Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Nevada

First of all I am sorry for your loss. 3 weeks may seem like a long time but for estate administration things do move very slowly. You should know that it sometimes takes up to 2 weeks to get a death certificate and your cousin cannot really do anything without one except for secure assets of personal effects where your father lived.

Your cousin does have a duty to inform beneficiaries of their interest in an estate within a reasonable period of time. Three weeks is probably at the outside limit but still within a reasonable period of time considering the amount of the estate.

It is important that you understand what needs to be done in an estate so that you can see the pressures that are on the Executor or Trustee of an estate. They are responsible to see that all assets are secured, all bills are paid, all taxes are filed, all beneficiaries are notified, all businesses are kept running, all investments are immediately reviewed to secure quickly depreciating assets. This is just the starting point and it takes time and effort. The Executor or Trustee is burdened with a great deal of responsibility to the estate, to creditors and to beneficiaries and heirs.

There could be any number of reasons why this is taking time. It also depends upon how the assets are titled. If there is a Trust and there are assets in the name of the trust then the trust must be reviewed and all of the steps above must be intiated. This is the same for a Will except that with a Will a probate must be opened. This takes 4 to 6 weeks as the nominated Executor (also known as the Personal Representative) must hire an attorney to Petition the Court to open the probate. If that is the case you will have to be notified of the Petition.

Just because there is a will or a trust does not mean that you are a beneficiary. I do not want to alarm you and I do not know the relationship you had with your father. Sometimes, rarely, parents exclude children in a will and/or trust. If that is the case and everything is in the name of a trust, your cousin will not have to go to court and would not have to notify you. More often there is more than one beneficiary and the beneficiaries includes children.

If there were not will or trust at all, then the next of kin would inherit everything but a probate would still have to be opened.

I hope my answer is helpful. I would be happy to answer follow up question as this is my primary area of practice and has been for 20 years.

George D. Greenberg, Esq.