Nevada gives a personal representative 120 days after letters issue to file an inventory of the estate with values. For a Henderson house, the questions are whether that value should come from an appraisal, and whether a later sale will need a newer one.

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Is an appraisal required in a Nevada probate?

Not in every estate.

The inventory. Under NRS 144.010, the personal representative lists the decedent's assets that have come to their possession or knowledge, with an "appraisement or record of value", and files it with the clerk. The clock is 120 days from the issuance of letters; the court can allow more time for good cause, and if every interested person agrees in writing, the requirement can be waived.
Community or separate. That same inventory has to sort the estate, so far as anyone can tell, into community property and the decedent's separate property (NRS 144.040).
The appraiser. NRS 144.020 lets the personal representative hire a "qualified and disinterested appraiser" when an asset's date-of-death value is open to reasonable doubt; cash-equivalent assets such as bank deposits go on a verified record of value. Where it is clear nothing will have to be sold for debts and expenses or divided in kind, the personal representative can petition for leave to file a verified record of value or, if no interested person is harmed, for a waiver.

For a Henderson house, whether the value is genuinely uncertain is the personal representative's call, made with the estate's attorney.

How Clark County's probate court looks at values

Henderson estates opened in Clark County come before the Eighth Judicial District Court. Its Probate Commissioners, court-appointed hearing masters, handle probate and trust administration matters, and filings are made through the District Court Clerk.

The court's probate page draws a practical line. For an initial petition, or a petition to set an estate aside, it accepts online comparatives or values from sites such as Zillow or Redfin. Once the estate reaches the inventory and record of value, the page calls for one of two things: an appraisal, or an ex parte petition and order allowing a verified record of value under NRS 144.020(4).

Smaller estates have shorter routes. Senate Bill 404 of 2025 lifted the ceilings: the court may set aside an estate worth no more than $150,000 without administration (NRS 146.070), and may order summary administration when the estate, after encumbrances, is not over $500,000 (NRS 145.040). The estate's attorney will know which route applies.

When the house will be sold

A sale can bring a second value with a later date.

Sales that need the court's confirmation. NRS 148.260 bars the court from confirming a private sale of real property unless two things are true: the price offered is fair market value, and an appraisal was done within 1 year before the sale. The judge can excuse the appraisal for good cause, or with the consents the statute lists. If it is excused, the personal representative may use the property's assessed value for taxation.
Independent administration with full authority. When the court has given the personal representative full authority under the Independent Administration of Estates Act, NRS 143.380 switches off the confirmation requirements for the sale, with one exception: a price under 90 percent of the appraised value. That sale goes ahead only with written consent from every interested person, and then the court must confirm it.

Put simply, a Henderson estate that sells a house can need a date-of-death value for the inventory and a current value for the sale. The estate's attorney decides which route the sale takes.

Three things a Henderson probate value depends on

The date

The inventory asks about the day of death. A private sale that needs confirmation asks for an appraisal from within the year before the sale. The estate's attorney should tell you which one this assignment carries.

The condition

Estate houses are often emptied, cleaned or repaired before listing. A date-of-death value describes the house before those changes, which is why dated photos and receipts matter.

The audience

The court file, a sale, a buyout between heirs and an adviser's records may each need different reporting. Settle the intended users at the outset.

The date-of-death value in practice

The appraisal is retrospective: its effective date is in the past. Comparable sales and market conditions are researched for the period around the death, not taken from today's market, and the report states any assumptions the records force.

A tax bill is not an appraisal. The Clark County Assessor assesses all property every year, but the number on a Nevada tax bill is computed, not observed: the statute values the lot at its full cash value and prices the house as the cost of replacing it, less depreciation (NRS 361.227). That makes it a parcel record, not a date-of-death market value. The deed history sits with the Clark County Recorder.

Ask your tax adviser how the value will be used

For heirs, the IRS generally treats the date-of-death fair market value as the new basis (IRS explanation of inherited-property basis). A different date is used only when the executor elects the alternate valuation date on a federal estate tax return. Nevada imposes no inheritance tax and has had no estate tax filing for deaths since January 1, 2005. No federal inheritance tax exists either; the federal tax falls on the estate itself, and only above that year's threshold. The attorney or tax adviser decides what gets filed. No appraisal comes with a promised tax outcome or guaranteed court acceptance.

What the estate's file should include

The date letters were issued, which starts the 120-day inventory period
The estate attorney's instructions: effective date, intended users, inventory or sale
The property address and parcel number
The recorded deed
What the house looked like at the date of death, and any work done since
Who holds the keys, and whether anyone lives there
Any listing or offer, if a sale is planned

Four steps from request to report

Scope. You describe the house and the estate's purpose, and give the effective date, the report's users and your deadline; fee and expected delivery are confirmed before any work.
Access and records. Entry is arranged, and you share what exists about the house on the effective date and afterward.
Research. Sales from around the date of death, and the market they happened in, are compared with the subject house, and the report sets out why they support the value.
Review. Go through the effective date, stated use, users and limiting conditions, and point out any factual error about the property.

Cost and timing for a probate appraisal

Ask for a written scope, fee and delivery estimate. Let us know when letters were issued and whether a sale is planned, so the work fits inside the inventory period. Property type, records, access and a past effective date affect fee and schedule.

For an inheritance outside probate, see estate appraisals; for heirs' basis, IRS step-up appraisals; or the full list of Henderson appraisal services.

Share the property and the date

Tell us the Henderson address, who will rely on the report, and the date the estate needs valued. We will go over the scope with you before anything is ordered.

Request a probate appraisal quote · Call (702) 905-7023

Each Nevada rule is linked to its official text. A general guide to Nevada probate appraisals: not legal or tax advice, and not a valuation of any property.