Revocable living trust
For most homeowners, the main document. What you put in it passes to the people you name without a court case, and if you’re ever unable to manage things, the person you chose steps in.
Estate planning · Reno, Nevada
Let’s make sure it says what you think it says.
An estate plan is a set of answers, written down in a form the law recognizes: who is in charge if you can’t be, who receives what, who raises the kids, who can talk to the doctor. Whether you’re starting from nothing or bringing in a plan someone else drew up, we’ll go through it with you until it makes sense, and you’ll know the fee before anything is drafted.
The short answer
Most Nevada plans are built from a will or a living trust, a financial power of attorney, a health-care directive, and the deed that moves the house into the trust. Which ones you need depends on what you own and who you want looked after. Bring a list of what you own, the names of the people you’d want in charge, and anything you’ve already signed. That’s enough for the first conversation.
In this area
What’s in it
Will
Names a guardian for minor children and catches anything left outside the trust. If you don’t need a trust, the will leads.
Financial power of attorney
Lets someone you trust pay the mortgage and handle the accounts if you can’t, with no court involved.
Health-care directive
Your medical wishes, and the person who speaks for you in the room, on the form Nevada hospitals expect.
HIPAA authorizations
So the people you name can get a straight answer from a doctor.
Ancillary documents
Documents that cover directives relating to personal property, digital assets and media, and other issues.
Deeds and trust funding
The deed that moves your home into the trust, and the beneficiary forms that need to match it. It’s the step that’s easy to skip, and the one that makes the trust work.
Trust, or will?
Mostly it comes down to what you own:
| Your situation | Usually | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You own a home | Trust-based plan | Keeps the house out of probate; smooth handoff |
| Blended family, second marriage | Trust-based plan | Controls timing and shares precisely |
| Minor children | Trust with guardian and trustee | Money managed for kids, not handed over at 18 |
| One property, very simple wishes | Will + transfer-on-death deed | Sometimes the simpler tool is enough |
| Nothing titled in your own name | Will + beneficiary designations | Probate may not be needed |
A will on its own doesn’t keep your family out of probate in Nevada. It’s instructions for the court, and anything still in your own name goes through that court.
What Nevada makes easy
- No state estate or income tax. Only the federal estate tax applies, and only to estates above the federal exemption.
- Community property with right of survivorship lets a married couple’s property pass to the survivor without probate and with a full step-up in tax basis.
- Transfer-on-death deeds for real estate, so a single property can pass without probate when a full trust isn’t warranted.
- Nevada asset protection trusts for families with meaningful exposure.
- Probate shortcuts for small estates.
One conversation will tell you what your family needs, and what it doesn’t.
Request a consultationHow it goes
A conversation about your family and what you own
You talk, we listen, and by the end you’ll know what the plan needs.
Drafts, read together
Every page, until it says what you mean.
Signing, and the deed
The documents are signed the way Nevada requires, the deed is recorded with the Washoe County Recorder, and you leave knowing where everything is.
Who this is usually for
- Anyone with a plan already, done years ago or done badly, who’d like a second look.
- A surviving spouse, with a joint plan that now needs amending.
- New parents naming a guardian, and making sure the kids don’t get a lump sum at eighteen.
- Homeowners who just realized the house alone puts them over Nevada’s small-estate line.
- Blended families who want fairness written down while everyone’s on good terms.
- Business and ranch owners coordinating succession and land with the family plan.
- Grown children helping a parent get organized.
How we charge
Before you sign anything
What the work involves and what each document does, walked through with you.
One flat fee, quoted at the consultation.
Nothing starts until you know the fee and how payment works. No fee at the time of consultation for an estate plan.
Before you call
What happens if I die without any plan?
Nevada’s intestacy statutes decide for you: fixed shares to a spouse and children after community property rules are applied, and a court-appointed administrator. A plan replaces those defaults with your own choices.
Does a living trust really avoid probate?
Yes, for everything the trust owns. That is why funding matters: the deed that puts the home into the trust, and beneficiary designations that match it.
How often should a plan be updated?
After marriage, divorce, a birth, a death, a move, a home purchase, or a meaningful change in assets.
Is there an estate tax in Nevada?
No. Nevada has no estate tax, no inheritance tax, and no state income tax. Only estates above the federal exemption face federal estate tax.
What about a transfer-on-death deed instead?
Nevada’s transfer-on-death deed passes a home outside probate and can be revoked at any time. In a simple situation it is enough. It does nothing for incapacity or for minor children, and cannot manage timing or shares.
When you’re ready