2007 Nevada Law Changes
The 2007 Nevada legislature made a few changes that affect trusts and estates. (References to “NRS” are references to the “Nevada Revised Statutes”.)
- NRS Chapter 115 was amended to increase the homestead exemption amount from $350,000 to $550,000. Existing homesteads are automatically covered by this amendment.
- NRS Chapter 145 was modified to allow the deduction of encumbrances in determining whether or not an estate was $200,000 or less for purposes of qualifying for summary administration.
- NRS Chapter 146 was modified to increase the size of an estate that may be set aside without probate administration from $75,000 to $100,000.
- NRS Chapter 153 was clarified to allow petitions to enforce the terms of a trust and to compel a trustee to comply with the terms of the trust and/or applicable law. The provision allowing a beneficiary to petition for redress now permits a court to award attorneys’ fees, to reduce the trustee’s compensation, and, if there is proof of a trustee’s neglect or breach of duty, the court may compel the trustee to pay costs of a court action (including attorneys’ fees) out of the trustee’s own pocket.
- NRS Chapter 164 was amended to simply the procedure for moving trusts from one court to another.
- NRS Chapter 166 was amended to clarify the laws relating to self-settled spendthrift trusts (also called asset-protection trusts). These were technical changes, but the primary change is that creditors are deemed to be aware of transfers that are made public by recording or filing in public records. This makes the two-year period during which trust transfers can be challenged easier to to calculate, especially as to claimants existing at the time of the transfer.
- NRS Chapter 21 was modified to clarify the exemption of self-settled spendthrift trusts.
- Other technical changes were made in NRS Chapters 132, 134, and 143.
This article will be updated as other pertinent changes to the law are discovered.