Annual Trust Accounting Requirements in Nevada

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Nevada starts with the trust instrument, then supplies a demand process

NRS 165.1204(1)-(2) imposes a duty to account for a nontestamentary trust but first directs the trustee to the instrument's form, manner, and recipient terms. NRS 165.1207(1)-(2) identifies the default recipients as current and remainder beneficiaries, not remote beneficiaries. Under NRS 165.138(1), their statutory demand right applies despite contrary trust terms, subject to the listed exceptions and the trustee's right to seek court instructions.

NRS 165.020(1)-(2) defines a current beneficiary by distribution authority during the accounting period and a remainder beneficiary by the next lifetime event that would make the person current. The chapter covers testamentary and nontestamentary trusts but lists several excluded trust arrangements. An initial accounting period begins on the day the trustee became trustee.

The revocable phase is generally settlor-only. Other exceptions protect a broad power holder, a person eliminated through a power of appointment, portions that do not affect the recipient, a beneficiary holding only a discretionary interest, and a beneficiary covered by a waiver.

A written demand starts short response and production clocks

Under NRS 165.141(1)-(5), the demand identifies the beneficiary and address, the accounting period, the requested account's nature and extent, and the legal basis. The trustee has 14 days to accept, reject with reasons, or announce a court petition for instructions.

An accepting trustee provides the account within 60 days after receiving the demand, unless the beneficiary consents or the court orders another time. A rejected or deemed-rejected demand starts a separate 60-day period to petition for review under NRS 165.143(1)-(7). Missing that petition period bars another demand for the same accounting period.

NRS 165.1214(1)-(3) separately requires a required account within 90 days after the accounting period ends, subject to beneficiary or court extension. The statute does not require more than one account in a calendar year unless the trust instrument or a good-cause court order says otherwise. It does not create a universal annual, termination, vacancy, resignation, or change-of-trustee trigger.

The default account uses detailed principal and income schedules

NRS 165.135(1)-(4) requires the accounting period and beginning and ending trust principal with approximate market values. It tracks principal additions, collections, sales, charge-offs, investments, and deductions by date, source, cost, or purpose as applicable.

For income, the account states what was on hand at the beginning, what came in and from where, what was paid and to whom and why, and what remained and how it was invested. It also identifies unpaid claims and explains nonpayment. A summary reconciles the beginning value, receipts, gains, disbursements and distributions, losses, and ending assets.

The trustee may combine income and principal if doing so does not materially impede the beneficiary's evaluation. Alternatives include a CPA-prepared compilation or financial statement with required summaries, or a trustee statement whose contents the trustee and recipient agree are sufficient in a signed writing.

Delivery can be physical or electronic

NRS 165.1214(2) lists certified, registered, or ordinary first-class mail, recognized overnight delivery, and personal delivery. Email or a secure website is also available when the statutory electronic-sending and receipt conditions are met and the account is attached or the email announces its secure availability.

The demand and the trustee's response use first-class mail, personal delivery, or a commercial carrier under § 165.141(3). NRS 165.180 permits voluntary accounting and preserves the court's power to require an inventory or account at other times; the ordinary out-of-court account is not routinely filed.

Silence can produce final approval and discharge after 90 days

NRS 165.1214(4)-(5) makes an account approved and final for a beneficiary who received it and did not deliver a written objection within 90 days after the trustee provided it. The section also recognizes approval through statutory representation, a waiver, an authorized adviser or protector, a nonjudicial settlement agreement, or a court order.

Absent fraud or intentional misrepresentation, the trustee is released and discharged from liability to beneficiaries for whom the account became approved and final, but only as to matters set out in that account.

What trips people up

• Annual is a frequency ceiling, not an automatic trigger. The default demand system says the trustee need not provide more than one account per calendar year; it does not require one every year without a demand or contrary trust term.
• Current beneficiaries are not the only default recipients. A remainder beneficiary may demand an account; a remote beneficiary may not under the default rule.
• The 90-day objection period has substantial consequences. Approval and finality can extend through representation to beneficiaries who did not personally receive the account, and discharge is limited to matters actually stated.
• Account waiver is not automatically a liability release. NRS 165.121 permits a signed full or limited account waiver. NRS 165.170 separately requires a full-age, sound-mind beneficiary acting on full information for a written excuse from duties or liability as to that beneficiary.

Common questions

Can a trustee provide an account without a demand?

Yes. NRS 165.138(1)-(2) permits an account at any time, with or without demand, and allows more information than the trust or statute requires, including information to remote beneficiaries.

Can an entitled beneficiary also obtain the trust instrument?

On demand under NRS 165.147(1)-(3), an entitled beneficiary receives the trust instrument unless the instrument expressly provides otherwise. A court can still order the pertinent instrument or portions needed to evaluate the account and enforce beneficiary rights.

Who pays if the trustee wrongfully refuses to account?

Under NRS 165.148(1)-(2), a trustee who was not acting in good faith can be personally liable for the entitled demander's reasonable enforcement costs, attorney fees, and court costs, without using trust funds. A trustee with good-cause uncertainty may seek instructions at the trust's expense.

What other consequences can the court impose?

NRS 165.190 permits a beneficiary to seek an order requiring performance. NRS 165.200 allows removal, reduction or forfeiture of compensation, or another civil penalty in the court's discretion.

Statutes and sources

• NRS 165.020(1)-(2). Account, period, beneficiary classes, trust scope, and exclusions. Nevada Legislature (accessed 2026-08-10).
• NRS 165.1201(1)-(2), 165.1204(1)-(2). Testamentary and nontestamentary duties and trust-instrument control. Nevada Legislature (accessed 2026-08-10).
• NRS 165.1207(1)-(2). Demand recipients and exceptions. Nevada Legislature (accessed 2026-08-10).
• NRS 165.121. Signed full or limited account waiver. Nevada Legislature (accessed 2026-08-10).
• NRS 165.1214(1)-(7). Timing, delivery, frequency, approval, discharge, and preparation costs. Nevada Legislature (accessed 2026-08-10).
• NRS 165.135(1)-(4). Required contents and alternative account formats. Nevada Legislature (accessed 2026-08-10).
• NRS 165.138(1)-(2), 165.141(1)-(5). Account duty after demand, voluntary disclosure, demand contents, and trustee response. Nevada Legislature (accessed 2026-08-10).
• NRS 165.143(1)-(7). Review of a rejected or deemed-rejected demand. Nevada Legislature (accessed 2026-08-10).
• NRS 165.147(1)-(3). Trust-instrument copy for an entitled demander. Nevada Legislature (accessed 2026-08-10).
• NRS 165.148(1)-(2). Personal enforcement-cost liability and instructions petition. Nevada Legislature (accessed 2026-08-10).
• NRS 165.170, 165.180, 165.190, 165.200. Informed written excuse, court and voluntary accounts, enforcement, and penalties. Nevada Legislature (accessed 2026-08-10).