Divorce doesn’t just dissolve a marriage — it also disrupts estate plans that were built assuming the marriage would continue. In Nevada, divorce automatically revokes certain estate plan provisions in favor of an ex-spouse under NRS 111.781 and NRS 133.185, but automatic revocation does not reach all documents, and the gaps in automatic revocation can result in assets inadvertently passing to an ex-spouse after death. Every Las Vegas divorce client should work with their estate planning attorney after divorce is final to comprehensively update their will, revocable trust, beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance, durable power of attorney, and healthcare directive. Hauser Family Law advises Las Vegas divorce clients on the estate planning updates required after Nevada divorce and coordinates with estate planning counsel where appropriate.
Nevada Automatic Revocation Under NRS 111.781 and NRS 133.185, Beneficiary Designation Gaps, Retirement Account ERISA Preemption, Trust Amendment After Divorce, and Post-Divorce Estate Plan Checklist
Nevada’s automatic revocation statute (NRS 133.185) provides that a divorce or annulment automatically revokes any disposition or appointment of property made under a will to the former spouse, and any provision in the will nominating the former spouse as executor or trustee. This means that if a Nevada decedent dies with a will that leaves everything to their ex-spouse and names the ex-spouse as executor, Nevada law automatically treats those provisions as if the former spouse predeceased the testator — the property passes to the alternative beneficiaries named in the will, or if none, to the intestate heirs. NRS 111.781 provides similar automatic revocation for revocable trusts — divorce automatically revokes any disposition to a former spouse under a revocable trust. However, these automatic revocations do NOT apply to: beneficiary designations on life insurance policies (insurance contracts are governed by contract law, not the probate code); beneficiary designations on IRAs, 401(k)s, and other retirement accounts governed by ERISA (where the named beneficiary designation controls regardless of divorce — confirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in Egelhoff v. Egelhoff); payable-on-death (POD) designations on bank accounts; transfer-on-death (TOD) designations on brokerage accounts; and joint tenancy with right of survivorship (JTWROS) title on real property. These non-probate transfers pass directly to the named beneficiary or surviving joint tenant regardless of the divorce decree or the Nevada automatic revocation statute — creating the risk that a former spouse receives retirement accounts or life insurance proceeds because the decedent never updated their beneficiary designations after divorce. The post-divorce estate plan update checklist for Las Vegas clients includes: executing a new will naming current beneficiaries and a new executor; amending or restating any revocable living trust to remove the ex-spouse as beneficiary and successor trustee; updating beneficiary designations on all IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and other retirement accounts directly with the plan administrator; updating beneficiary designations on all life insurance policies; changing POD designations on bank accounts and TOD designations on brokerage accounts; executing a new durable power of attorney naming a new agent; and executing a new advance healthcare directive naming a new healthcare surrogate. Hauser Family Law advises Las Vegas divorce clients on the post-divorce estate planning steps required to ensure that their estate plan reflects their current intentions rather than a marriage that no longer exists.