Powers of Appointment in Nevada Trusts
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By Ronald W. Brilliant, Attorney at Law · Licensed in Idaho, Nevada & California · Last reviewed: September 2026 against Nevada Revised Statutes chapters 153, 162B and 163 through 166A (current through the 2025 legislative session)
In This GuideNevada TrustsTopic 10 of 10: Powers of Appointment
A power of appointment lets a person, acting in a nonfiduciary capacity, decide who will receive an ownership interest in certain property, or another power of appointment over it. It does not include a power of attorney (NRS 162B.075). Nevada’s trust statutes also address powers of appointment held under trusts, as explained below.
Nevada’s rules are in the Uniform Powers of Appointment Act, chapter 162B of NRS (NRS 162B.005). The Act applies to powers created before, on, or after October 1, 2017, subject to exceptions for earlier court cases and actions (NRS 162B.620(1)). This page matters to people who create these powers, people who hold them, and people who may receive property under them.
Key Terms
| Term | Meaning | NRS |
|---|---|---|
| Donor | The person who creates the power of appointment | 162B.030 |
| Powerholder | The person in whom the donor creates the power | 162B.080 |
| Appointive property | The property or property interest subject to the power | 162B.020 |
| Permissible appointee | A person in whose favor the powerholder may exercise the power | 162B.065 |
| Impermissible appointee | A person who is not a permissible appointee | 162B.050 |
| Appointee | A person to whom the powerholder actually appoints property | 162B.015 |
| Taker in default of appointment | A person who takes property to the extent the powerholder does not effectively exercise the power | 162B.095 |
| Gift-in-default clause | A clause naming a taker in default of appointment | 162B.045 |
Types of Powers
A general power of appointment can be exercised in favor of the powerholder, the powerholder’s estate, a creditor of the powerholder, or a creditor of the powerholder’s estate (NRS 162B.040). Any other power is a nongeneral power of appointment (NRS 162B.060).
An exclusionary power can be exercised in favor of one or more permissible appointees while leaving out others (NRS 162B.035). A presently exercisable power can be exercised at the relevant time, but does not include a power exercisable only at the powerholder’s death (NRS 162B.085).
Unless the instrument creating the power shows a contrary intent, a power is presumed to be presently exercisable, exclusionary, and general (NRS 162B.220). But the power is presumed nongeneral if it is exercisable only at the powerholder’s death and the permissible appointees are a defined and limited class that does not include the powerholder’s estate or creditors or the creditors of the powerholder’s estate (NRS 162B.230).
A power that can be exercised only with the consent or joinder of an “adverse party” is nongeneral. An adverse party is a person with a substantial beneficial interest in the property that would be adversely affected by the powerholder exercising or not exercising the power in favor of the powerholder, the powerholder’s estate, or their creditors (NRS 162B.240(1), (3)). If the permissible appointees are not defined and limited, the power is exclusionary (NRS 162B.240(2)).
Creating a Power of Appointment
A power of appointment is created only if the instrument creating it is valid under applicable law and its terms show the donor’s intent to create in a powerholder a power over the appointive property exercisable in favor of a permissible appointee (NRS 162B.200(1)). A power cannot be created in a deceased individual (NRS 162B.200(2)). Subject to any applicable rule against perpetuities, it may be created in an unborn or unascertained powerholder (NRS 162B.200(3)).
A powerholder may not transfer a power of appointment. If the powerholder dies without exercising or releasing it, the power lapses (NRS 162B.210). A donor may revoke or amend a power only if the instrument creating it is revocable by the donor, or the donor reserved a power to revoke or amend in that instrument (NRS 162B.250).
Unless the creating instrument shows a contrary intent, creating, revoking, or amending the power is valid if permitted by the law chosen in the creating instrument or the law of the donor’s domicile at the relevant time (NRS 162B.105(1)). A trust can itself be created by exercising a power of appointment in trust (NRS 163.002(1)(d)). For other ways to create a trust, see Creating a Trust.
Exercising a Power of Appointment
A power of appointment is exercised only if (NRS 162B.300):
- The instrument exercising it is valid under applicable law;
- Its terms show the powerholder’s intent to exercise the power and, subject to the substantial-compliance rule, meet any requirements the donor imposed; and
- The appointment is a permissible exercise of the power, to that extent.
If the donor imposed a formal requirement, such as referring specifically to the power, substantial compliance is enough if the powerholder knows of and intends to exercise the power and the attempted exercise does not impair a material purpose of the donor in imposing the requirement (NRS 162B.315).
Residuary and Blanket Clauses
A residuary clause in a powerholder’s will, or a comparable clause in the powerholder’s revocable trust, shows intent to exercise a power only if all of the following are true (NRS 162B.305(1)):
- The instrument does not show a contrary intent;
- The power is a general power exercisable in favor of the powerholder’s estate;
- There is no gift-in-default clause, or it is ineffective; and
- The powerholder did not release the power.
A “blanket-exercise clause” exercises a power without specifically referring to it, for example by using the words “any power” or “any property” (NRS 162B.025). Unless the exercising instrument shows a contrary intent, a blanket-exercise clause extends to a power the powerholder acquires after signing it. If the powerholder is also the donor, it extends to that power only if there is no gift-in-default clause or the clause is ineffective (NRS 162B.310).
Who Can Receive Property
The holder of a general power that permits appointment to the powerholder or the powerholder’s estate may make any appointment the powerholder could make in disposing of his or her own property, including in trust or by creating a new power (NRS 162B.320(1)). A general power that permits appointment only to creditors of the powerholder or the powerholder’s estate allows appointment only to those creditors (NRS 162B.320(2)).
Unless the creating instrument shows a contrary intent, the holder of a nongeneral power may appoint in any form, including in trust, to a permissible appointee. The holder may also create a general or nongeneral power in a permissible appointee, or create a nongeneral power in any person to appoint to the original power’s permissible appointees (NRS 162B.320(3)).
Subject to NRS 133.200, an appointment to a deceased appointee is ineffective (NRS 162B.325(1)). Unless the creating instrument shows a contrary intent, the holder of a nongeneral power may appoint to a descendant of a deceased permissible appointee, whether or not the donor described that descendant as a permissible appointee (NRS 162B.325(2)).
Except as provided for descendants of deceased permissible appointees, an appointment to an impermissible appointee is ineffective. An appointment to a permissible appointee is ineffective to the extent it is a fraud on the power (NRS 162B.330).
If a powerholder appoints property to a taker in default who would have taken it under the gift-in-default clause anyway, the power is treated as not exercised, and the appointee takes under the clause (NRS 162B.360).
Revoking or Amending an Exercise
A powerholder may revoke or amend an exercise of a power unless the exercising or creating instrument expressly states the exercise is irrevocable or unamendable. The same limit applies once property subject to a presently exercisable power has been delivered to the permissible appointee, whether outright, in trust, or as custodial property under chapter 167 of NRS (NRS 162B.365).
What Happens to Unappointed Property
When a power is not fully or effectively used, the gift-in-default clause controls first. If there is none, or to the extent it is ineffective, the rules below apply.
| Situation | Where the property goes if no effective gift-in-default clause | NRS |
|---|---|---|
| Ineffective appointment under a general power (other than a power to withdraw from, revoke, or amend a trust) | To the powerholder if a permissible appointee and living; otherwise to the powerholder’s estate if the estate is a permissible appointee; otherwise back to the donor or the donor’s transferee or successor in interest | 162B.340 |
| General power released or not exercised (same exception) | Same order as above, except that property covered by a release passes back to the donor or the donor’s transferee or successor in interest | 162B.345 |
| Nongeneral power released, ineffectively exercised, or not exercised | To the permissible appointees if they are defined and limited and the creating instrument does not show a contrary intent; otherwise back to the donor or the donor’s transferee or successor in interest | 162B.350 |
Unless the creating or exercising instrument shows a contrary intent, a taker in default who receives a valid partial appointment may still share fully in the unappointed property (NRS 162B.355). If a powerholder’s disposition covers both the powerholder’s own property and appointive property, the two must be allocated in the permissible manner that best carries out the powerholder’s intent (NRS 162B.335).
Disclaimer, Release, and Contracts
As provided by chapter 120 of NRS, a powerholder may disclaim all or part of a power, and a permissible appointee, appointee, or taker in default may disclaim all or part of an interest in appointive property (NRS 162B.400).
A powerholder may release a power in whole or in part, except to the extent the creating instrument prevents it (NRS 162B.410). The release may be made by substantially complying with a method in the creating instrument. If there is no method, or the method is not expressly exclusive, a record showing the powerholder’s intent by clear and convincing evidence also works (NRS 162B.420). A release may be revoked or amended only if the release instrument is revocable or reserves that power (NRS 162B.430).
The holder of a presently exercisable power may contract not to exercise it, or to exercise it if the contract does not benefit an impermissible appointee when made (NRS 162B.440). The holder of a power that is not presently exercisable may contract about it only if the holder is also the donor and reserved the power in a revocable trust (NRS 162B.450). The remedy for breach is limited to damages paid from the appointive property or, if appropriate, specific performance (NRS 162B.460).
Creditors of the Powerholder
Appointive property subject to a nongeneral power is generally exempt from claims of the powerholder’s creditors or the powerholder’s estate’s creditors (NRS 162B.530(1)). Exceptions apply if the powerholder owned the property and transferred it, reserving the power, in violation of chapter 112 of NRS, or if the initial gift in default is to the powerholder or the powerholder’s estate (NRS 162B.530(2)-(3)).
Property subject to a general power created by someone other than the powerholder is not subject to any creditor’s claim, unless the power was held by a decedent who actually exercised it in favor of the decedent or the decedent’s estate as described in NRS 111.779(12)(a)(1) (NRS 162B.510(1)).
Property subject to a general power the powerholder created is subject to creditors’ claims to the extent provided in chapter 112 of NRS (NRS 162B.500(1)). It is not subject to those claims to the extent the powerholder irrevocably appointed it to someone other than the powerholder or the powerholder’s estate (NRS 162B.500(2)). Otherwise, even with a spendthrift provision, the powerholder’s creditors may reach it as if the powerholder owned it if the power is presently exercisable, and the estate’s creditors may reach it to the extent the estate is insufficient if the power is exercisable at death (NRS 162B.500(3)).
For these creditor rules, a power to withdraw property from a trust is treated as a presently exercisable general power while it can be exercised, with a special rule for lapse, release, or waiver tied to amounts in federal tax law (NRS 162B.520). Separately, a creditor may not exercise, and a court may not order the exercise of, a power of appointment held by a trust beneficiary (NRS 163.417(1)(a)). See also Spendthrift Trusts.
Powers of Appointment in Trust Administration
- Unless a will establishing a testamentary trust provides otherwise, a person holding a power of appointment under that trust owes no fiduciary duty and is not liable for exercising or not exercising it (NRS 153.130).
- Unless the trust instrument specifically provides otherwise, a person holding a power to appoint or distribute income or principal to or for others may not use it to discharge his or her own legal obligations (NRS 163.145).
- A powerholder may represent and bind a permissible appointee or taker in default in trust proceedings (NRS 164.038(4)).
- A trust protector may be given power to modify the terms of a power of appointment granted by the trust (NRS 163.5553(1)(d)).
- When a trustee decants to a second trust, the second trust may grant a general or limited power of appointment to beneficiaries of the second trust who were beneficiaries of the original trust (NRS 163.556(8)(a)).
- A document that attempts to exercise a power of appointment is a “trust-related instrument” for purposes of a trust’s no-contest clause (NRS 163.00195(8)(c)).
For decanting and other changes, see Modifying and Ending Trusts. For disputes, see Court Petitions and Disputes.
How I Can Help
I help clients include powers of appointment in their trust planning, and help powerholders, trustees, and beneficiaries understand whether a power exists, whether it was validly exercised, and where property goes if it was not. Request a consultation to discuss your situation.
This page provides general information about Nevada trust law, based on the Nevada Revised Statutes as of the 2025 legislative session, and is not legal advice. Other Nevada laws, court rules, tax law, and case law also affect trusts. Every situation is different; consult an attorney about yours. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.