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People move to Las Vegas every day. They buy houses, sign mortgages, get their keys, and move on with life. What most of them skip is estate planning. And it catches up with them.
Mike Tchobanian is a real estate broker with Vegas Capital Realty and a certified probate real estate expert. He’s been in the business for 21 years.
He recently sat down with attorneys Amanda Stevens and Whitney Short of Short & Stevens Law to talk about what happens when homeowners don’t plan ahead.
The short version: it gets expensive, stressful, and slow.
Most homebuyers aren’t thinking about trusts
Mike estimates that eight out of ten clients he works with have no estate planning. No trust. No will. Some aren’t even aware it’s something they should consider.
The reason is pretty simple. Buying a home is stressful. People are focused on payments, inspections, timelines, and getting their keys. Estate planning falls to the bottom of the list, and it usually stays there.
“They’re trying to close this house. They don’t care about creating a trust. They don’t want to delay closing,” Mike said.
The awareness gap runs deep. It’s not just buyers. Many realtors don’t bring it up either. Title companies don’t flag it. The topic just doesn’t come up at the right time, and by the time it does, the damage is already done.
The Las Vegas market is back to normal, but the stakes haven’t changed
The Las Vegas real estate market had a wild few years. After COVID, interest rates dropped, and inventory fell to around 1,600 available homes. Every listing was getting ten offers.
That’s over. Right now, inventory sits at about 6,000 homes. Interest rates are around 6%. The market has cooled into something closer to normal.
Homes that are priced right and prepped well are still selling, and some are still pulling multiple offers. But sellers expecting peak prices are sitting on the market longer.
The good news is that values held steady. Las Vegas saw roughly 1.6% depreciation last year, which is almost nothing compared to what happened in Phoenix, Austin, and parts of Florida.
A big reason for that stability is demand. People keep moving here, especially from California.
None of this changes the estate planning problem. Whether you bought at the top of the market or you’re buying now, your house needs to be protected.
A will does not prevent probate
This is the single biggest misconception Amanda and Whitney see. People assume that having a will means their family won’t have to deal with probate. That’s wrong.
A will only gets read inside probate court. It tells the court where your property should go. It does not skip the process. Your family still has to go through probate, wait for a judge, and deal with the timeline and costs that come with it.
Whitney put it plainly: “A will means you’re in probate. The only time anyone’s reading your will is if you’re in probate.”
If everything goes perfectly, meaning no creditors, no disputes, and everyone cooperates, probate in Nevada takes about nine months for a property case. That’s the best case. In reality, it can stretch to 12, 15, even 18 months, if not years.
What probate actually looks like for families
During probate, heirs can’t do anything with the property until the court appoints an administrator. That appointment doesn’t happen overnight. In Clark County, getting a death certificate takes about 30 days.
Getting on the court calendar takes another month. So you may be two months in before anyone has the legal authority to act.
In the meantime, the mortgage still needs to be paid. If the person who passed was the one paying it, someone else has to step in.
That might mean floating two mortgage payments at once, one for their own home and one for the inherited property.
Properties can and do go into foreclosure during probate. The lender will start sending letters the moment a payment is missed.
And in Nevada, there’s an extra wrinkle. HOA super priority liens give homeowners associations the ability to foreclose before the lender can.
Whitney’s advice to probate administrators: “Focus on the HOA before you do anything because they will be able to do it faster than almost anybody else can.”
You can sell real property during probate once you’re appointed as administrator. But you may need court approval for that sale, and you still have to go through the process of getting appointed first.
The “empty glass” problem
Having a trust isn’t enough if nothing is titled in it.
Amanda and Whitney use a straightforward comparison. The trust is the glass. Your assets are the water. If you have a glass with nothing in it, it’s not doing anything for you.
This happens constantly. People get a trust drafted and think they’re covered. But their house is still in their personal name. Their bank accounts aren’t linked to the trust. Their investments aren’t titled correctly. The trust exists on paper, but it’s not functional.
Then there’s the refinancing trap. When homeowners refinance, the lender often requires the house to come out of the trust and back into the homeowner’s individual name. The refinance closes. The house stays in the individual’s name.
Nobody remembers to transfer it back into the trust. Years later, the homeowner passes, and the family ends up in probate anyway.
Lenders, quitclaim deeds, and what you can actually do
Here’s something a lot of buyers don’t realize. Most lenders require you to close on a home in your individual name. They’re giving you the loan, not your trust. That’s standard.
But after closing, you can quitclaim the property into your revocable family trust. For a primary residence going into a revocable trust, the lender can’t call your loan. There are no penalties for doing this.
The problem is that people don’t do it. Or they do it, refinance later, take the house out, and never put it back.
Mike sees this pattern regularly. “A lot of people will have their estate planning done, then they want to refinance, so they take the house out of the trust, back into their individual names, and they forget to put it back in the trust. Then we’re going through probate again.”
Stop adding your kids to the title
This comes up all the time. A parent gets older and thinks, “I’ll just add my daughter to the title. It’ll go to her anyway.”
It sounds simple. It is a bad idea.
When you add someone to the title of your home, their liabilities become your liabilities.
If your daughter gets divorced, gets sued, or has a creditor issue, they can go after what she owns. And what she owns now includes your house.
It works the other way, too. If the parent causes a car accident or has a liability issue, the child’s name is on that property. Creditors can attach to it.
Then there’s the tax hit. If your child inherits the property, they get a stepped-up basis. The property’s value resets to the current market value at the time of inheritance, which can dramatically reduce capital gains taxes when they sell.
If you gift it to them by adding their name to the title, they don’t get that benefit. They inherit your original cost basis. When they sell, they could owe significantly more in capital gains. Whitney was direct: “It is much better to inherit property than be gifted it.”
The same logic applies to bank accounts. Adding a child to your bank account exposes everything in that account to their liabilities.
You don’t need to be rich to need a trust
Mike admitted that even after 21 years in the business, he didn’t get his own estate planning done until six years ago. If a real estate professional can put it off that long, it’s no surprise that the average homeowner does the same.
Part of the problem is perception. People hear “trust” and think of trust fund babies. They assume it’s something only millionaires need.
That’s backward. If you own a home, a trust makes sense for your situation. And the average person arguably needs it more than a wealthy one. A wealthy family can absorb the cost and delays of probate.
A family without that cushion is going to feel it much harder.
Whitney and Amanda pointed out that some situations don’t even require a trust. For certain cases, a transfer-on-death deed is a simpler, cheaper option. The right tool depends on your assets and your situation.
That’s exactly why you talk to an attorney before you need one.
And costs are going up. Estate planning fees will be higher next year than they are now. Probate costs will be higher, too. Waiting doesn’t save money.
Estate planning isn’t just about your house
Real estate gets the most attention because it’s usually the biggest asset an average American owns. But estate planning covers more than property.
Financial and medical powers of attorney are part of the package.
If you end up in a coma, get diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, or are in a car accident and can’t make decisions, someone needs the legal authority to act on your behalf. Without a power of attorney, your family has limited options.
Amanda put it bluntly: “You have a body. You probably care what happens to your body when you can’t make the decision.”
That applies to anyone over 18. Once your child turns 18, you no longer have legal authority over their medical or financial decisions. If something happens to them, you can’t step in without the right documents.
Moving from out of state? Get your plan reviewed.
California residents make up a big chunk of new Las Vegas buyers and Nevada investors. Many of them already have estate planning from their home state.
A California trust can hold Nevada property. That’s not the issue. The issue is that trust laws vary from state to state. If you’re moving to Nevada and plan to stay, your out-of-state documents need to be reviewed by a Nevada attorney.
For California investors who own rental properties in Nevada, a trust or LLC is especially important. Without one, your heirs could face probate in two states. That’s two sets of court fees, two timelines, and two sets of attorneys.
Whitney recommends that anyone moving from another state with an existing trust should get it reviewed by a local attorney. States generally recognize each other’s trusts, but only if they were done properly in the original state.
The anonymity problem
At least once a month, someone comes to Short & Stevens Law asking to remove their name from a property they just bought. They purchased the house in their individual name, and now they don’t want their name attached to it.
The answer is tough. Once you’ve bought in your own name, the purchase history is public record. You can transfer the property into a trust afterward, and that adds a layer of separation. But the original transaction is still there if someone looks for it.
If anonymity matters to you, the time to set up a trust is before the purchase, not after.
How often should you review your estate plan?
At home, on your own, once a year. Look through your trust documents. Check that your assets are titled correctly. Make sure your successor trustees and beneficiaries are still the people you want. Life changes, and your documents should keep up.
For a full professional review, every three to five years. Sit down with an attorney and make sure everything still reflects what you want.
And any time a major life event happens, a marriage, a divorce, a new child, a new property, that’s a trigger to review.
One thing people don’t always realize: if you buy a new house in the name of your trust (like you should), there’s nothing to update.
The new asset is already in the trust. And if you sold the old house, it’s not in the trust anymore either. The trust doesn’t need a rewrite just because the assets changed.
What to do next
- If you own a home and don’t have a trust, talk to an estate planning attorney now. Don’t wait for a life event to force the issue.
- If you have a trust, check that your house is actually titled in the trust’s name. An empty trust doesn’t protect anything.
- If you recently refinanced, verify that the property went back into the trust after closing.
- Don’t add children or family members to your property title without talking to an attorney first. The tax and liability consequences are real.
- If you moved to Nevada from another state, get your existing estate plan reviewed by a Nevada attorney.
- If you’re buying a home, get your estate planning done before you start the purchase process. It’s easier, cleaner, and gives you anonymity options.
- Anyone over 18 should have at least basic estate planning documents, including powers of attorney.
Frequently asked questions
Does a will prevent probate in Nevada?
No. A will does not prevent probate. A will only directs the court on how to distribute your assets. To avoid probate, you need a trust that is properly funded with your assets.
How long does probate take in Nevada?
In a best-case scenario with no disputes, no creditors, and full cooperation from all parties, probate takes about nine months for cases involving real property. Contested or complicated cases can take 12 to 18 months or longer.
Can I put my house in a trust after I buy it?
Yes. Most lenders require you to close in your individual name. After closing, you can quitclaim the property into your revocable family trust. For a primary residence transferred to a revocable trust, the lender cannot call your loan.
What happens if my house isn’t in my trust when I die?
Your house will go through probate, even if you have a trust. The trust only protects assets that are titled in its name. If your house is still in your individual name, it’s treated as if the trust doesn’t exist for that asset.
Is a trust only for wealthy people?
No. If you own a home, a trust is worth considering. Average income families often need trust protection more than wealthy ones. The cost and delays of probate hit harder when there’s less financial cushion. Some situations don’t require a trust at all, and a transfer-on-death deed may be a better fit.
Should I add my child to the title of my house?
In most cases, no. Adding a child to your title exposes you to their liabilities and exposes them to yours. It can also create a significant capital gains tax hit when they sell the property, since they won’t receive a stepped-up basis. Inheriting property is almost always better than being gifted it from a tax perspective.
Does a California trust work for Nevada property?
Yes. A California trust can hold Nevada property. States generally recognize each other’s trusts if they were properly executed. If you’re moving to Nevada permanently or own rental property here, you should have your trust reviewed by a Nevada attorney to check for any differences in state trust law.
How often should I update my estate plan?
Review your documents yourself once a year to check asset titles, trustees, and beneficiaries. Schedule a professional review with an attorney every three to five years or after any major life event like a marriage, divorce, new child, or property purchase.
Can a property go into foreclosure during probate?
Yes. If mortgage payments are missed during probate, the lender can begin foreclosure proceedings. In Nevada, HOA super priority liens allow homeowners’ associations to foreclose even faster than the lender. Keeping up with payments during probate is a priority.
What is a financial power of attorney, and why do I need one?
A financial power of attorney gives someone you choose the legal authority to manage your finances if you become incapacitated. Without one, your family may not be able to pay your bills, manage your accounts, or handle financial decisions on your behalf. Once you’re incapacitated, it’s too late to create one.
