If you have assets, or you have family or friends with assets that you expect to inherit, it’s good to know about probate. When someone passes away, probate is the legal process for paying creditors and distributing assets to beneficiaries. Probate could involve validating a will, identifying property and determining its value. More people are moving to Clark County, more people are dying in Clark County, and as a result, the already large probate caseload is growing in Clark County. To keep up with the growing caseload, The Eighth Judicial District Court has added a second probate commissioner, so those who have lost a loved one can get timely resolution of the estate.
Russel Geist was hired after a rigorous hiring process. Originally from Alliance, Nebraska, Russel earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. After moving to Las Vegas, Russel worked in the banking industry for an international company while earning his Juris Doctorate from the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and continued his legal education by obtaining his master of laws degree in taxation from the Dedman School of Law at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.
Prior to joining the court, Russel’s private practice focused on helping clients with Nevada asset protection and dynasty trusts, advanced estate and gift tax planning techniques, and generational wealth transfer planning for high-net-worth clients. As a partner at a regional law firm, Russel handled complex trust and probate administration matters in addition to litigation involving trusts and estates representing both fiduciaries and beneficiaries. Most recently, Russel served as director of fiduciary operations at a boutique trust company. Russel has served the community as legal counsel of the Congressional Award Council of Nevada.
Russel joins the current Probate Commissioner, James Fontano, who was appointed in October 2022. Prior to taking the bench, Commissioner Fontano was a partner in the law firm Heaton Fontano, Ltd., where he practiced primarily in business litigation and transaction, estate planning, and probate matters. Commissioner Fontano is a graduate of the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University and started his legal career as former District Court Judge Valerie Adair’s first law clerk. Commissioner Fontano also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Helping Hands of Vegas Valley.
To get a brief introduction to probate and learn some probate jargon, visit the Civil Law Self-Help Center:
https://www.civillawselfhelpcenter.org/self-help/probate/122-intro-to-probate
To get into more detail on Nevada law for probate visit: