Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: in Nevada, dying without a will does not mean the state keeps the estate; it means Nevada’s intestacy statute (NRS 134.010, 134.030, 134.040, 134.050, 134.060, 134.070, 134.120, 134.160 (separate-property intestate succession); NRS 123.250 (community property upon death of a spouse)) decides who gets it, and the surviving spouse usually does not take everything. The single most common misunderstanding on this page: a stepchild or a child from an earlier relationship can cut the spouse’s share sharply below what most people assume.
What this guide covers
Who inherits from Nevada residents who die without a will is set by statute, not custom: NRS 134.010, 134.030, 134.040, 134.050, 134.060, 134.070, 134.120, 134.160 (separate-property intestate succession); NRS 123.250 (community property upon death of a spouse) and the sections around it. It governs only the probate estate: what is left after retirement accounts and life insurance with a living named beneficiary, payable-on-death accounts, property in joint tenancy with survivorship, and anything already in a funded trust have already passed outside it. This page covers the spouse’s share, who inherits if there is no spouse, and the rules that can change the answer: half-blood relatives, community property.
The spouse’s share
When the spouse takes everything: For the decedent’s SEPARATE property: the spouse takes all of it only under NRS 134.050(4), if the decedent leaves no issue, parent, brother or sister, or children of any issue. For COMMUNITY property: the surviving spouse already owns an undivided one-half outright by operation of law (NRS 123.250) regardless of heirs, and if the decedent leaves no will disposing of the other half, that half also passes to the surviving spouse under NRS 134.010(2); so with no will, the surviving spouse effectively receives 100% of all community property regardless of whether descendants survive.
When it is less than everything: Nevada splits its scheme by property type because it is a community-property state. COMMUNITY PROPERTY (NRS 123.250, via NRS 134.010): spouse keeps an outright 1/2 as sole separate property; the decedent’s other 1/2 is subject to testamentary disposition, and with no will passes to the surviving spouse. SEPARATE PROPERTY (NRS 134.040/134.050): with one child, the estate goes one-half to the surviving spouse and one-half to the child; with more than one child, one-third to the surviving spouse and the remainder in equal shares to the children; no issue but both parents survive: half to the surviving spouse and one-quarter to each parent; no issue or parent but siblings survive: one-half of the separate property to the surviving spouse and the other one-half in equal shares to the brothers and sisters; no issue, parent, or sibling: spouse takes all separate property. KEY DIFFERENTIATOR: unlike Montana/Nebraska/New Hampshire, Nevada’s separate-property spousal fractions (1/2, 1/3) depend ONLY on the NUMBER of surviving children, NOT on whether those children are also the surviving spouse’s children; there is no UPC-style blended-family/stepchild dollar-plus-fraction reduction anywhere in Chapter 134’s text. Nevada’s practical blended-family effect instead comes indirectly from the community-property carve-out (the spouse already owns half of community property outright before the separate-property formula ever applies).
1. If the decedent leaves a surviving spouse and only one child, or the lawful issue of one child, the estate goes one-half to the surviving spouse and one-half to the child or the issue of the child. 2. If the decedent leaves a surviving spouse and more than one child living, or a child and the lawful issue of one or more deceased children, the estate goes one-third to the surviving spouse and the remainder in equal shares to the children and the lawful issue of any deceased child by right of representation.
Source: NRS 134.010, 134.030, 134.040, 134.050, 134.060, 134.070, 134.120, 134.160 (separate-property intestate succession); NRS 123.250 (community property upon death of a spouse)
If a DIY will fits your situation in Nevada
In Nevada, a surviving spouse can end up sharing the estate with a stepchild or a child from an earlier relationship under the default rules above; a will is what lets you decide that instead of the statute. LawDepot builds a state-specific last will and testament.
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Who inherits if there is no spouse
For separate property with no surviving spouse: NRS 134.090/134.100/134.110, to the decedent’s issue by representation; NRS 134.060, if no issue/spouse/parent, to siblings equally and issue of deceased siblings by representation; NRS 134.070, if none of the above, to the next of kin in equal degree; NRS 134.120, if no surviving spouse or kindred at all, the estate escheats to the State for educational purposes.
Rules that change the outcome
Half-blood relatives: FULL share, no reduction. NRS 134.160: ‘Kindred of the half blood inherit equally with those of the whole blood in the same degree.’
Community property: Nevada is a community-property state. The surviving spouse already owns an outright one-half of all community property regardless of who else survives (NRS 123.250). The decedent’s other half of community property is subject to testamentary disposition; with no will, that half also passes to the surviving spouse under NRS 134.010(2). So on intestacy, the surviving spouse effectively receives all community property; only the decedent’s SEPARATE property is divided under the child-count-based fractions above, and those fractions do not distinguish stepchildren from mutual children.
What a will changes
A will does not just skip the statute above; it lets you choose who gets Nevada property that the intestacy rules would send somewhere else: a spouse who would otherwise share the estate with a stepchild, a partner who is not married and inherits nothing under intestacy at all, or specific people the statute’s ladder never reaches. It also lets you name an executor rather than leaving the court to appoint one. What it does not change: assets that already pass outside probate: a will has no effect on a beneficiary designation, a payable-on-death account, or property held in joint tenancy.
General information drawn from state intestate-succession statutes, not legal advice. Who inherits without a will is STATE law and differs in every state; the spouse’s share, the order of inheritance, and how half-blood and community-property rules apply all change, and every figure here is sourced and dated. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice.