Court Safekeeping of Original Wills in Nevada
At a glance
| Statutory safekeeping route | Cited NRS 136.050 governs delivery after death; it does not describe a lifetime safekeeping deposit. |
|---|---|
| Who may deposit | Any postdeath holder; named personal representative has a separate presentation duty if in possession (NRS 136.050(1)-(2)). |
| Proper court or clerk | Clerk of district court with jurisdiction, or named personal representative as an intermediate recipient (NRS 136.050(1)-(2)). |
| Envelope and filing record | Delivered will becomes permanent clerk record; open to inspection unless sealed under Supreme Court Rules (NRS 136.050(4)-(5)). |
| Fee and receipt | Cited postdeath delivery section sets no lifetime safekeeping fee or receipt (NRS 136.050). |
| Custody before death | Cited NRS 136.050 addresses postdeath delivery and permanent court record. |
| Retrieval before death | Cited NRS 136.050 addresses postdeath delivery, not lifetime withdrawal. |
| Notice after death | Holder's knowledge of death triggers 30-day delivery; named representative has a separate 30-day clock (NRS 136.050(1)-(2)). |
| Opening and release after death | Clerk keeps delivered will permanently even without probate petition; court may compel a third party to produce it (NRS 136.050(4), 136.060(1)). |
Current court custody procedure
Nevada's NRS § 136.050(1)-(5) is a postdeath delivery rule. A person holding a will must deliver it within 30 days after learning of the maker's death to the district-court clerk with jurisdiction or to the personal representative named in it. If the named representative possesses the will, subsection (2) requires presentation to the clerk within 30 days after death or within 30 days after learning of being named. These duties do not describe a lifetime court safekeeping process.
Once delivered or presented, § 136.050(4) makes the will part of the clerk's permanent record “whether or not a petition for the probate of the will is filed.” Subsection (5) opens that record to inspection unless it has been sealed under Part VII of the Nevada Supreme Court Rules.
What trips people up
Delivery to the named personal representative under § 136.050(1) is an intermediate step. If the representative holds the will, subsection (2) requires presenting it to the clerk. Neglect without reasonable cause exposes a person to damages owed to interested persons under subsection (3).
Common questions
Can a court require a third party to produce the will? Yes. Under § 136.060(1), if a petition alleges a third party holds a decedent's will and the court is satisfied, it must issue and serve an order requiring production.
Is the will kept even if probate is not requested? Yes. Section 136.050(4) makes a delivered or presented will part of the permanent clerk record whether or not a probate petition is filed.
Statutes and sources
- Nev. Rev. Stat. §§ 136.050 and .060(1): current official text, quoted with source URLs and access dates above.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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