The short answer
Two things decide whether you can sell an inherited Nevada house, and how fast: how the house was titled and how large the estate is. A house held in a trust, in joint tenancy with a surviving owner, or under a recorded deed upon death passes outside probate. A house in the deceased person’s name alone generally goes through the Eighth Judicial District Court’s probate process before anyone can sell it.
Nevada scales probate to the estate: a set-aside at $150,000 or less (NRS 146.070), summary administration at $500,000 or less after encumbrances (NRS 145.040), and general administration above that. The court generally confirms the sale and can accept a higher overbid (NRS 148.060, 148.270), unless a personal representative has full authority under the Independent Administration of Estates Act (NRS 143.380).
This is not legal advice. Talk to a Nevada attorney. We are not attorneys, and nobody can shortcut probate. This guide explains the statutes as the Nevada Legislature publishes them, checked on the date above, so you can ask better questions of someone qualified to answer them.
Step 1: Find out how the house was titled
This one fact decides most of what follows. The Civil Law Self-Help Center’s list of assets that pass outside probate includes assets held in a trust, community property with rights of survivorship, and joint tenancy property where a joint owner survives.
Joint tenancy and community property with right of survivorship
Here the survivor can record an affidavit of death with a certified copy of the death certificate. Once recorded, it creates a presumption that the deceased owner’s interest ended and title vested in the survivor (NRS 111.365). Community property carries a right of survivorship only if the deed expressly says so (NRS 111.064).
Deed upon death (transfer-on-death deed)
Nevada lets an owner sign a deed upon death that conveys the house to named beneficiaries when the owner dies (NRS 111.671). It is valid only if it was recorded before the owner died (NRS 111.681). While the owner is alive, it gives the beneficiary no interest in the property (NRS 111.685).
After the death, the beneficiary records a Death of Grantor Affidavit with the death certificate and a declaration of value (NRS 111.699). The beneficiary takes the house subject to existing liens (NRS 111.691). And if the probate estate cannot cover allowed claims, the estate can reach property transferred by a deed upon death (NRS 111.689).
Trusts
A house already deeded into a living trust falls in that first group. The successor trustee named in the trust generally handles the sale under the trust’s terms. Have an attorney confirm the house was actually deeded into the trust, and not only mentioned in it.
Step 2: Work out which probate track applies
| Track | Threshold | What it means for a house | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small-estate affidavit | $25,000 (or $150,000 for a surviving spouse), 40 days after death | Cannot be used if the estate includes any Nevada real property | NRS 146.080 |
| Set aside without administration | Estate does not exceed $150,000 | Court order sets the estate aside, which can include a house, without appointing a personal representative | NRS 146.070 |
| Summary administration | Gross value after encumbrances does not exceed $500,000 | A personal representative is appointed; a shorter creditor period; real property sales must follow the notice and procedure of NRS Chapter 148 | NRS 145.040, 145.070, 147.040 |
| General administration | Above $500,000 | Full administration with court oversight of the sale | NRS Chapter 145, 148 |
The small-estate affidavit is easy to misread. The statute says it applies only if the decedent left no real property in Nevada (NRS 146.080). You cannot use it to sell a house.
Step 3: Get appointed by the court
In an administered estate, someone has to be appointed before acting for the estate. If there is a will, the court directs letters testamentary to the executor named in it. Until that person qualifies, they have no power as personal representative, apart from paying funeral charges and preserving the estate (NRS 138.010).
If there is no will, the court issues letters of administration. Nevada sets the order of priority. The surviving spouse comes first, then children, grandchildren, other descendants, a parent and a sibling (NRS 139.040). Minors are disqualified. So are non-residents, unless they serve alongside a Nevada resident or a qualifying bank, or are named in the will (NRS 139.010).
How probate runs in Clark County
Clark County probate cases go to the Eighth Judicial District Court. According to the court’s probate page, two probate commissioners review filings, conduct hearings and resolve disputes. Petitions are filed with the District Court Clerk’s Office at the Regional Justice Center, 200 Lewis Avenue, third floor. You can file online, by mail or in person.
Probate calendars run Wednesday and Friday mornings, with a sales calendar at 9:30 a.m. and the hearing calendar at 9:45 a.m. Cases are generally set 24 to 60 days after filing, and orders can take up to 30 days to process. The probate office cannot give legal advice. It points people to the Civil Law Self-Help Center, the Clark County Law Library and the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada.
Step 4: Creditors get 90 days, or 60 in summary administration
After notice to creditors, claims generally must be filed within 90 days of the first publication or of the mailing, depending on how the creditor was notified. Under summary administration that drops to 60 days (NRS 147.040).
A personal representative must generally close the estate within 18 months after appointment, with exceptions (NRS 143.037). Selling the house can be how the estate pays its debts before distributing the rest.
Step 5: Sell the house with court confirmation
Court-confirmed sales (NRS Chapter 148)
Except in summary administration and a few listed cases, every sale must be reported to the court and confirmed before title passes. The report and petition for confirmation are due within 30 days after the sale (NRS 148.060). A will that authorizes a sale does not remove confirmation. It only removes the need to prove the sale was necessary (NRS 148.080).
Along the way:
- Notice of sale. Notice is published three times, a week apart, over two weeks. The court can shorten this. It can also waive it when the heirs or devisees consent in writing, or when the house has been publicly listed for at least 30 days (NRS 148.220).
- Appraisal. For a private sale, the court must be satisfied the price is fair market value, based on an appraisal within the past year. The court can waive that in listed circumstances, including written consent of all heirs (NRS 148.260).
- Agent commission. If a listing agent finds the buyer, the court fixes the commission at confirmation, capped at 7 percent for improved property (NRS 148.110).
- Objections. Any interested person may file written objections to confirmation and be heard (NRS 148.070).
Expect an overbid at the confirmation hearing
Here a probate sale departs from an ordinary one. At the hearing, the court can accept a higher offer from a responsible person. The first overbid must beat the accepted price by at least 5 percent if the price is $100,000 or less, or by at least $5,000 if it is $100,000 or more. The court may then confirm to the new bidder, order a new sale, or hold an auction in open court (NRS 148.270).
If the court accepts a higher bid, its order substitutes the new price and buyer into the original contract, and escrow closes on that order. Any buyer of a probate property, us included, should expect to be topped in court.
Summary administration still follows Chapter 148 notice
NRS 148.060’s confirmation requirement does not, by its own terms, apply under summary administration. But NRS 145.070 still requires real property sales to be made “upon notice given and in the manner required by chapter 148.” Ask your attorney exactly which steps your estate must follow.
Selling with IAEA authority
The Independent Administration of Estates Act (NRS 143.300 to 143.815) lets the court give a personal representative authority to act without court supervision on many matters. Limited authority excludes selling real property (NRS 143.320). Full authority includes the power to sell it (NRS 143.405). A will can forbid independent administration altogether (NRS 143.330).
With full authority, the personal representative can sell the house at public auction or private sale, with or without notice, on terms they set. The Chapter 148 confirmation requirements do not apply (NRS 143.380). The exception is a price less than 90 percent of appraised value. Then all interested persons must consent in writing and the sale must be confirmed under NRS 148.060.
The family still gets a say. Before selling, the personal representative must give notice of proposed action to affected heirs and devisees at least 15 days in advance (NRS 143.705, 143.730). If anyone objects in writing, the personal representative must go to the court for approval (NRS 143.735, 143.745).
Taxes: the stepped-up basis
According to IRS Publication 551, the basis of inherited property is generally its fair market value on the date of death, or the alternate valuation date if the estate elects it. Gain or loss on a sale is measured from that basis, not from what the deceased person originally paid.
Nevada is a community property state, and Publication 551 has a rule for that. When a spouse dies, the total value of the community property, including the survivor’s half, generally becomes the basis of the entire property. This applies if at least half the community interest is includible in the decedent’s gross estate.
The IRS’s gifts-and-inheritances FAQ adds that taxable gain depends on how the sale price compares to that basis. Take estate and income tax questions to a CPA or tax attorney.
When siblings disagree
During probate, heirs receive notice of the confirmation hearing and can object in writing (NRS 148.070). Under IAEA, an objection to a proposed sale sends the decision to the court (NRS 143.745). The personal representative acts for the estate, and the court settles disputes.
After distribution, if the house passes to several heirs as co-owners who cannot agree, any of them can ask the court to partition it under NRS Chapter 39. Extra rules in NRS 39.600 to 39.705 apply to “heirs property”. Broadly, that is property held as tenants in common by relatives, with no binding agreement on partition (NRS 39.630). Among other procedures, the court determines the property’s value.
We would rather tell a family early that a disagreement needs resolving than start a sale that stalls at confirmation.
How we can help
We are a property solutions company based in Henderson, working with families across the Las Vegas Valley and Boulder City. We cannot speed up probate or give legal advice. We can look at the house as it stands, tell you plainly what we see, and introduce you to a probate attorney we have worked with.
When the estate is in a position to sell, we can make a free, no-obligation cash offer. We buy as-is, you can leave behind what you don’t want, and we cover standard closing costs. The sale still follows whatever the court or the statute requires, including any confirmation hearing and overbid. If a traditional listing will serve the estate better, we will tell you so and take no referral fee for it.
For a shorter overview, see our inherited property page.