✓ Verified September 2026
To contest a will in Nevada, you file in the probate court within a fixed window and prove one of a short list of legal grounds. This guide gives the Nevada answer in plain English, and it starts with the deadline, because that is the fact that ends more cases than any other. All facts are from Nevada law, verified as of September 2026.
In This Nevada Guide:
Contest a Will in Nevada: At a Glance
Here are the Nevada facts that decide whether you can contest a will in Nevada:
| Deadline to contest | 3 months (after probate). Under NRS 137.080, any interested person may contest the admission or validity of the will “at any time within 3 months after the order is entered admitting the will to probate.” Before probate, there is no fixed number of days — under NRS 137.010 written grounds of opposition may be filed “at any time before the hearing of the petition for probate.” Once the 3-month window under NRS 137.080 passes with no contest, the probate of the will is conclusive (NRS 137.120). |
| What starts the clock | Entry of the court’s order admitting the will to probate (NRS 137.080) — not the date of death and not the date of notice to heirs. For a pre-probate contest, the trigger/cutoff is the hearing on the petition for probate (NRS 137.010). Related service deadlines: a person cited into a post-probate contest is directed to plead within 30 days after service of the citation (NRS 155.050 / NRS 137.010); if a motion against the contest is granted the court may allow 10 days to amend, and answers are due within 10 days after written notice of denial (NRS 137.010). |
| Who can contest | “Interested persons.” NRS 137.010 gives standing to the Attorney General or any interested person, expressly including a devisee under a former will. NRS 137.080 gives standing after probate to any interested person EXCEPT a party to a pre-probate contest or a person who had actual notice of that earlier contest in time to have joined it. In practice an interested person is one with a pecuniary/economic stake in the outcome — heirs and intestate takers, devisees under the offered will, devisees under a prior or later will, and in some postures creditors and the estate’s personal representative. Someone who takes nothing either way generally lacks standing; check with the court or a licensed Nevada attorney about your own status. |
| No-contest clause | YES — enforced, with statutory exceptions. NRS 137.005 states a no-contest clause in a will “must be enforced by the court” and construed to carry out the testator’s intent, but it is NOT enforced where the devisee acts in good faith and with probable cause on grounds such as that the will (or a provision of it) is a product of fraud, undue influence, duress, forgery, revocation, or improper execution, or where the devisee is merely seeking to enforce the clear and unambiguous terms of the will, to obtain court instructions on proper administration, or to enforce fiduciary duties. NRS 137.005 also extends to testamentary trusts and codicils, and permits the personal representative to withhold or delay distributions pending resolution. (See the parallel trust provision at NRS 163.00195.) |
| What the filing is called | Pre-probate: “written grounds of opposition to the probate” (an opposition/objection to the petition for probate), filed in the probate case before the probate hearing — NRS 137.010. Post-probate: a “petition to revoke probate of the will” (a will contest petition) filed with the court in which the will was proved, alleging the grounds against the validity of the will or the sufficiency of the proof and requesting that the probate be revoked — NRS 137.080. The court then orders issuance of a citation to the personal representative, devisees, and heirs (NRS 137.090). |
| Court | The Nevada district court sitting in probate for the county where the estate is being administered — Nevada has no separate surrogate’s court. In Clark County that is the Eighth Judicial District Court, Probate Division (Las Vegas); in Washoe County, the Second Judicial District Court. Probate jurisdiction is vested in the district courts (Nev. Const. art. 6, § 6; NRS Chapter 136). |
| Jury trial | YES. NRS 137.020 provides that an issue of fact on competency, freedom from duress/menace/fraud/undue influence, due execution and attestation, or any other question substantially affecting the validity of the will “must be tried by the court unless one of the parties demands a jury” — so a jury is available on demand, and NRS 137.050 addresses the verdict and judgment. A demand must be timely under the Nevada Rules of Civil Procedure (NRCP 38) as applied in probate. |
| Typical cost | UNVERIFIED — no official Nevada court or State Bar publication states a typical dollar range for a contested will case. Court filing fees are set by county district court schedules; attorney fees in a contest are separate from the statutory estate compensation rules in NRS Chapter 150. Ask the clerk of the district court or a licensed Nevada attorney for current figures. |
The Deadline to Contest a Will in Nevada
The window is short in some states and long in others, and it is measured from a specific event rather than from the day you learned about the will. That is why the first thing to find out is the date the will was admitted and whether you received formal notice. If the deadline has not run, everything else on this page is available to you.
If it has, the remaining options are narrow and usually involve proving you never got the notice the law required.
Grounds to Contest a Will in Nevada
The grounds framed as triable issues of fact by NRS 137.020 are (1) competency of the decedent to make a will (lack of testamentary capacity), (2) freedom of the decedent at the time of execution from duress, (3) menace, (4) fraud, (5) undue influence, (6) due execution and attestation of the will (improper execution),
and (7) “any other question substantially affecting the validity of the will” — which is the catch-all that carries forgery, revocation of the will, and the existence of a later will.
Post-probate, NRS 137.080 also allows a contest to the “sufficiency of the proof” by which the will was admitted.
Who has to prove what: The contestant normally carries the burden, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the will is invalid; a properly executed, self-proved will (NRS 133.050) is presumptively valid.
Nevada shifts this in confidential-relationship cases: where a beneficiary stood in a confidential or fiduciary relationship with the decedent and actively participated in preparing or procuring the will, a presumption of undue influence arises and the burden shifts to the will’s proponent to show by clear and convincing evidence that the will was not the product of undue influence (In re Estate of Bethurem, 129 Nev.
869, 313 P.3d 237 (2013)). Standards vary by ground and posture — confirm the applicable standard with the court or a licensed Nevada attorney.
Who Can Contest a Will in Nevada
“Interested persons.” NRS 137.010 gives standing to the Attorney General or any interested person, expressly including a devisee under a former will. NRS 137.080 gives standing after probate to any interested person EXCEPT a party to a pre-probate contest or a person who had actual notice of that earlier contest in time to have joined it.
In practice an interested person is one with a pecuniary/economic stake in the outcome — heirs and intestate takers, devisees under the offered will, devisees under a prior or later will, and in some postures creditors and the estate’s personal representative. Someone who takes nothing either way generally lacks standing; check with the court or a licensed Nevada attorney about your own status.
Being unhappy with the will is not standing; losing something because of it is. Check the earlier will and the intestate rules for Nevada before filing, because they decide whether you are an interested person.
No-Contest Clauses in Nevada
YES — enforced, with statutory exceptions.
NRS 137.005 states a no-contest clause in a will “must be enforced by the court” and construed to carry out the testator’s intent, but it is NOT enforced where the devisee acts in good faith and with probable cause on grounds such as that the will (or a provision of it) is a product of fraud, undue influence, duress, forgery, revocation, or improper execution,
or where the devisee is merely seeking to enforce the clear and unambiguous terms of the will, to obtain court instructions on proper administration, or to enforce fiduciary duties.
NRS 137.005 also extends to testamentary trusts and codicils, and permits the personal representative to withhold or delay distributions pending resolution. (See the parallel trust provision at NRS 163.00195.)
The Steps to Contest a Will in Nevada
Step one is the deadline check above. Step two is evidence: the medical records around the signing date, the names of the witnesses, the drafting lawyer’s file, and the financial records that show who benefited. Step three is the filing — Pre-probate: “written grounds of opposition to the probate” (an opposition/objection to the petition for probate), filed in the probate case before the probate hearing — NRS 137.010.
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Post-probate: a “petition to revoke probate of the will” (a will contest petition) filed with the court in which the will was proved, alleging the grounds against the validity of the will or the sufficiency of the proof and requesting that the probate be revoked — NRS 137.080. The court then orders issuance of a citation to the personal representative, devisees, and heirs (NRS 137.090)..
Step four is discovery and, in most cases, a settlement conference; the small minority that reach trial are decided by a jury if requested.
Settling Instead of Fighting
YES. Nevada will contests can be resolved by settlement or mediation rather than trial. The Nevada Judiciary operates a court-annexed Settlement Program in which a settlement judge helps parties explore resolution (https://nvcourts.gov/settlement_program/overview), mediation generally is governed by NRS Chapter 38, and settlements/compromises reached by interested persons are presented to the district court for approval in the probate case.
For trusts (including testamentary trusts spun out of a will), Nevada expressly authorizes nonjudicial settlement agreements among interested persons under NRS 164.940 and NRS 164.942. Many families resolve contests this way; a court-approved stipulation is typically required before distribution.
Other Nevada rules: (1) Two separate contest windows — a pre-probate opposition with no day-count (any time before the probate hearing, NRS 137.010) and a hard 3-month post-probate window (NRS 137.080), with NRS 137.120 making probate conclusive if neither is used.
(2) Preclusion rule: a party to a pre-probate contest, or anyone who had actual notice of it in time to join, cannot bring a second contest after probate (NRS 137.080). (3) The Attorney General has express standing to contest (NRS 137.010). (4) Jury on demand, which is not universal among states (NRS 137.020). (5) Codified no-contest enforcement with good-faith/probable-cause exceptions, extended to testamentary trusts and codicils (NRS 137.005).
(6) Self-proving declarations under penalty of perjury or affidavits are accepted by the court as if the testimony were taken before it, removing the need to subpoena attesting witnesses (NRS 133.050). (7) Nevada recognizes electronic wills, including self-proving electronic wills (NRS 133.085, NRS 133.086) — an unusual feature that can affect execution-based challenges.
(8) Ante-mortem/pre-death probate of a will: no such procedure appears in NRS Chapters 133, 136, or 137 — UNVERIFIED as available; Nevada’s pre-death validation tools are on the trust side.
The Evidence That Wins or Loses a Will Contest
Capacity cases turn on the weeks around the signing: the medical chart, prescriptions, a dementia diagnosis, and what the drafting lawyer and the witnesses saw that day. A will signed in a lawyer’s office with two disinterested witnesses and a self-proving affidavit is hard to attack; a will signed at a kitchen table with the main beneficiary present is not.
Undue influence cases turn on the relationship — who drove the parent to the appointment, who chose the lawyer, who was in the room, and whether the new will departed sharply from earlier ones and from what the parent said to other people.
Improper execution is the narrowest ground and the cleanest: Nevada sets exact witness and signature rules, and a will that misses them fails regardless of what the signer intended. Before you contest a will in Nevada, gather the prior wills, the medical releases, and the names of everyone at the signing.
Most of that evidence has to be requested formally once the case is filed, and the deadline does not wait for it.
What to Expect When You Contest a Will in Nevada
A will contest is a lawsuit about the document, not about fairness. When you contest a will in Nevada, the court asks whether the person who signed it had capacity, signed it freely, and signed it correctly. It does not ask whether the split was reasonable. That is why the strongest cases rest on medical records and witness accounts from the weeks around the signing.
Most families who contest a will in Nevada settle. Courts encourage it, many states have family settlement rules that let the heirs agree to a different division, and a settlement avoids the cost and delay of trial. The deadline, the grounds, and the no-contest clause above are the three facts that set your bargaining position before any of that begins.
You don’t have to do this alone
If you are settling a loved one’s estate in Nevada, your state’s probate court self-help center and free legal-aid offices can walk you through the process at no cost. For an active probate or a deadline, talk to a licensed probate attorney in your state.
Key Takeaways: Contest a Will in Nevada
- The deadline is everything: the window to contest a will in Nevada closes on a fixed schedule, and the court cannot reopen it for a late but valid claim.
- Grounds are specific: you contest a will in Nevada on capacity, undue influence, fraud, duress, or bad execution, never on unfairness alone.
- Standing first: only an interested person can contest a will in Nevada; check whether you inherit under the prior will or the intestate rules.
- Read the no-contest clause: whether the state enforces it decides how much risk it takes to contest a will in Nevada.
- Evidence is medical and financial: records, witnesses to the signing, and the drafting lawyer’s file decide most cases when you contest a will in Nevada.
- Settlement is common: most families who contest a will in Nevada settle before trial, often through the state’s family settlement rules.
- Find the admission date: the day the will was admitted is the day the clock to contest a will in Nevada usually starts.
- Prior wills matter twice: they give you standing to contest a will in Nevada and show how far the last will departed from the pattern.
- Notice defects are a lifeline: if you never got the required notice, you may still contest a will in Nevada after the ordinary deadline.
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Official Nevada Sources & Resources
- Nevada Probate Court: https://selfhelp.nvcourts.gov/self-help/probate
- Nevada Will Contest Statute: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-137.html
- Internal Revenue Service — Estate Tax: irs.gov
- Cornell Legal Information Institute: law.cornell.edu/wex
This Nevada guide was last verified against official sources in September 2026. Laws change — verify with your state court or a licensed attorney.
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Disclaimer: This guide is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Estate, probate, and tax laws change and vary by state and county. Verify current rules and dollar figures with your state’s court, statute, or a licensed attorney or tax professional before acting. For urgent matters like an active probate or a tax deadline, consult a licensed professional in your state right away.