Q: Do personal items in a house (clothing, jewelry, etc) go through probate in Nevada? If so, any way to avoid that?
Updating our estate plan. Once both my wife and I pass, who decides who gets all our personal items in the house? We have three adult children who are named as equal beneficiaries in our will.
A:
Typically personal property doesn't go through probate unless it is 'valuable', or if there is a contest. Oftentimes clients leave a "memorandum" which sets forth which child gets certain pieces of personal property. You don't say whether you have a revocable living trust. If you do, you should have signed an 'Assignment', which assigns all personal property in to your Trust, however the memorandum is still a good idea to insure specific items go to specific children. If you have Wills, and are updating, make a note in the Will/Codicil to refer to any memorandum you may leave; Alternatively you could add the specific bequests of personal property in the Trust document or Will/Codicil. Please keep in mind that Wills in NV go to probate, so a Trust is always recommended.
Another alternative could be that you add a provision that the children take turns in choosing items from the house.
I trust this perspective helps.
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