Competency of settlor; writing required; circumstances when writing meets requirements for trust to be created for benefit of settlor; settlors ability to hold other powers.
Nev. Rev. Stat. § 166.040
in effect1. Any person competent by law to execute a will or deed may, by writing only, duly executed, by will, conveyance or other writing, create a spendthrift trust in real, personal or mixed property for the benefit of:
(a) A person other than the settlor;
(b) The settlor if the writing is irrevocable, does not require that any part of the income or principal of the trust be distributed to the settlor, and was not intended to hinder, delay or defraud known creditors; or
(c) Both the settlor and another person if the writing meets the requirements of paragraph (b).
2. For the purposes of this section, a writing meets the requirements of paragraph (b) of subsection 1 even if under the terms of the writing:
(a) The settlor may prevent a distribution from the trust;
(b) The settlor holds a special lifetime or testamentary power of appointment that cannot be exercised in favor of the settlor, the settlors estate, a creditor of the settlor or a creditor of the settlors estate;
(c) The settlor is a beneficiary of a trust that qualifies as a charitable remainder trust pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 664, or any successor provision, even if the settlor has the right to release the settlors retained interest in such a trust, in whole or in part, in favor of one or more of the remainder beneficiaries of the trust;
(d) The settlor is authorized or entitled to receive a percentage of the value of the trust each year as specified in the trust instrument of the initial value of the trust assets or their value determined from time to time pursuant to the trust instrument, but not exceeding:
(1) The amount that may be defined as income pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 643(b); or
(2) With respect to benefits from any qualified retirement plan or any eligible deferred compensation plan, the minimum required distribution as defined in 26 U.S.C. § 4974(b);
(e) The settlor is authorized or entitled to receive income or principal from a grantor retained annuity trust paying out a qualified annuity interest within the meaning of 26 C.F.R. § 25.2702-3(b) or a grantor retained unitrust paying out a qualified unitrust interest within the meaning of 26 C.F.R. § 25.2702-3(c);
(f) The settlor is authorized or entitled to use real property held under a qualified personal residence trust as described in 26 C.F.R. § 25.2702-5(c), and any successor provision, or the settlor may possess or actually possesses a qualified annuity interest within the meaning of that term as described in 26 C.F.R. § 25.2702-3(b), and any successor provision;
(g) The settlor is authorized to receive income or principal from the trust, but only subject to the discretion of another person; or
(h) The settlor is authorized to use real or personal property owned by the trust.
3. Except for the power of the settlor to make distributions to himself or herself without the consent of another person, the provisions of this section shall not be construed to prohibit the settlor of a spendthrift trust from holding other powers under the trust, whether or not the settlor is a cotrustee, including, without limitation, the power to remove and replace a trustee, direct trust investments and execute other management powers.
4. As used in this section, remainder beneficiary has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 164.785 .
Source: NV Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/NRS-166.htmlFetched: 10/4/2026