[Rev. 6/29/2024 3:05:25 PM--2023]

CHAPTER 138 - APPOINTMENT OF PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVES

NRS 138.010           Powers of personal representative before issuance of letters.

NRS 138.020           Qualifications of executor; letters with will annexed.

NRS 138.040           Executor not specifically named may be appointed.

NRS 138.045           Appointment of substitute executors and coexecutors.

NRS 138.050           Successor to corporate executor.

NRS 138.060           Objections to appointment.

NRS 138.070           Executor of deceased executor; account of deceased personal representative.

NRS 138.080           Failure to appoint all named executors.

NRS 138.090           Administrators with will annexed: Order of appointment; exceptions.

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NRS 138.010  Powers of personal representative before issuance of letters.

      1.  If a will has been admitted to probate, the court shall direct letters thereon to issue to the personal representative named in the will, who shall appear and qualify.

      2.  No person has any power as a personal representative until he or she qualifies, except that, before letters are issued, he or she may pay the funeral charges and take necessary measures for the preservation of the estate.

      [37:107:1941; 1931 NCL § 9882.37]—(NRS A 1999, 2270)

NRS 138.020  Qualifications of executor; letters with will annexed.

      1.  No person is qualified to serve as an executor who, at the time the will is probated:

      (a) Is under the age of majority;

      (b) Has been convicted of a felony, unless the court determines that such a conviction should not disqualify the person from serving in the position of an executor;

      (c) Upon proof, is adjudged by the court disqualified to execute the duties of executor by reason of conflict of interest, drunkenness, improvidence, lack of integrity or understanding or other compelling reason; or

      (d) Is a bank not authorized to do business in the State of Nevada, unless it associates as coexecutor a bank authorized to do business in this State. An out-of-state bank is qualified to appoint a substitute executor, pursuant to NRS 138.045, without forming such an association, but any natural person so appointed must be a resident of this State.

      2.  If a disqualified person is named as the sole executor in a will, or if all persons so named are disqualified or renounce their right to act, or fail to appear and qualify, letters of administration with the will annexed must issue.

      [38:107:1941; 1931 NCL § 9882.38]—(NRS A 1969, 1198; 1971, 148; 1975, 1767; 1995, 496; 1999, 2270; 2003, 2509, 2690; 2009, 1625; 2015, 3527)

NRS 138.040  Executor not specifically named may be appointed.  If it appears by the terms of a will that it was the intention of the testator to commit the execution of the will and the administration of the estate of the testator to any person as executor, that person, although not named executor, is entitled to letters testamentary in like manner as if that person had been named executor.

      [39:107:1941; 1931 NCL § 9882.39]—(NRS A 1999, 2271)

NRS 138.045  Appointment of substitute executors and coexecutors.

      1.  A person who is named as executor under a will, either alone or with another or others, who is otherwise qualified to act under NRS 138.020, may appoint a substitute if:

      (a) The person named in the will is unwilling or unable to undertake or continue the execution of the will; and

      (b) The testator has not designated an alternate to serve in place of the named executor, or the alternate designated in the will is unwilling or unable to serve.

      2.  A person named as alternate executor who is not disqualified under NRS 138.020 may appoint a substitute if:

      (a) The named alternate is unwilling or unable to undertake or continue the execution of the will; and

      (b) A named executor is disqualified or has not designated a substitute within 30 days after being notified that the named alternate is unwilling or unable to serve.

      3.  A qualified person who alone is named as the executor under a will may appoint a coexecutor if:

      (a) The person named is unwilling or unable to undertake or continue the sole execution of the will; and

      (b) The testator has not designated an alternate to serve in place of the named executor, or the named alternate is unwilling or unable to serve.

      4.  The substitute or coexecutor, unless otherwise disqualified under this chapter, is entitled to letters testamentary in like manner as if the substitute or coexecutor had been named in the will.

      (Added to NRS by 1969, 484; A 1981, 241; 1999, 2271)

NRS 138.050  Successor to corporate executor.  If the executor named in the will is a corporation or national banking association that has sold its business and assets to, or has consolidated or merged with, or is in any manner provided by law succeeded by, another corporation or national banking association authorized and qualified to act as executor, the court may issue letters thereon to the successor corporation or association as if the successor were named in the will.

      [40:107:1941; 1931 NCL § 9882.40]—(NRS A 1999, 2271)

NRS 138.060  Objections to appointment.

      1.  An interested person may file objections in writing to the granting of letters testamentary to the person or persons named as executors, or any of them, and those objections must be heard and determined by the court.

      2.  A petition may also be filed for the issuance of letters of administration, with the will annexed, in all proper cases.

      [41:107:1941; 1931 NCL § 9882.41]—(NRS A 1999, 2271)

NRS 138.070  Executor of deceased executor; account of deceased personal representative.

      1.  No executor of the will of a deceased executor, as such, is authorized to administer the estate of the first testator, but on the death of the sole or surviving executor of any last will, letters of administration with the will annexed of the estate of the first testator left unadministered must be issued. If no executor is named in the will, or if the sole executor or all the executors named therein are dead or incapacitated, or neglect or fail to apply for letters, or to appear and qualify, or die after the issuance of letters and before the completion of the administration, letters of administration with the will annexed must be granted.

      2.  The account of a deceased personal representative may be settled, duties may be terminated, and sureties may be released of liability subsequently incurred, upon the petition of either the attorney who represented the deceased personal representative in the probate or administration or upon the petition of any of the sureties, and upon such notice as the court directs.

      [43:107:1941; 1931 NCL § 9882.43]—(NRS A 1999, 2272)

NRS 138.080  Failure to appoint all named executors.  If all the persons named as executors are not appointed by the court, those appointed have the same authority to perform every act and discharge every duty required by the will, and their acts are effectual for every purpose as if all had been appointed.

      [Part 44:107:1941; 1931 NCL § 9882.44]—(NRS A 1999, 2272)

NRS 138.090  Administrators with will annexed: Order of appointment; exceptions.

      1.  Except as otherwise provided in this section, administrators with the will annexed have the same authority as the executor named in the will would have had if the executor had qualified, and their acts are as effectual for every purpose. If a power or authority conferred upon the executor is discretionary, and is not expressly excluded by the will, it is conferred upon an administrator with the will annexed.

      2.  Except to the extent expressly provided for by the will, a provision of the will waiving the bond of a personal representative does not apply to an administrator with the will annexed.

      3.  Persons and their nominees and appointees are entitled to appointment as administrators with the will annexed in the same order of priority as in the appointment of administrators, except that:

      (a) An heir who has been eliminated as a beneficiary or as a fiduciary under the terms of the will is not qualified to serve as an administrator with the will annexed; and

      (b) The court has the discretion to disregard the order of priority set forth in subsection 1 of NRS 139.040 to favor the appointment of a beneficiary of the will who is given a larger share of the estate over a beneficiary, or his or her nominee, who is given a lesser share, and the court may exercise this discretion to appoint two or more beneficiaries, or their nominees, who have similar interests in the estate of the decedent as coadministrators with the will annexed.

      [45:107:1941; 1931 NCL § 9882.45]—(NRS A 1999, 2272; 2015, 3527)