Transfer-on-Death Deed Requirements in Nevada

At a glance

Nevada is one of the roughly two-thirds of states that let you keep your home out of probate with a transfer-on-death deed. Nevada calls its version a "deed upon death," and while the statute's short title is the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act (NRS 111.655), the working rules are Nevada's own drafting, added in 2011. A homeowner can name who inherits the property, record that choice now, and keep full control of the home for life. When you die, the property passes to the person you named without a probate case — but only if you recorded the deed before your death.

How to sign it

Under NRS 111.671, "the owner of an interest in property may create a deed which conveys his or her interest in property to a beneficiary or multiple beneficiaries and which becomes effective upon the death of the owner." Making a valid one takes two things:

• You (the "grantor") sign the deed. The person who will inherit (the "designated beneficiary") never signs and does not have to know about the deed — NRS 111.683 makes it effective "without notice or delivery to or acceptance by the beneficiary."
• A notary acknowledges your signature. No witnesses are required. The statutory form in NRS 111.695 carries only the grantor's signature and a notarial acknowledgment ("before me ... personally appeared ... and acknowledged that he or she executed it"), and NRS 111.681 requires only that the deed be "executed and recorded as provided by law." Nevada has no witness rule for this deed at all.

One point on capacity: under NRS 111.679, "the capacity required to make or revoke a deed upon death is the same as the capacity required to make a will" — the will standard, not the ordinary deed standard.

Recording requirement

Signing and notarizing the deed does nothing by itself. Under NRS 111.681, a deed upon death "is valid only if executed and recorded ... in the office of the county recorder of the county where the property is located before the death of the owner or the death of the last surviving owner." Two things follow:

• Record it while you are alive. A deed upon death found in a drawer after you die, never recorded, transfers nothing — the home passes by your will or by intestacy instead. This is the single most common way one of these deeds fails.
• There is no fixed deadline between signing and recording. Unlike California (60 days) or Nebraska (30 days), Nevada sets no outer clock measured from the notarization; the only hard rule is "before death." Even so, record it promptly — the deed is useless until it is on file, and no one can record it for you once you have died.

Revoking it

The deed is fully revocable for the rest of your life. NRS 111.697 lets you revoke it "at any time ... even if the deed or other instrument contains a contrary provision," but the revocation "is valid only if executed and recorded ... before the death of the owner." You revoke it the same way you made it — with a recorded instrument. There are three ways:

• Record a revocation. NRS 111.697 supplies a "Revocation of Deed Upon Death" form; you sign it before a notary and record it.
• Record a new deed upon death. Under NRS 111.677(2), if you record more than one deed for the same property, "the deed upon death that is last recorded before the death of the owner is the effective deed."
• Transfer the property during your life. Under NRS 111.677(1), if you convey the property to someone else while alive, "the deed upon death is void."

And NRS 111.697 makes clear you cannot revoke the deed "by a revocatory act on the deed" — tearing up or crossing out your recorded copy does nothing.

Eligible property and owner

A deed upon death can cover any interest in Nevada real property — "an interest in real property located in this State which is transferable on the death of the owner" (NRS 111.669) — and unlike California, Nevada does not cap it to a small residential category. The grantor must be an individual: NRS 111.665 defines "grantor" as "an individual who makes a deed upon death," so an entity cannot make one.

Nevada gives the owner an unusual amount of control over how the beneficiaries hold the property. Under NRS 111.673, you may name "multiple beneficiaries who will take title ... as joint tenants with right of survivorship, tenants in common, a married couple as community property, community property with right of survivorship or any other tenancy that is recognized in this State." Most transfer-on-death statutes default your co-beneficiaries to tenants in common; in Nevada you choose.

Beneficiary survival and what passes

Nevada's statute is notably thin here: it contains no express survival or anti-lapse rule telling you what happens if the beneficiary you named dies before you. (Contrast Oregon and Utah, whose acts spell out that a beneficiary's interest lapses if they do not survive the owner.) Because of that gap, the safe practice is to record a new deed if your beneficiary dies before you, rather than rely on a court to sort out a gift to a dead person.

Where the deed does speak clearly is co-ownership. Under NRS 111.675, if you hold the home as a joint tenant (or as community property) with right of survivorship, a deed you sign alone "becomes effective on the date of the death of the owner who created the deed only if that owner is the last surviving owner" — the co-owner's survivorship wins unless every co-owner joins the deed, in which case it takes effect on the last owner's death.

Whoever inherits takes the home subject to what is already on it: NRS 111.691 says the beneficiary "inherit[s] the property subject to any liens on the property in existence on the date of the death of the grantor." A deed upon death does not wipe out the mortgage — your beneficiary inherits the house and the loan against it.

Creditor and Medicaid reach

A deed upon death avoids probate; it does not put the home beyond your debts, and Nevada puts an active duty on your beneficiary to deal with creditors. During your life, NRS 111.685 says the deed does not affect your creditors' rights "even if the creditor has actual or constructive notice of the deed," does not "create a legal or equitable interest in favor of the designated beneficiary," and does not affect anyone's "eligibility for any form of public assistance."

After you die, under NRS 111.689, the beneficiary "must ... cause to be published a notice" to creditors and mail a copy to your personal representative, to the state Department of Health and Human Services, and to known creditors. Creditors then have 90 days to file a claim or it is "forever barred," and your estate can reach the property "to the extent the grantor's probate estate is insufficient to satisfy an allowed claim." Critically, if the beneficiary skips the notice to the state, "the property ... remains subject to the right of the Department to recover public assistance received by the grantor." And NRS 111.693 states flatly that the whole act "must not be construed to limit the recovery of benefits paid for Medicaid." A deed upon death does not shield the home from Medicaid estate recovery.

What trips people up

• Recording before death is the whole ballgame. The deed is worthless until it is recorded, and it cannot be recorded after you die. Record it right after notarizing.
• A will cannot revoke a recorded deed upon death. You revoke it only with a recorded instrument under NRS 111.697 — a revocation form, a later deed, or a lifetime transfer. Writing "I revoke my deed upon death" in your will does not work, because the will never reaches the county recorder.
• Joint ownership beats a solo deed. If you hold the home in joint tenancy with someone who outlives you, NRS 111.675 gives the property to the surviving co-owner by survivorship unless that co-owner also signed your deed; your deed upon death takes effect only if you are the last owner standing.
• Your beneficiary inherits a creditor chore. Nevada is one of the few states that makes the beneficiary publish and mail a formal notice to creditors — including the Medicaid agency — after your death (NRS 111.689). Skipping the Medicaid notice keeps the home exposed to the state's recovery claim.

Common questions

Does my beneficiary have to agree, or even know? No. Under NRS 111.683 the deed is effective "without notice or delivery to or acceptance by the beneficiary" and without any payment. You do not have to tell them. (If they later do not want the property, they can record a disclaimer under NRS 111.687.)

Do I need witnesses or a lawyer? No witnesses — Nevada requires only your notarized signature on a recordable deed. A lawyer is not legally required, but the capacity standard is the same as making a will, and mistakes are only discovered after death, when they cannot be fixed.

Can I name more than one person, and control how they own it together? Yes, and this is a Nevada strength. NRS 111.673 lets you name several beneficiaries and specify whether they take as joint tenants with survivorship, tenants in common, or community property — a choice most states' statutes do not give you.

Is a deed upon death better than a living trust? They do different jobs. The deed is cheaper and simpler for a single home, but it moves only that property, leaves your beneficiary to handle a creditor notice, and exposes the home to Medicaid recovery after death. A trust can hold many assets and manage them if you become incapacitated. Which fits depends on your situation.

Statutes and sources

• NRS 111.655 (short title — Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act) — https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-111.html#NRS111Sec655 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• NRS 111.665 (grantor definition) — https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-111.html#NRS111Sec665 (accessed 2026-08-23)
• NRS 111.669 (property definition) — https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-111.html#NRS111Sec669 (accessed 2026-08-23)
• NRS 111.671 (creation of a deed upon death) — https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-111.html#NRS111Sec671 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• NRS 111.673 (designating beneficiaries and choosing the tenancy) — https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-111.html#NRS111Sec673 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• NRS 111.675 (joint tenancy / community-property survivorship rule) — https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-111.html#NRS111Sec675 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• NRS 111.677 (void if property transferred in life; last recorded deed controls) — https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-111.html#NRS111Sec677 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• NRS 111.679 (capacity — same as making a will) — https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-111.html#NRS111Sec679 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• NRS 111.681 (execution and recordation; record before death) — https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-111.html#NRS111Sec681 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• NRS 111.683 (no notice, delivery, acceptance, or consideration required) — https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-111.html#NRS111Sec683 (accessed 2026-08-23)
• NRS 111.685 (no effect during the owner's lifetime; creditors reach) — https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-111.html#NRS111Sec685 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• NRS 111.689 (post-death creditor notice; 90-day claim bar; Medicaid recovery) — https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-111.html#NRS111Sec689 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• NRS 111.691 (beneficiary takes subject to existing liens) — https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-111.html#NRS111Sec691 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• NRS 111.693 (does not limit Medicaid recovery) — https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-111.html#NRS111Sec693 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• NRS 111.695 (statutory form of the deed upon death; notarial acknowledgment) — https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-111.html#NRS111Sec695 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• NRS 111.697 (revocation only by a recorded instrument) — https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-111.html#NRS111Sec697 (accessed 2026-07-11)