Nevada End of Life Guide

Advance Directives 

Advance Directives are legal documents that allow you to make known your end-of-life care ahead of time. The state of Nevada recognizes your right to decide the terms of your own medical treatment and to assign a person to make those decisions when you are not able to do so. 

Here are some important questions to consider before beginning this process:

• Is this document(s) state specific? No

• Does this document(s) need to be notarized? No

• Does this document(s) require witnesses? If so, how many?  Yes / 2

• Can you legally use Aging With Dignity's 5 Wishes Doc? Yes

There is a single Advance Directive form for Nevada that you can download by clicking the button below:

NEVADA ADVANCE DIRECTIVE FORM

(Source: NVLivingWill.com)

Death with Dignity

Death with Dignity laws allow the dying more control of their death and end-of-life decisions. These laws allow terminally-ill, able-minded state residents to request and receive prescription medication to hasten their death. 

In Nevada, Death with Dignity legislation has not been passed nor submitted under a House or Senate Bill. 

Designated Funeral Agent

Nevada law supports the appointment of a designated funeral agent to follow through on your written personal preferences (see below) or make funeral arrangements on your behalf if no written preferences are indicated.

Nevada law NRS 451.024  states that an individual can designate anyone "as the person with authority to order the buial of the human remains of the decedent in a legally valid document".

The appointment of a designated funeral agent will override the next-of-kin's usual authority and let the citizen designate whom he/she wants to control the disposition of his body.

Suggested wording for a NEVADA DESIGNATED FUNERAL AGENT Declaration from law NRS 451.024:

State of Nevada                    

County of __________________

Date _____________

 I, ___________________(person authorizing another person to order the burial or cremation of his or her human remains in the event of his or her death) do hereby designate ___________________ (person who is being authorized to order the burial or cremation of the human remains of a person in the event of his or her death) to order the disposition of my human remains upon my death.

Subscribed and sworn to before me this ___day of the month of _________. of the year ________

_______________________

      (Notary Public Signature)

Financial Assistance

Nevada has an indigent burial assistance program that is managed at a county level but not on a state level.

See our Financial Assistance Chart for more details.

Home Funeral

Home funerals, or family led funerals, are 100% legal in Nevada. Your family or appointed agent may care for the deceased and handle all your funeral arrangements and necessary paperwork (permits and certificates) without a funeral director:

Check with the National Home Funeral Alliance for up-to-date details on how to navigate home funerals in Nevada and when it is required to involve a licensed funeral director.

Personal Preference Law

Personal preference laws for body disposition obligate your survivors to follow your written [or verbal] personal preferences. This often goes hand-in-hand with designating a funeral agent to follow through with your funeral or body disposition preferences.

In Nevada, there is not a law obligating your survivors to follow your personal preferences. However, you can appoint a designated funeral agents who will be most likely to follow through on your wishes. We always recommend outlining your funeral preference in writing and sharing them with your designated funeral agent, next-of-kin, or spouse, giving you the best chance of having them seen through or upheld in the courts.