Does community property have to go through probate? What is community property?

Nevada is one of a handful of states that has community property laws that impact married couples. Community property laws say that property and assets owned by a married couple belong to each spouse equally, unless they have a written agreement like a prenuptial agreement that states otherwise or another exception applies (for example, when a spouse inherits property or money during the marriage, it is separate property unless he or she combines it with community property).

Community property must go through probate unless it is titled “Spouse 1 and Spouse 2, community property with a right of survivorship,” or is titled in a joint trust. Title that simply says, “Spouse 1 and Spouse 2, community property” must go through probate to change title into the name of the surviving spouse.