Petition for Transfer of Property for Estates Less than $25,000
The Petition for Transfer of Property is a request for the court to order the property to be turned over in an Affidavit of Entitlement. Think of it as an extra step to the Affidavit of Entitlement process, but not always a necessary step.
A common situation is when the decedent died with stocks and bonds, but the stocks and bonds are held by a company located in another state. Because the agency is located in a different state, the agency might require a court order authorizing the transfer of the stocks and bonds to you. If this is required, or if a court order is necessary for any other reason, you can file an Ex Parte Petition for the Transfer of Property.
ProTip! You will only need the court order for transfer of property if the agency holding the property is out of state or if the agency requires the court order for some other reason. Otherwise, the Affidavit of Entitlement alone should be sufficient for the agency to transfer the property to you.
In order to obtain a court order directing the transfer of property, follow these seven steps:
Step 1: Complete Affidavit of Entitlement process.
Step 2: Fill out the packet.
Step 3: Fill out affidavit.
Step 4: Complete fee waiver, if necessary.
Step 5: Attach documents to your petition.
Step 6: File packet.
Step 7: Check status of case.
Step 8: Get order.
Each of these eight steps is discussed in more detail below.
Step 1: Complete Affidavit of Entitlement process.
Refer to the Affidavit of Entitlement process. Complete all the steps for a completed Affidavit of Entitlement.
Step 2: Fill out the packet.
A packet for the Ex Parte Petition for Transfer of Property is available free of charge at the Civil Law Self-Help Center and on the probate webpage. You can also download an Ex Parte Petition for Transfer of Property on your computer by clicking one of the listed formats underneath the form's title below.
EX PARTE PETITION FOR TRANSFER OF PROPERTY
PDF fillable
You can also download a form completion guide to show you how to fill out the form by clicking on the link below:
GUIDE
For information about how to fill out and file court forms, read Basics of Court Forms and Filings.
Complete the Petition for Transfer of Property carefully, providing all requested information in all blanks. You, the person completing the packet, are the petitioner. Since you already collected the information about the decedent's property in the Affidavit of Entitlement process, you will plug that information into the petition. Also, since you already mailed notice to those people of equal or higher priority, then you will enter the names, ages, and addresses of those people into the petition. Do not forget to sign the petition and verification.
Step 3: Fill out affidavit.
If, while completing the Affidavit of Entitlement process, you discovered that there are people of equal or higher priority than you whose whereabouts are unknown, you will have to complete an affidavit (a different one from the Affidavit of Entitlement) explaining this to the judge. You can download an affidavit on your computer by clicking a link underneath the form's title below.
AFFIDAVIT
PDF fillable
Complete the affidavit with an explanation for each of the family members who were not given notice (e.g., no one knows how to contact that person, the person is estranged from the family, or the person consents but is deployed so you cannot mail him/her notice, etc.). Note that if you are the person with the highest priority, you might not need to complete this step.
Step 4: Complete fee waiver, if necessary.
The fee to file a Petition for Transfer of Property is $0 if the estate is less than $2,500.00; $185.50 if the estate is between $2,500.00 and $20,000.00; and $284.50 if the estate is between $20,000.01 and $25,000.00. If the value of the estate is more than $2,500.00 and you cannot afford to pay that fee, you can ask the court to waive that fee by filing an Application to Proceed in Forma Pauperis (usually called a "fee waiver application"). If the court grants your fee waiver application, the fee will be waived. However, if the fees are not waived, you will receive a call from the court clerk, who will ask you to pay the filing fee if you want the petition to move forward.
The Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis, or fee waiver, is available free of charge at the Civil Law Self-Help Center, or you can download the application on your computer by clicking one of the listed formats underneath the form's title below.
APPLICATION TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS (FEE WAIVER)
AUTOMATED FORMS INTERVIEW AVAILABLE!
There is an automated interview for applicants filling out the Fee Waiver. This interview will complete the fee waiver forms for you after you answer a series of questions. To use the interview, click here and select the "Clark County District Court Fee Waiver" interview. At the end of the interview, you will have to print your forms, sign them, and file them. This interview will only generate the Fee Waiver forms.
Complete the Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis carefully, providing all requested information in all blanks.
Step 5: Attach documents to your petition.
Gather the following documents and attach them to the back of your petition:
- A copy of your picture ID.
- A copy of the will, if there was one.
- A copy of the decedent's death certificate.
- The Affidavit of Entitlement.
- An affidavit filled out by you explaining why the people of equal or higher priority than you have not been noticed, if there are such people.
Step 6: File packet.
After you complete the petition and order and the packet is ready with all the attachments, submit the entire packet with the Eighth Judicial District Court. The clerk's office where you can submit the packet is on the 3rd floor of the Regional Justice Center at 200 Lewis Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89155. There is no fee to file.
Step 7: Check status of case.
After filing your petition, you should continuously check the court docket to see if anyone has filed an objection. You can go to the Eighth Judicial District Court website and search under "Family Records" by the decedent's name to see if anyone has filed an objection. If an objection gets filed, the court might set the matter for hearing. Note that hearing date and attend the hearing. However, if there are no objections, generally the court will not set the matter for hearing.
You should also continuously check the probate court's matter listing or "Pickup List" to see if the court has granted your petition. Go to the probate webpage and click on the link for "The District Court Probate Pickup List." Search for the decedent's name under the column "Name of the Estate" then follow it to the "Status" column. If your petition has been granted, you will see the list will reflect "OK," and that means the judge has signed off on the order.
Step 8: Get Order.
Once the judge has signed off on the order, you can wait for the order to be mailed to you. If there are no objections filed to your petition, you can expect to receive the order in the mail about 3 to 4 weeks after filing your petition. You will receive a plain order as well as a certified copy of the order in the mail. You can also pick up the order at the clerk's office on the 3rd floor where you filed. Once you have the order, you can use it to present to the agencies who are holding the property that you want turned over to you. Some agencies might request to see the certified copy of the order before turning property over to you.
