When someone dies without a will in Reno, intestacy laws determine who will get their property. Nevada law gives the property to the deceased person’s nearest surviving relatives, but the distribution can be complicated in some cases.
Speak with the experienced wills attorney at our firm if your loved one died without a will to designate their wishes. We can explain the law and help you understand the intestate succession process.
Even when a someone dies without a will, they may have property with named beneficiaries designated to receive it, like life insurance policies, pensions, and retirement accounts. These assets are not part of the intestate estate and will pass to the beneficiaries upon the owner’s death.
Sometimes people own property with their children, spouses, or others as joint tenants with right of survivorship. Property titled in this way passes to the other owner without being counted in the Decedent’s intestate estate.
If the Decedent held property in a living trust, the property is not included in their intestate estate either. If the Decedent had property in a transfer-on-death account, or held real estate with a transfer-on-death title, the property goes to the named successor and the laws of intestacy for Reno property do not apply to it.
Nevada is a community property state, meaning that both spouses have a half-interest in all the property the couple acquired while married, regardless of who paid for it or whose name is on the title. When the Decedent has a surviving spouse, the law provides that the spouse gets the Decedent’s share of their community property. If the Decedent was in a registered domestic partnership, the surviving partner has the same rights as a spouse.
Separate property is anything the Decedent owned prior to marriage or acquired after marriage by gift or inheritance. An attorney can help a family determine what property is separate property.
When a married Decedent dies intestate, the surviving spouse will generally inherit at least a portion of the Decedent’s separate property, but may not inherit all of it. Nevada law uses a detailed set of rules to divide the separate property between the surviving spouse and the Decedent’s descendants, parents, or siblings, depending on who survived the Decedent.
If the Decedent leaves one child, Nevada Revised Statute § 134.040 directs that the surviving spouse and child split the separate property equally. If the Decedent leaves two or more children, the spouse receives one-third and the remaining two-thirds passes to the children, with descendants of a deceased child taking that child’s share by right of representation.
If the Decedent leaves no descendants but is survived by one or both parents, the spouse receives one-half of the separate property and the surviving parent or parents receive the other half. If there are no surviving descendants or parents but there are surviving siblings, the spouse receives one-half and the siblings receive the other half. If none of those relatives survive, the spouse generally receives all of the separate property.
When a Decedent has no surviving spouse, their property is distributed to other surviving relatives. A former spouse or domestic partner does not have intestacy rights; the intestacy laws divide the estate as if the Decedent were single.
If the Decedent has surviving children or grandchildren, the descendants inherit everything. When the Decedent has no surviving issue but has living parents, the parents inherit everything. If the Decedent left no surviving parents or descendants but siblings survive, the siblings divide the Decedent’s property equally.
When someone dies and no spouse, children, parents, or siblings survive, their property goes to their closest relatives. If you are a relative of a person who died without immediate family, work with a Reno attorney to determine whether you could inherit under the laws of intestacy.
When someone in Reno dies without a will, intestacy laws determine who gets their property. Applying these laws correctly can get complicated. Our estate planning lawyer can assist you in drafting a valid will that eliminates the need for intrastate succession – and if it is too late to draw up a will, we can advise you as your loved one’s property is distributed through intestacy laws.
