimant, $25,000 for any other claimant; available 40 days after death, and only if the decedent left no Nevada real property)
State-specific notes
Three Letters variants, each with statutory text: Letters Testamentary (executor named in a will, NRS 141.020), Letters of Administration With the Will Annexed (will exists but no qualified named executor, NRS 141.030), and Letters of Administration (intestate, NRS 141.040); each section prints the form and says letters "may be in substantially the following form," and the clerk signs them under the court's seal (NRS 141.010(1)). If the estate includes real property, a certified copy of the letters must be recorded in each county where the real property sits (NRS 141.010(2)). Administrator priority follows NRS 139.040. A non-resident may serve only by associating a Nevada-resident coadministrator (or an authorized banking corporation), or where named as personal representative in a pending will (NRS 139.010(4)). Special administration (temporary) has its own statewide fillable petition; it is not the general appointment path. THRESHOLDS: set aside without administration if the estate does not exceed $150,000 (NRS 146.070(1)(a)); affidavit of entitlement for a "applicable amount" of $150,000 (surviving-spouse claimant) or $25,000 (any other claimant), 40 days after death, and only if the decedent left no Nevada real property (NRS 146.080(1), (7)); summary administration if the gross value of the estate, after deducting encumbrances, does not exceed $500,000 (NRS 145.040) — over $500,000 the case is a general administration. DEADLINE: anyone possessing the will must deliver it to the district-court clerk within 30 days after knowledge of the death (NRS 136.050(1)); Nevada sets no outer deadline for commencing probate.
A revocable living trust passes assets to your family without this court appointment process — no petition, no Letters, no bond.
This tool provides general information about how a personal representative is appointed and is not legal advice. Consult a licensed attorney in your state for guidance specific to your situation.Data verified 2026-07-15
Is this your situation?
Get a complete guide for your specific circumstances.
