What is a deed upon death in Nevada? Nevada's transfer on death deed. NRS 111.655 to 111.699 let an owner record a revocable deed that conveys the property to a named beneficiary at death and does nothing at all before it.
Nevada adopted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act in 2011, and the statute says so in its own short title at NRS 111.655. Inside it the instrument is called a deed upon death (NRS 111.661), the owner who makes one is the grantor (NRS 111.665), and the person named is the beneficiary (NRS 111.659). The property it can move is any interest in Nevada real property transferable on the owner's death (NRS 111.669). The owner may name several beneficiaries and say how they will take title, as joint tenants with right of survivorship, as tenants in common, or any other tenancy the state recognizes (NRS 111.673). The form is printed in the statute at NRS 111.695, carrying a line in capitals saying the deed is revocable and transfers no ownership until the grantor dies.
It is valid only if executed and recorded, as provided by law, in the office of the county recorder of the county where the property is located, before the death of the owner (NRS 111.681). The statutory form carries a notary acknowledgment, which is what makes it recordable. Recording is the operative act: the deed is effective without notice to, delivery to, or acceptance by the beneficiary, and without consideration (NRS 111.683). The capacity required to make or revoke one is the same capacity required to make a will (NRS 111.679). Where an owner records more than one deed upon death on the same property, the last one recorded before death is the effective deed (NRS 111.677).
During the owner's lifetime nothing changes. NRS 111.685 says the deed does not affect any interest or right of the owner, including the right to transfer or encumber the property, creates no legal or equitable interest in the beneficiary, does not expose the property to the beneficiary's creditors, and does not affect either person's eligibility for public assistance. Selling the property during life simply voids the deed (NRS 111.677). Revoking it is done by recording a revocation on the statutory form, before death, in the same county; marking up the recorded deed does not revoke it (NRS 111.697).
After the death the beneficiary records a Death of Grantor Affidavit in the county where the deed was recorded, with a certified copy of the death certificate and a declaration of value attached (NRS 111.699). The beneficiary inherits subject to any lien in existence on the date of death (NRS 111.691), so the mortgage rides along with the house. The beneficiary also picks up a creditor job: publish a notice, mail it to the personal representative, to known creditors and to the Nevada Health Authority, and claims must be filed within 90 days (NRS 111.689). Where the probate estate cannot cover an allowed claim, the estate may enforce it against the property that passed by the deed, and nothing in the chapter limits recovery of Medicaid benefits (NRS 111.693). Probate is avoided; the creditors are not.
A worked example
An owner signs a deed upon death on the statutory form, has it acknowledged before a notary, and records it with the recorder of the county where the house sits, naming a nephew. About 15 months later she changes her mind, records a revocation on the statutory form, and records a new deed naming her sister. Both are recorded before she dies, so the later one is the effective deed. Nothing about her ownership changed in between: she drew a home equity line against the house and the deed did not stand in the way, and her sister held no interest a creditor could have touched. After the death the sister records a Death of Grantor Affidavit with a certified death certificate and a declaration of value attached, publishes and mails the notice to creditors and to the Nevada Health Authority, and waits out the 90 days before selling. The equity line was still owed and came off the top.
How a deed upon death works in Nevada
Questions people ask
Does a deed upon death have to be recorded?
Yes, and before the grantor dies. NRS 111.681 makes a deed upon death valid only if it is executed and recorded in the office of the county recorder for the county where the property sits, before the death of the owner. A signed deed found in a drawer afterwards does nothing at all.
Does a deed upon death avoid probate in Nevada?
For that property, yes: title reaches the beneficiary without a probate case. The beneficiary still has to publish and mail a notice to creditors and to the Nevada Health Authority and wait out the claim period, and where the probate estate cannot cover an allowed claim the estate may enforce it against the property anyway.