Nevada Guardianship Property Sales, Leases and Estate Planning
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ImmigrationPart of my Nevada Guardianship of the Estate Guide.
By Ronald W. Brilliant, Attorney at Law · Licensed in Idaho, Nevada & California · Last reviewed: September 2026 against Nevada Revised Statutes chapters 159, 159A, 160, 161, 162 and 167 (current through the 2025 legislative session)
In This GuideNevada Guardianship of the EstateTopic 3 of 6: Property Transactions
A Nevada guardian of the estate cannot simply sell a protected person’s house or change his or her will. Many sales, leases, trusts and estate-planning changes need a court order first (NRS 159.078(1), 159.113(1)), and sales of real property must be confirmed by the court (NRS 159.134(1)). These rules matter to guardians, family members, buyers and anyone who expects to inherit from the protected person.
With prior court approval by order, a guardian of the estate may sell, lease or place in trust any of the protected person’s property to pay claims, to provide for the proper care, maintenance, education and support of the protected person and anyone he or she has a legal duty to support, to invest the proceeds, to obtain income through rentals or royalties, or for any other purpose in the protected person’s best interests (NRS 159.127). Any interest of a protected person in real or personal property, including contracts and choses in action (rights to sue or collect), may be sold under the guardianship statutes (NRS 159.132(1)).
Selling Real Property
Every sale of a protected person’s real property must be confirmed by the court before escrow closes and title passes to the buyer (NRS 159.134(1)). The petition to confirm must be filed within 30 days after the date of the sale, which is the date the sale contract was signed (NRS 159.134(2)). Interested persons may file written objections before the confirmation hearing, and the court may allow oral objections at the hearing (NRS 159.134(4)).
If the guardian neglects or refuses to sell real property when a sale is necessary or in the protected person’s best interests, an interested person may petition for an order requiring the sale (NRS 159.136). The petitioner must serve notice on the guardian at least 10 days before the hearing (NRS 159.136).
Notice of the Sale
Except for certain sales, a guardian may sell real property only after the court grants authority under NRS 159.113 and notice of the sale is published (NRS 159.1425(1)). Notice may be published in a newspaper in the county where the property is located, or if none is published there, in a newspaper of general circulation in the county or another newspaper the court orders (NRS 159.1425(1)(a), (b)). It may instead be published on a public property listing service for at least 30 days (NRS 159.1425(1)(c)).
Newspaper notice must be published at least three times before the sale date, over 14 days and 7 days apart (NRS 159.1425(2)). For good cause, the court may order fewer publications and a shorter notice period, but not less than 8 days (NRS 159.1425(3)). The notice must reasonably describe the property and give the date, time and location on or after which offers will be accepted (NRS 159.1425(6)).
The court may waive publication if the guardian is the sole devisee or heir of the estate, or if all devisees or heirs consent in writing (NRS 159.1425(4)). Publication is not required if the property is reasonably believed to have a net value of $10,000 or less (NRS 159.1425(5)). In that case the guardian must post notice in three of the most public places in the county for at least 14 days before the date on or after which an offer will be accepted (NRS 159.1425(5)).
Timing, Offers and Appraisal
The table below summarizes key timing, offer and price rules. The date and offer rules in NRS 159.144 do not apply to sales to complete a protected person’s contract under NRS 159.123 or sales to joint owners under NRS 159.142 (NRS 159.144(1)).
| Requirement | Rule | NRS |
|---|---|---|
| Earliest sale date | Not before the date in the notice, and not sooner than 14 days after the first publication or posting (the court may shorten this to not sooner than 8 days for good cause) | 159.144(1)(a), (b) |
| Latest sale date | Not later than 1 year after the date stated in the notice | 159.144(1)(c) |
| Offers | Must be in writing; may be delivered to the place in the notice or to the guardian any time after the first publication or posting | 159.144(2) |
| Appraisal | Property must have been appraised within 1 year before the sale, or a new appraisal done before the sale or confirmation | 159.1455(1)(b) |
| Price | The court must be satisfied the amount offered represents fair market value | 159.1455(1)(a) |
| Petition to confirm | Filed within 30 days after the sale contract is signed | 159.134(2) |
| Close of escrow | At least 10 judicial days after notice of entry of the order confirming the sale is filed, unless the contract sets a later date | 159.146(9) |
The court may waive the appraisal only on a showing and specific findings on the record that another appraisal would unduly delay the sale and the delay would impair the protected person’s estate (NRS 159.1455(2)).
The Confirmation Hearing and Overbids
At the hearing, the court must consider whether the sale is necessary or in the best interest of the estate (NRS 159.146(1)(a)). The court must confirm the sale if good reason existed for it, it was conducted legally and fairly, the offer is not disproportionate to the property’s value, and a higher bid is unlikely (NRS 159.146(2)). A higher bid here means one at least 5 percent higher if the offer is under $100,000, or at least $5,000 higher if the offer is $100,000 or more (NRS 159.146(2)(d)).
Other people may submit higher bids in open court, and the court may confirm the highest bid (NRS 159.1415(1)). If the court does not confirm the sale, it may order a new sale or conduct a public auction in open court (NRS 159.146(4)).
If the estate owes more than the property is worth and all lienholders have agreed to accept the sale price and waive any deficiency, the sale must be confirmed without bidding in court (NRS 159.146(10)). In that situation the bank’s valuation satisfies the appraisal requirement (NRS 159.146(10)).
Real Estate Agents and Commissions
After the court grants authority to sell, the guardian may sign a written contract with one or more bona fide agents or brokers to find a buyer, including an exclusive right to sell (NRS 159.1385(1)). The commission must be paid from the sale proceeds, may not exceed 10 percent for unimproved property or 7 percent for improved property, and must be authorized by the court’s confirmation of the sale (NRS 159.1385(2)).
Neither the guardian personally nor the estate is liable for the commission until the court confirms the sale, and then only for the amount in the contract (NRS 159.1385(4)).
Co-Owned and Mortgaged Property
A protected person’s share of jointly owned real property may be sold to one or more of the other joint owners only if all joint owners have been given notice that the court granted authority to sell, the guardian petitions to confirm the sale, and the court confirms it (NRS 159.142(1)). The court may confirm only if the net proceeds to the estate are at least 90 percent of the fair market value of the share sold and the estate will be released from all liability on any mortgage or lien (NRS 159.142(2)).
When mortgaged property is sold and the mortgage or lien is a valid claim against the estate, the money is applied first to the necessary expenses of sale, then to the mortgage or lien, and then to the estate unless the court orders otherwise (NRS 159.1365).
After Confirmation
Once the sale is confirmed, the guardian must sign a conveyance to the buyer that refers to the court order, and a certified copy of the order must be recorded in the county where the property is located (NRS 159.1465(1), (2)). If the sale is made on credit, the guardian must take the buyer’s note and a mortgage on the property to secure it (NRS 159.1475(1)).
A guardian who fraudulently sells real property in a manner inconsistent with the statutes is liable for double the value of the property sold (NRS 159.1495).
Selling Personal Property
A guardian may sell or dispose of personal property with a total value of less than $10,000 if a notice of intent is mailed by certified mail or personally delivered to the protected person, his or her attorney and the persons listed in NRS 159.034, and no one objects within 15 days after receiving it (NRS 159.1515(1)). To sell a security, the guardian must petition for confirmation, give notice as required by NRS 159.034 unless the court shortens or dispenses with it for good cause, and obtain the court’s confirmation (NRS 159.152).
For other personal property sales, notice must be given to the protected person and to his or her spouse and all other known relatives within the second degree of consanguinity, and published in a newspaper (NRS 159.1535(1)). Publication must occur at least three times over 14 days and 7 days apart, unless the court shortens it for good cause to not less than 8 days (NRS 159.1535(2), (3)). Publication is not required if the gross value of the estate is less than $10,000 (NRS 159.1535(5)).
Except for sales under NRS 159.1515, no sale or disposition of personal property may begin until 30 days after an inventory is filed and mailed to the persons listed in NRS 159.034 (NRS 159.154(4)). The property must be available for inspection at the sale, or photographs must be posted on an appropriate internet auction website (NRS 159.154(2)). The guardian is responsible for the property’s actual value unless, within 90 days after the sale ends, the guardian reports to the court showing good cause for the sale and a price not disproportionate to the value (NRS 159.154(5)).
Family First Right of Refusal
Family members and interested persons must be offered the first right to buy the protected person’s personal property at fair market value (NRS 159.154(6)). Claims are considered in this order (NRS 159.154(6)):
- The spouse or domestic partner
- A child
- The parents
- A sibling
- The nearest living relative by blood or adoption
- Any other interested party
If several people in the same priority group make claims and cannot agree after good faith efforts, the guardian may sell the property (NRS 159.154(7)).
Leasing Property
A guardian of the estate may lease real property without prior court approval only if the tenancy is month-to-month or for no more than 1 year and the rent, or the protected person’s share of it, is no more than $250 per month (NRS 159.157(1)). Other leases need prior court approval by order, on terms the court approves (NRS 159.157(2)).
A petition to approve a lease must include the parcel number and physical address, the proposed rent, the length of the lease and a brief description of the parties’ duties (NRS 159.161(1)). The court must authorize the lease if it is satisfied the lease is in the best interests of the protected person and the estate (NRS 159.161(2)). The court may authorize a contract with licensed real estate brokers to find a tenant, with a commission of no more than 5 percent of the fixed rent for the first 2 years (NRS 159.159).
Renting out personal property also needs prior court approval by order (NRS 159.163).
Exchanges, Partitions and Special Sales
With prior court approval by order, and if the court finds it serves the protected person’s best interests, the guardian may exchange property or voluntarily partition property in which the protected person owns an undivided interest (NRS 159.175(1)). With prior court approval, the guardian may also accept an offer for the protected person’s interest in a partnership, joint venture or closely held corporation, or an undivided interest in property, from people who own, or are offering to buy, the remaining interests (NRS 159.167(1)).
A guardian of the estate must record a certified copy of any court order authorizing the sale, mortgage, lease, surrender or conveyance of real property in the county where any part of the land is located (NRS 159.171(1)).
Wills, Trusts and Beneficiary Designations
Before taking any of these actions, the guardian must petition the court for an order (NRS 159.078(1)):
- Making or changing the protected person’s will (NRS 159.078(1)(a)).
- Making or changing a beneficiary designation in a will, trust, insurance policy, bank account or other asset, with limited exceptions (NRS 159.078(1)(b)).
- Creating a revocable or irrevocable trust of estate property for the protected person or others (NRS 159.078(1)(c)).
- Revoking or modifying a revocable trust, or giving up the right to do so (NRS 159.078(1)(d)). The court may not authorize or require this if the trust instrument shows the protected person meant to keep that right exclusively for himself or herself, expressly says a guardian may not revoke or modify the trust, or otherwise shows an intent inconsistent with the guardian doing so (NRS 159.078(1)(d)).
A court order is not needed to use an asset that has a designated beneficiary, including closing it, for the protected person’s benefit if it is the only liquid asset available for his or her care and support, if its value (or all such assets combined) is no more than $5,000, or if it is a bank account, investment fund or insurance policy that must be closed for the person to qualify for a federal public assistance program (NRS 159.078(1)(b)).
Any other interested person may also petition for such an order (NRS 159.078(2)). After notice to anyone adversely affected and an opportunity for a hearing, the court may authorize the action if it finds by clear and convincing evidence that the action is otherwise in the protected person’s best interests (NRS 159.078(3)(b)). The court may also authorize it on clear and convincing evidence that a reasonably prudent person, or the protected person if not incapacitated, would take the action, and that someone who is a beneficiary of or stands to gain from an instrument signed by or for the protected person, or who would benefit from the lack of one, has committed or is about to commit fraud or exploitation against the protected person or the estate (NRS 159.078(3)(a)).
A guardian of the estate must also petition before releasing the protected person’s powers as a trustee, personal representative, custodian or guardian, exercising or releasing a power of appointment, electing to take under or against a will, or moving unintentionally omitted property into the protected person’s trust (NRS 159.113(1)(h)-(k)). Estate planning documents and trusts the guardian must secure are listed on the managing the estate page.
Sold Property and the Protected Person’s Will
Sometimes a guardian sells or transfers property that the protected person specifically devised or bequeathed in a will, or held in joint tenancy, in trust for another person or as a revocable trust. The devisee, beneficiary or legatee may elect to take the proceeds of the sale or transfer if the protected person had capacity when the will or interest was created, lacked capacity at the time of the sale or transfer, and never made a valid later will or changed how the interest was held (NRS 159.173).
Asking the Court for Instructions
A guardian of the estate may petition the court for advice and instructions on matters such as estate administration, the priority of paying claims, proposed disbursements, and elections to take under a deceased spouse’s will (NRS 159.169(1)). An act done after obtaining court approval or instructions on these matters binds the protected person and those claiming through him or her, and the guardian is not personally liable for it (NRS 159.169(2)).
If an interested person may be adversely affected, the court must direct a citation to that person, served at least 20 days before the hearing (NRS 159.169(3)). The guardian’s accountings and court review are covered on the accountings and court oversight page.
How I Can Help
I help guardians of the estate obtain court authority to sell, lease or place property in trust, meet the notice and appraisal requirements, and prepare petitions to confirm real property sales. I also assist with petitions involving a protected person’s will, trusts and beneficiary designations, and I represent family members who want to be heard on a proposed transaction. Request a consultation to discuss your situation.
This page provides general information about Nevada guardianship of the estate, based on the Nevada Revised Statutes as of the 2025 legislative session, and is not legal advice. Other Nevada laws, court rules, and case law also affect these matters. Every situation is different; consult an attorney about yours. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.