Estate Planning Laws in Nebraska.

Nebraska has adopted the Uniform Probate Code. Provides for informal, formal, and supervised probate administration.

A will must be in writing, signed by the testator (or by another at the testator's direction in the testator's conscious presence), and signed by at least 2 individuals within a reasonable time after they witnessed the signing or acknowledgment.

A will is valid as a holographic will if the signature and material portions are in the testator's handwriting, even without witnesses.

Personal property of a decedent with aggregate value not exceeding $50,000 may be transferred by affidavit 30 days after death, without formal probate.

Nebraska permits owners of real property to execute recorded TOD Deeds naming beneficiaries. Property passes automatically at death outside of probate.

A surviving spouse may elect against the will and take a percentage of the augmented estate based on length of marriage (under 1 year: 3%; 15+ years: 50%).

Nebraska is one of only a few states with an inheritance tax (not an estate tax). Rates depend on relationship: immediate relatives (parents, grandparents, siblings, children, grandchildren) 1% with a $100,000 exemption; remote relatives 11% with $40,000 exemption; non-relatives 15% with $25,000 exemption. Surviving spouses are fully exempt.

Nebraska's Rights of the Terminally Ill Act permits advance directives to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment. The Uniform Power of Attorney Act governs financial powers.