NV · Will guide
Nevada will requirements (two witnesses, on paper, in your presence)
You're going to die. Nevada will let you get fancy about it. The state has an electronic-will statute, a holographic-will statute, and a paper statute. This page is the paper one.
NRS 133.040: no will executed in this State, other than an electronic will or a holographic will mentioned in the chapter, is valid unless it is in writing, signed by you or by an attending person at your express direction, and attested by at least two competent witnesses who subscribe their names to the will in your presence.
Two is the validity count. "Two other witnesses" shows up later, and only because a devise to a subscribing witness is void without them. That is a gift problem inside the word devise. It is not a secret three-witness will. And the self-proof form's line about witnesses signing in front of each other is the form, not 133.040.
The short version
How to sign a will in Nevada
Product path is the paper will in NRS 133.040.
- Put the will in writing.
- Sign it, or have an attending person sign at your express direction. Do not stretch "attending" into a remote helper, and do not drop "express."
- At least two competent witnesses subscribe their names in your presence.
The section does not require each-other presence, a request, or a spoken declaration. Those words are in the NRS 133.050 forms. Do not read the form backward into 133.040. NRS 133.085 exists. This page does not walk it, list authentication methods, or explain custodians. NRS 133.050(4) says to note audio-video appearance, and it points at NRS 133.088. Fetched 133.040 does not define presence as a video call. NRS 133.100: an oral will is not valid. NRS 133.045 is a separate list for some tangible personal property. It is not a will.
Nevada will witnesses
Two competent witnesses, subscribing in your presence, satisfy 133.040.
NRS 133.060: all devises to a subscribing witness are void unless there are two other competent subscribing witnesses. The word is devise. This page does not broaden it to every gift. If a bank account is the thing you are worried about, ask a Nevada lawyer whether 133.060 reaches it. Two witnesses who take no devise avoid the question. Validity stays two. "Two other" is the condition for keeping a devise to a witness.
NRS 133.070: a mere charge for payment of debts does not stop a creditor from being a competent witness.
Does a Nevada will need to be notarized
For NRS 133.040: no.
NRS 133.050 lets an attesting witness sign a declaration under penalty of perjury, or an affidavit before an oath officer in or out of Nevada, written on the will or attached. The court accepts it as if taken before the court. Neither path is what makes the will valid.
The forms recite that the witnesses subscribed in your presence and each other's, at your request, after you declared the will. That script is the proof statement. 133.040 does not contain it.
NRS 133.055: a signature on a self-proving affidavit or declaration attached to the will and executed at the same time counts as a signature on the will if necessary to prove execution. It does not drop the witness count and does not validate an electronic will.
Nevada will mistakes that hurt later
- Leading with electronic wills. The ceremony here is paper, NRS 133.040.
- Dropping the date from NRS 133.090, or requiring every word in pen. Signature, date, and material provisions. Not Oklahoma's entire document.
- Treating the self-proof form's each-other line as 133.040.
- A devise to one of only two witnesses. 133.060 voids that devise unless two other competent witnesses sign. Validity is still two.
- Reading 133.055 as permission to skip a witness.
- Teaching a video call as presence for a paper will.
Are holographic wills valid in Nevada
NRS 133.090: signature, date, and material provisions in the testator's hand, witnessed or notarized or not. No other form. In or out of this state. Same force as a formal will. Drop the date and you have described Utah. Demand every word in pen and you have described Oklahoma §54. 133.090 is real and it is not the product. Killswitch prints NRS 133.040. NRS 133.100 still refuses an oral will.
How Killswitch helps with a Nevada will
Killswitch drafts the will and prints NRS 133.040 instructions: writing, your signature or an attending person at your express direction, and two competent witnesses who subscribe in your presence. The self-proof each-other line stays in the form, not in the validity rule. NRS 133.060 is stated with the word devise. Electronic wills stay off the ceremony.
Free to write and read. Pay once for the finished copy. You still get two witnesses into your presence. We do not notarize. We are not your lawyer.
Free to write and read. Pay once for the finished copy. Signing instructions for your state print on the document.
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Frequently asked questions
How many witnesses does a Nevada will need
At least two competent witnesses, subscribing in the testator's presence, for a paper will that is not electronic and not holographic (NRS 133.040). Three is not the validity count. "Two other" witnesses is the NRS 133.060 condition for keeping a devise to a subscribing witness.
Do Nevada will witnesses have to watch each other sign
Not for validity. The self-proving forms in NRS 133.050 recite each-other presence and a request. That recital is the form, not 133.040.
Does a will need to be notarized in Nevada
Not for a paper will. A witness may sign a declaration under penalty of perjury or an affidavit (NRS 133.050). NRS 133.055 can count a same-time signature on that attachment if necessary to prove execution. It does not drop the witness count.
Can a beneficiary witness a Nevada will
Devises to a subscribing witness are void unless two other competent subscribing witnesses sign (NRS 133.060). The statute says devise. This page does not broaden that word to every gift. A debt charge does not disqualify a creditor (NRS 133.070).
Are holographic wills valid in Nevada
NRS 133.090: signature, date, and material provisions in the testator's hand, witnessed or not. The date is required. Every word need not be handwritten. That is not the paper ceremony Killswitch prints.
Are electronic wills or oral wills on this page
Nevada has an electronic-will statute, NRS 133.085. This page does not explain how to make one. A nuncupative or oral will is not valid (NRS 133.100).
Sources
NV will
Start your Nevada will in plain English.
Free to write and read. Pay once for the finished copy. Signing instructions for your state print on the document.
Killswitch is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. This page is educational information about Nevada statutes, not advice about your situation. Laws change. Read the cited sources and talk to a licensed attorney if your estate is complicated (business, trust, fight already in progress, or anything that already has lawyers in it). We put signing instructions on your document in plain English. You still have to follow your state's rules when you sign.
