A small estate in Nevada does not need a probate case.
If someone died leaving no real property and modest assets, Nevada lets the person entitled to them collect with a signed affidavit instead of a court proceeding. It goes to the bank or broker holding the money, not to a judge. TruPoint prepares it for $500, in English or Vietnamese.
Do you qualify?
- Estate value under $25,000, or $150,000 for a surviving spouse
- The person left no real property in Nevada
- At least 40 days since the death
- No probate case pending or granted
- Debts, funeral costs and any Medicaid provided for
- Vehicles do not count toward the limit
What the affidavit does, and who it is for.
A Nevada small estate affidavit lets the person entitled to a deceased person’s property collect it directly from whoever is holding it, without opening a probate case. It is available where the estate is worth no more than $25,000, or $150,000 where the claimant is the surviving spouse, and where the person who died left no real property in Nevada. At least 40 days must have passed since the death. TruPoint prepares it for $500.
You will also see it called an Affidavit of Entitlement or a 40-Day Affidavit. They are the same document. It is signed under penalty of perjury in front of a notary and handed to the bank, credit union, brokerage or employer holding the asset. No judge sees it and no case number is issued, which is why it takes days rather than months.
The value test has two useful quirks. Motor vehicles registered to the person who died are left out of the calculation entirely, so a modest bank balance plus two cars can still qualify. Amounts owed to them for service in the Armed Forces are also excluded.
The disqualifier is real property. If the person who died owned a house or land in Nevada, or held an interest in one, or held a mortgage or lien on one, this affidavit is not available no matter how small everything else is. That does not always mean probate — how the property was held may open a different route, and it is the first thing we check.
Every box Nevada makes you tick, in plain English.
The notice requirement is the one people miss. If a brother, sister or other heir has the same right to inherit as you do, they have to be told in writing and given at least fourteen days before you sign. We prepare that notice as part of the work.
A bonded Nevada preparer, and a team you can reach.
Meet Quinnie Do
Quinnie founded TruPoint and leads a small team of document preparers working under the firm’s Nevada Document Preparation Service registration, issued by the Nevada Secretary of State and backed by a bond. We check whether the affidavit is actually available in your situation before you spend anything, because the requirements are strict and a document that does not qualify helps nobody.
Quinnie is a native English and Vietnamese speaker, an IRS-registered tax return preparer and Certifying Acceptance Agent. Most people asking about this have lost a parent or a spouse and have been told the word probate by somebody at a bank. Often it does not apply.
Modest assets, and no house involved.
A bank account nobody can touch
The most common one. A parent dies with a few thousand in an account and the bank will not release it to anyone without paperwork.
Vehicles to transfer
Cars registered to the person who died are excluded from the value limit entirely, so a small estate with several vehicles can still qualify.
A final paycheck or refund
Wages owed by an employer, a tax refund or an insurance payment with no named beneficiary all sit in the same position.
A surviving spouse
The limit rises to $150,000 where the person claiming is the surviving spouse, which covers a great many Nevada households.
They rented, and owned no land
Renters and people who had already deeded their home away are exactly who this was written for.
Somebody said probate
A teller saying the word probate is not a legal opinion. Often the estate is well inside the limits and no case is needed at all.
A house rules this affidavit out. It does not always mean probate.
This is where most enquiries land, and where a lot of families are told probate when something simpler applies. What matters is how the property was held before the death.
If you are not sure how the property was held, we retrieve the recorded deed for $30 and read the vesting to you. That one step decides which route you are on, and it is worth doing before anyone talks about probate.
Where the estate genuinely needs a court proceeding, we say so and you should speak with a probate attorney. We prepare documents at your direction and are not attorneys.
$500, including the notice to other heirs.
What families ask us, answered plainly.
It is a signed statement that lets the person entitled to a deceased person’s property collect it directly from whoever holds it, without opening a probate case. It is available where the estate is worth no more than $25,000, or $150,000 for a surviving spouse, and where there is no real property in Nevada. TruPoint prepares it for $500.
Up to $25,000 for most claimants, and up to $150,000 where the person claiming is the surviving spouse. Motor vehicles registered to the person who died are excluded from that calculation entirely, as are amounts owed to them for service in the Armed Forces.
No. If the person who died left real property in Nevada, or an interest in it, or a mortgage or lien on one, this affidavit is not available regardless of how small the rest of the estate is. That does not automatically mean probate though — how the house was held decides what happens next, and we check the recorded deed for $30.
At least 40 days must have passed since the death before the affidavit can be used, which is why it is sometimes called a 40-Day Affidavit. Separately, anyone with an equal or better right to inherit has to be given written notice at least 14 days before you sign.
No. The affidavit is presented to the bank, credit union, brokerage or employer holding the asset, not filed with a court. There is no hearing, no case number and no filing fee.
TruPoint prepares the affidavit and the notice to other heirs for $500. Notarization with our Clark County partner notary is $15 for the first signature and $7 for each additional signature by the same signer. You will also need a certified death certificate, which the county health district charges for separately.
Yes. Small estate affidavit, Affidavit of Entitlement and 40-Day Affidavit are three names for the same Nevada document. Different banks and different websites use different names for it.
Anyone whose right to inherit is equal to or better than yours must be given written notice, by personal service or certified mail, identifying your claim and describing the property, and at least 14 days must pass before you sign. We prepare that notice as part of the fee.
The affidavit has to state that all debts of the person who died, including funeral and burial expenses and any money owed for Medicaid benefits, have been paid or provided for. You are signing that under penalty of perjury, so it is worth being accurate rather than optimistic.
No. The affidavit requires that no petition for appointment of a personal representative is pending or has been granted in any jurisdiction. If a case has been opened anywhere, this route is closed.
Yes, and helpfully their value does not count toward the limit. That means an estate can include several registered vehicles and still qualify, provided everything else stays inside $25,000, or $150,000 for a surviving spouse.
Institutions holding the asset are the ones who act on it, and most accept a properly prepared affidavit. Some have internal procedures or want their own paperwork alongside it. If yours pushes back, tell us what they are asking for.
Nevada does not require one to prepare this affidavit. A registered Document Preparation Service prepares it at your direction. If heirs disagree, if there is a will being contested, or if the estate needs a court proceeding, those are matters for an attorney and we will tell you so.
A certified copy of the death certificate, a list of what the person owned and roughly what it is worth, the names of anyone with an equal or better right to inherit, and a copy of the will if there was one. We tell you within a day whether the affidavit is available.
Yes. Intake and preparation are handled without you travelling, and you sign before any notary near you, which matters because the person sorting out a parent’s affairs is often the child who moved away.
Yes. Quinnie is a native English and Vietnamese speaker and handles the entire matter in either language.
What clears property depends on how it was held.
Held with a co-owner
Where survivorship applied, this affidavit clears the deceased owner from title. $250.
A Deed Upon Death was recorded
The beneficiary records this to complete the transfer. $250.
The property was in a trust
Puts the successor trustee on title so they can act. $250.
Planning ahead instead
Name who inherits your own home and keep it out of probate entirely. $250.
Somebody said probate. It may not apply.
Tell us what the person owned and how it was held. We will tell you whether the small estate affidavit is available, whether a deed or a different affidavit fits instead, or whether this genuinely needs a court. The affidavit and the notice to other heirs are $500. Where a deed is the answer instead, we prepare and record it in any of Nevada’s 17 counties.