Managing a Minor’s Property in Nevada: Guardianship of the Estate and UTMA Custodians

Part 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 5 of 6: Minors' Property

When a child receives money or property of his or her own, Nevada law provides two main ways to hold it. A court can appoint a guardian of the estate under chapter 159A of the Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS), or property can be transferred to a custodian under Nevada’s Uniform Act on Transfers to Minors in chapter 167 (NRS 159A.0487, 167.010).

For guardianship purposes, a minor is generally a person under 18, with limited exceptions that extend to age 19 or 21 (NRS 159A.023). A protected minor is a minor for whom a guardian has been appointed (NRS 159A.0251). Guardianship of a child’s person is covered on the Guardianship of Minors page.

Guardianship of a Minor’s Estate

A Nevada court may appoint a guardian of the person, of the estate, or of both for a minor whose home state is Nevada (NRS 159A.0487(1)). A court may also appoint a guardian of the estate for a nonresident minor who has property in Nevada (NRS 159A.0487(4)).

When a petition asks for a guardian of the estate, or of the person and estate, the court may require the proposed guardian to file a proposed preliminary care plan and budget (NRS 159A.0445(1)). If the court approves a budget, it must review the budget each year along with the annual accounting (NRS 159A.0445(3)). Nothing in that section relieves a parent of the duty to provide for the child’s basic needs, including food, shelter, clothing and medical care (NRS 159A.0445(5)).

Bond or Blocked Assets

Except as otherwise provided by law, a guardian must file a bond, in an amount the court decides is needed to protect the minor and the estate, before starting his or her duties (NRS 159A.065(1)). No bond is required if the minor has no assets (NRS 159A.065(4)). Instead of a bond, the guardian may ask that access to certain assets be blocked. The court may grant the request if evidence shows the assets are held so the guardian cannot reach them without a specific court order (NRS 159A.065(6)). See Appointment and Bond.

What the Guardian of a Minor’s Estate Must Do

A guardian of the estate must protect, preserve, manage and dispose of the minor’s estate according to law and in the minor’s best interests; responsibly invest the property under NRS 159A.117; file an annual accounting; and take any other action authorized or required by law (NRS 159A.083(1)). Payments assigned to the guardian for the minor’s support, such as child support and supplemental security income, are not part of the “estate of the protected minor” for this section (NRS 159A.083(3)(a)).

• Inventory. Within 60 days after appointment, or longer if the court allows, the guardian must file a verified inventory of all the minor’s property that comes to the guardian’s possession or knowledge (NRS 159A.085(1)).
• Possession. The guardian must take possession of the minor’s property of substantial value, its income, and the proceeds of any sale, mortgage or lease (NRS 159A.089(1)). Title to the property stays in the minor, not the guardian (NRS 159A.089(3)).

Actions That Need Court Approval

Before taking certain actions, the guardian must petition the court for an order. These include investing the minor’s property, selling, leasing or placing property in trust, exchanging or partitioning property, and transferring money in a minor’s blocked account to the Nevada Higher Education Prepaid Tuition Trust Fund (NRS 159A.113(1)). Investments and loans may be made only with court approval, in the manner and to the extent the court authorizes (NRS 159A.117(1)).

With court approval, a guardian of the estate may also spend estate money to meet the minor’s extraordinary needs, establish a special needs trust or other trust for the minor, set up a structured settlement, or invest to grow the estate, including with the help of a financial advisor (NRS 159A.083(2)). With prior court approval, the guardian may make reasonable gifts from estate property not needed for the minor’s care, maintenance, education and support (NRS 159A.125(1)). Sales and other transactions are discussed on the Property Transactions page.

Using the Minor’s Money

A guardian may not use the minor’s estate to pay for room and board that the guardian, or the guardian’s spouse, parent or child, provides to the minor (NRS 159A.112(2)(a)). A guardian also may not use it for the minor’s care, maintenance, education or support unless the court approves on a showing that the expense is necessary to meet an extraordinary need (NRS 159A.112(2)(b)). The guardian must take care to conserve the minor’s money (NRS 159A.112(3)).

If a court order for the minor’s support is in effect, the court must order the payment assigned to the guardian when it appoints the guardian (NRS 159A.056).

Smaller Estates

If, after all claims and expenses are paid, the minor’s property is worth no more than $10,000, the court may grant a summary administration (NRS 159A.076(1)). The court may then let the guardian convert the property to cash and invest it, and may excuse annual accountings. Or it may end the guardianship of the estate and direct the property to the minor’s custodial parent or parents, guardian or custodian to hold, invest or use as the court orders (NRS 159A.076(2)).

If the estate’s net value at any time exceeds $10,000, the guardian must file an amended inventory and accounting and annual accountings (NRS 159A.076(4)(a)-(b)). The court must also require the entire estate to be placed in a blocked account, meaning a restricted account that needs a court order before any distribution or transfer. If the guardian is a private professional guardian or a public guardian, the court may instead require a bond (NRS 159A.076(4)(c), (5)).

Accountings and Compensation

Every minor’s guardianship must be reviewed by the court annually (NRS 159A.176). A guardian of the estate must file a verified account every year no later than 60 days after the anniversary of appointment, unless the court sets a different interval for good cause and with appropriate protection of the minor’s interests (NRS 159A.177(1)(a)). Accounts are also due when the guardian petitions to resign, within 30 days after removal, and within 90 days after the guardianship ends or the minor is emancipated or dies, unless the court allows longer (NRS 159A.177(1)(b)-(d)).

The account must show, among other things, the minor’s assets at the start and end of the period, all receipts and disbursements, and changes in the property, with all expenditures itemized (NRS 159A.179(1)-(2)). One difference from adult guardianships: a guardian other than a public guardian must file receipts or vouchers with the court for any amount greater than $250, unless the court waives this, or whenever the court orders it (NRS 159A.179(4)).

Compensation also works differently. The minors’ statute provides for reasonable compensation for services where the guardian is a private professional guardian of the estate, subject to the court’s discretion and approval (NRS 159A.183(1)). Subject to the same approval, a guardian must be allowed reimbursement for expenses of performing the guardian’s duties, and for other actual costs of preserving and growing the estate if the expenses are necessary to meet an extraordinary need of the minor (NRS 159A.183(2)). The adult rules are on the Accountings and Oversight page.

When the Guardianship Ends

A minor’s guardianship generally ends on the date the minor turns 18 (NRS 159A.191(1)(d)). It can continue until high school graduation or age 19, whichever comes first, if the minor will be over 18 at graduation and the minor and guardian file their consent with the court at least 14 days before the minor turns 18 (NRS 159A.191(1)(e)). It also ends on the minor’s death, on a change of domicile to a place outside Nevada with transfer of jurisdiction to the court there, or when the court finds it no longer necessary (NRS 159A.191(1)(a)-(c)).

After winding up the guardianship, the guardian must deliver the property to the protected minor, the personal representative or the successor guardian, as the case may be, and obtain a receipt (NRS 159A.197(1)). The guardian is not relieved of liability until the court’s discharge order is entered and filed (NRS 159A.199(2)).

Nevada’s Uniform Act on Transfers to Minors

Chapter 167 provides a separate way to hold property for a minor: a transfer to a custodian. Under this chapter, a minor is a person who has not reached age 18 (NRS 167.020(11)). A transfer is irrevocable and gives the minor vested legal title. Neither the minor nor the minor’s legal representative has any power over the property except as the chapter provides (NRS 167.040(1)).

How Property Reaches a Custodian

• Gift. A person may make an irrevocable gift to a custodian for a minor (NRS 167.023).
• Will or trust. A personal representative or trustee may make a transfer authorized in the will or trust; if the will or trust names a custodian, the transfer must go to that person (NRS 167.025(1)-(2)).
• Without authorization in a will or trust. A personal representative, trustee or conservator may transfer to another adult or a trust company as custodian if he or she considers it in the minor’s best interest, it is not prohibited by the governing instrument, and the court authorizes it if the transfer exceeds $10,000 in value (NRS 167.027). Here, “conservator” means a person appointed by a court as guardian of a minor’s property, among others (NRS 167.020(4)).
• Debtor or holder. A person who holds property of, or owes a liquidated debt to, a minor who has no conservator may transfer it to a custodian. If no custodian was nominated, the transfer may go to an adult family member or a trust company, unless the property exceeds $10,000 in value (NRS 167.029).

Under most of the methods the statute lists, a transfer is made by titling, registering or delivering the property in the custodian’s name followed in substance by the words “as custodian for (name of minor) under Nevada’s Uniform Act on Transfers to Minors” (NRS 167.030(1)). Each transfer may be for only one minor, with only one custodian (NRS 167.030(3)).

The Custodian’s Duties

The custodian must take control of the property, register or record title if appropriate, and collect, hold, manage, invest and reinvest it (NRS 167.050(1)). The custodian must use the care a prudent person would use with someone else’s property (NRS 167.050(2)). Custodial property must be kept separate from all other property and clearly identified (NRS 167.050(4)).

The custodian must keep records of all transactions, including information needed for the minor’s tax returns. The records must be available for inspection at reasonable intervals by a parent or legal representative of the minor, or by the minor once he or she reaches age 14 (NRS 167.050(5)).

A custodian may spend for the minor or pay to the minor as much of the property as the custodian considers advisable, without a court order (NRS 167.055(1)). These payments do not affect anyone’s obligation to support the minor (NRS 167.055(3)). A custodian is entitled to reimbursement of reasonable expenses and, unless the custodian is the person who made the transfer by gift or by exercising a power of appointment under NRS 167.023, may elect to receive reasonable compensation each calendar year (NRS 167.060(1)-(2)). Generally no bond is required (NRS 167.060(3)).

Oversight of a Custodian

The minor (if 14 or older), the minor’s guardian or legal representative, an adult member of the minor’s family, or a transferor or the transferor’s legal representative may petition the court for an accounting by the custodian (NRS 167.090(1)). An adult member of the minor’s family, the transferor or the transferor’s legal representative, the minor’s guardian or conservator, or the minor (if 14 or older) may also petition, for cause shown, to remove the custodian or require a bond (NRS 167.080(6)).

When the Minor Receives the Property

The custodian must transfer the property to the minor at age 18, or at a later age allowed under NRS 167.034, whichever is later, or to the minor’s estate if the minor dies first (NRS 167.095). A later age must be stated in the transfer and cannot be later than age 21 for a gift, or age 25 for a transfer under a will, trust, nomination or exercise of a power of appointment (NRS 167.034). Transfers made under NRS 167.027 or 167.029 cannot be delayed past 18 (NRS 167.034(6), 167.095(1)).

How I Can Help

I help Nevada families decide how a child’s money should be held, petition for guardianship of a minor’s estate, handle blocked accounts and court approvals, and prepare the required inventories and accountings. I also advise custodians under the Uniform Act on Transfers to Minors about their duties. 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.