How Do I File for Probate in New Mexico?
New Mexico's statewide informal applications (4B-302 with a will; 4B-301 without) are print-only PDFs with no fillable fields, and formal probate has no statewide form, so this tool cannot complete them; the application is filed on the official 4B forms.
Opening an estate in New Mexico
New Mexico is a UPC state with a true informal/registrar-style track in county Probate Court, but the statewide informal applications (4B-302 with a will, 4B-301 without) are print-only flat PDFs with no interactive AcroForm fields (re-confirmed 2026-07-13 by qpdf inspection of all four judiciary-served copies: zero /AcroForm, /Widget, /FT, XFA), and formal probate is a typed district-court pleading with no statewide fill-in form, so our field-fill tool cannot complete them and an automated fill is not viable without a text-overlay layer; the page off-ramps to the official 4B forms and counsel. The process is otherwise pro se friendly (no bond in informal proceedings, uniform forms across all 33 county probate courts, flat $30 fee), and probate may be filed between 5 days and 3 years after death (§45-3-108). Small estates under $50,000 with no real property bypass appointment via a notarized statutory successor affidavit (§45-3-1201). NOTE: because the form TEXT is statewide and Supreme Court-prescribed, New Mexico is a credible future candidate for `generate` mode (typeset-official, reproducing the 4B-301/4B-302 text verbatim) — the blocker is purely the absence of AcroForm fields, not pro-se posture or an attorney mandate.
A simpler path may apply
New Mexico offers a small-estate or summary procedure that can transfer property without a full grant of Letters when the estate qualifies. This is often the honest self-service path where full administration is not.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. New Mexico permits a self-represented person to open an estate and apply for Letters. What we do not do is produce the document for you here: new Mexico's statewide informal applications (4B-302 with a will; 4B-301 without) are print-only PDFs with no fillable fields, and formal probate has no statewide form, so this tool cannot complete them; the application is filed on the official 4B forms.
New Mexico offers a small-estate or summary procedure that can transfer property without a full grant of Letters when the estate qualifies. The will vs no-will split is captured by two different informal application forms (4B-302 / 4B-301) rather than checkboxes on one form. Informal proceedings may be opened in either the county Probate Court or the District Court; contested matters, heir determinations, and formal testacy proceedings must proceed in District Court (§45-3-402). Probate is filed in the Probate Court of the county where the decedent was domiciled at death, any time between 5 days and 3 years after death; after 3 years a case may still be filed for the limited purpose of transferring title to real property to the heirs (§45-3-108). The 4B applications carry the three-year rule on their face: 4B-302 ¶10 recites "The decedent died more than one hundred twenty (120) hours ago. It has not been more than three (3) years since the decedent’s death," and 4B-301 ¶8 offers the alternate election "The decedent died more than three (3) years ago, but an informal appointment is necessary to confirm title in the successors to the estate of the decedent." The 2013 Probate Judges Manual still uses the pre-2019 form numbers (4B-101/102/103/104/105); those were recompiled to the current 4B-301/302/303/304/305 numbers by Supreme Court Order No. 18-8300-014 (effective Dec. 31, 2018), confirmed in the current form Use Notes.
County Probate Court handles decedents' estates in New Mexico. Clerk of the Probate Court issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration after the court grants the petition.
Letters Testamentary are issued when there is a will (to the executor); Letters of Administration are issued when there is no will (to an administrator). They give the personal representative authority to act for the estate.
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