An estate plan does two jobs: it decides who receives what, and it decides how much friction your family goes through to get there. A will handles the first. Doing the second well is usually what a trust is for.
The Jimmerson Law Firm has drafted wills and trusts for Nevada families since 1977 — and, unusually for a planning practice, we also litigate them. We spend part of our week in Clark County courtrooms arguing over documents someone else drafted, which means we know exactly which provisions get attacked and which ones hold. That knowledge goes into everything we draft.
Wills, Trusts, and What Actually Avoids Probate
A will directs how your property is distributed and names the personal representative who carries it out. Under NRS 133 it must be in writing and properly witnessed. A will does not avoid probate — it is the instruction manual the probate court follows.
A revocable living trust holds title to your assets during your lifetime and passes them to your beneficiaries on death without probate. You keep full control while living, and you can amend or revoke it at any time. The probate avoidance is the point, and it only works for assets actually transferred into the trust — a trust that was drafted but never funded accomplishes very little, and unfunded trusts are one of the most common defects we see.
Beneficiary designations and titling do more work than most people expect. Retirement accounts, life insurance, payable-on-death accounts, and property held as community property with right of survivorship all pass outside both the will and the trust. A plan that ignores them is not a plan; it is three plans that may contradict each other.
Most Nevada families end up with a combination: a trust holding the significant assets, a pour-over will as a backstop, and beneficiary designations reviewed to match.
Nevada Trusts: Revocable, Irrevocable, and Asset Protection
Nevada is one of the strongest trust jurisdictions in the country, and that is a genuine planning advantage rather than a marketing line.
Revocable trusts are the everyday tool — control during life, private administration after death, no probate.
Irrevocable trusts give up control in exchange for something: creditor protection, removal of assets from the taxable estate, or long-term control over how and when beneficiaries receive money.
Nevada asset protection trusts. Under NRS 166, Nevada permits a self-settled spendthrift trust — you can be a beneficiary of a trust that is nonetheless protected from future creditors, subject to a statutory seasoning period and the requirement that the transfer not be made to defraud existing creditors. Most states do not allow this. It is a significant reason out-of-state clients establish Nevada trusts.
Long-duration trusts. Nevada permits trusts to last up to 365 years under NRS 111.1031, far longer than the traditional rule against perpetuities allows. Combined with no state income tax, that makes Nevada a preferred situs for multigenerational planning.
These structures are powerful and correspondingly unforgiving of sloppy drafting. Their protections depend on the trust being properly formed, properly funded, and administered consistently with its own terms.
Estate Administration and Probate
When someone dies, what happens next depends on what they owned and how it was titled.
Trust administration is handled privately by the successor trustee — notifying beneficiaries, marshalling and valuing assets, paying debts and taxes, and distributing according to the trust. No court supervision in the ordinary case. We represent trustees through this process, which carries real fiduciary duties and real personal exposure if handled carelessly.
Probate applies to assets that pass under a will or by intestacy. Nevada scales the process to the size of the estate — a small-estate affidavit under NRS 146.080 for modest estates, a set-aside without administration under NRS 146.070, summary administration under NRS 145 for mid-sized estates, and full general administration above that. Which track applies drives both the cost and the timeline, and identifying it correctly at the outset is most of the value.
If no plan exists, Nevada’s intestacy statutes decide who inherits. In a community property state with blended families, that outcome frequently is not what the decedent would have chosen.
Where Planning Meets Litigation
Here is the part most planning firms cannot offer, and it is the reason to hire this one.
We litigate trust and estate disputes. Will contests, trustee removals, breach of fiduciary duty claims, undue influence and capacity challenges — that is an active part of our practice, and it is described in detail on our Probate & Trust Litigation page.
A firm that only drafts never learns what happens to its documents. We do. When we draft a trust for a blended family, or one that will disinherit a child, or one holding a closely held business, we are drafting against the specific arguments we have watched succeed and fail in Clark County. Ambiguity that reads as harmless on the page is where litigation starts three years later.
The same overlap runs the other way. Estates hold business interests, and business interests generate disputes — which is why our Commercial Litigation practice matters here, and why a divorce involving trust assets is handled in-house rather than referred out. See High-Net-Worth Divorce.
Why The Jimmerson Law Firm
Nevada practice since 1977, real trial experience, and an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell. Documents drafted by attorneys who also litigate them, in a state whose trust law rewards getting the structure right.
Schedule a confidential consultation. Call (702) 388-7171.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a trust, or is a will enough?
It depends on what you own and what you want to avoid. If your estate is modest and uncomplicated, a will plus correct beneficiary designations may be sufficient. If you own real estate, a business, out-of-state property, or you want to keep your affairs private and spare your family a court process, a revocable trust usually earns its cost.
Does a will avoid probate in Nevada?
No. A will directs how the probate court distributes your estate — it does not bypass the court. Avoiding probate requires assets to pass by trust, by beneficiary designation, or by survivorship titling.
What happens if I die without a will in Nevada?
Nevada’s intestacy statutes determine who inherits, and the estate goes through probate. Because Nevada is a community property state, the result depends on whether property is community or separate and on which relatives survive. For blended families in particular, the statutory outcome is often not what the decedent intended.
What is a Nevada asset protection trust?
A self-settled spendthrift trust authorized by NRS 166 that can shield assets from future creditors even though you are a beneficiary. Most states do not permit this. It is subject to a statutory waiting period and cannot be used to escape creditors you already have.
How much does an estate plan cost?
A straightforward will-based plan is a fixed fee and relatively inexpensive. A trust-based plan costs more, and asset protection or multigenerational planning more still. The cost that matters is the comparison: planning is priced in hundreds or low thousands, and a contested estate is priced in tens of thousands.
Do I have to update my plan?
Yes, on events rather than on a schedule. Marriage, divorce, a birth, a death, buying or selling a business, moving to or from Nevada, or a significant change in asset values are all reasons to review. Beneficiary designations are the most commonly overlooked item — an ex-spouse named on a retirement account will generally still receive it.
Can I write my own will?
Nevada recognizes holographic (handwritten) wills that meet statutory requirements, so it is possible. Whether it is wise is a different question — the defects in self-drafted documents surface only after the person who could explain them has died, which is precisely when they are expensive to fix.
I was named trustee. What are my obligations?
A trustee owes fiduciary duties to the beneficiaries, including loyalty, impartiality, prudent administration, accurate accounting, and adherence to the trust’s terms. Those duties are enforceable, and a trustee who breaches them can be held personally liable. We advise trustees through administration, and we also litigate against trustees who have failed — which is a useful perspective to have on your side.
How long does probate take in Nevada?
A small-estate affidavit can resolve in weeks. Summary administration commonly runs several months. Full general administration typically takes a year or more, longer if the estate is contested or holds hard-to-value assets such as a business.
This page is for general information and is not legal advice. Estate planning is highly fact-specific; contact us to discuss your situation.
Part of our Nevada business and estate practice.