Simplified route
$50,000
Collection of personal property by affidavit; usable 30 days after death.
Eligibility and caveatsNew Mexico estate administration
New Mexico probate: rules, process, costs, executor fees and deadlines
Small-estate limit: $50,000
This guide explains probate in New Mexico: New Mexico divides probate between county Probate Courts and state District Courts. Informal probate and appointment may begin in either, at a $30 statewide Probate Court fee (§ 34-7-14); formal estate proceedings are exclusively in District Court, at the $117 civil docket fee (§ 34-6-40). The $50,000 successor affidavit itself does not perfect real-estate title.
Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch October 3, 2026.
Answer first
New Mexico simplified probate route
Up to $50,000; usable 30 days after death. Source: NMSA 1978 § 45-3-1201.
Collection of personal property by affidavitScreen a specific New Mexico estate with the calculators on the small-estate page and the executor-fee page, or compare states in the full estate navigator.
What the reviewed rules establish
Court cost
Varies locally
2 published schedules, itemised on the filing-cost page.
Filing-cost detailExecutor compensation
Court-reviewed
No percentage schedule; the court decides what is reasonable. Source: NMSA 1978 § 45-3-719.
Compensation detailCreditor deadline
Multiple triggers
NMSA 1978 §§ 45-3-801, -803 (New Mexico Compilation Commission / NMOneSource; reviewed August 9, 2026)
Timeline and creditor detailsNew Mexico decision map
The four facts that change the New Mexico route
Each New Mexico answer below links to the page that sets out its source.
| Question | Recorded New Mexico answer |
|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Collection of personal property by affidavit |
| What property and basis count? | probate property within the rule's stated scope; net of enforceable liens and encumbrances. |
| What is the amount screen? | $50,000 |
| What is the time or deadline record? | 30 days after death; creditor deadlines: separate clocks by triggering event |
| What does the cost record establish? | 2 published schedules; the proceeding and value basis control the total. |
| What does compensation use? | Reasonable compensation set by the court, measured on the estate accounting. |
Limits and unresolved costs
- NMOneSource’s HTML item is a shell and the official PDF text has highly spaced extraction; assertions must match the harvested spacing exactly.
- The official PDF exposes no edition-level currentness marker; per-section amendment histories are pinned instead (34-7-14 reenacted 2023; 34-6-40 last amended 2009).
- District Court's $117 fee is the base civil docket fee; judicial districts running an ADR program add a $15 surcharge (§ 34-6-45) and rule-set electronic-services fees (§ 34-6-48) may also attach, so the delivered total in some districts exceeds $117.
Continue
What New Mexico courts publish
Every link is probed before each release.
- Court resourceNew Mexico courts by countyNew Mexico Courts
Official directory for locating county Probate Courts and judicial-district courts.
- Forms indexForm 4B-302, application for informal probate and appointmentNew Mexico Courts
Official statewide form page for an informal testate probate application.
- Self-help centreForm 4B-101, opening and closing a Probate Court caseNew Mexico Courts
Official Probate Court process flow chart.
Limits on court material
- New Mexico has a dual track: county Probate Courts and District Courts share original jurisdiction over informal probate/appointment, while District Court has exclusive original jurisdiction over formal estate proceedings.
- The opening fee is set statewide by statute for each court: $30 in the county Probate Court (NMSA 1978 § 34-7-14) and a $117 civil docket fee in District Court (NMSA 1978 § 34-6-40). Use the state directory to reach the correct court.
New Mexico primary sources
- NMSA 1978 § 45-3-1201 — NMSA 1978 § 45-3-1201, collection by affidavit
- NMSA 1978 § 45-3-719 — NMSA 1978 § 45-3-719, personal-representative compensation
- NMSA 1978 §§ 45-3-801, -803 — NMSA 1978 §§ 45-3-801 and 45-3-803, creditor claims
- NMSA 1978 § 34-7-14 — NMSA 1978 § 34-7-14 — Fees of probate court
- NMSA 1978 § 34-6-40 — NMSA 1978 § 34-6-40 — Finance; fees (district court docket fee)
- NMSA 1978 § 45-1-302 — NMSA 1978 § 45-1-302, district and probate jurisdiction
Every quotation, edition label and machine check is on the New Mexico source record.
New Mexico record: 6/6 verified, 18 matched checks, latest source re-fetch October 3, 2026. Source record · method · report a correction