New Mexico timeline
New Mexico probate timeline: the 30-day wait and creditor deadlines
The simplified route starts 30 days after death.
New Mexico creditor deadlines are set out below against the event each one runs from.
Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch October 3, 2026.
The one date this page can source
The collection of personal property by affidavit route requires 30 days to elapse from the date of death. This is a precondition: the affidavit or petition cannot be presented before it runs, regardless of how straightforward the estate is.
45-3-1201. Collection of personal property by affidavit. A. Thirty days after the death of a decedent, any person indebted to the decedent or having possession of tangible personal property or an instrument evidencing a debt, obligation, stock or chose in action belonging to the decedent shall make payment of the indebtedness or deliver the tangible personal property or an instrument evidencing a debt, obligation, stock or chose in action to a person claiming to be the successor of the decedent upon being presented an affidavit made by or on behalf of the successor stating that: (1) the value of the entire estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000); (2) thirty days have elapsed since the death of the decedent;NMSA 1978 § 45-3-1201 — New Mexico Compilation Commission / NMOneSource; History: 1953 Comp., § 32A-3-1201, enacted by Laws 1975, ch. 257, § 3-1201; 1983, ch. 194, § 8; 1995, ch. 210, § 48; 2011, ch. 124, § 50..
Creditor deadlines
- From publication of notice to creditors
- Four months after first publication; notice is published once a week for three successive weeks.
- From actual notice to a known creditor
- Later of four months after published notice or 60 days after mailing or other delivery.
- From appointment of the representative
- Appointment permits notice, but no separate appointment-based bar is stated in §§ 45-3-801 and -803.
- Outer limit, running from death
- One year after death for predeath claims, if not barred earlier.
How these combine. New Mexico has separate four-month publication, later-of-publication-or-60-day actual-notice, and one-year-from-death outer limits. A single days field would misstate the trigger framework.
45-3-801. Notice to creditors. A. A personal representative upon appointment may publish a notice to creditors once a week for three successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the probate proceeding is pending, announcing the personal representative's appointment and address and notifying creditors of the estate to present their claims within four months after the date of the first publication of the notice or be forever barred. B. A personal representative may give written notice by mail or other delivery to a creditor, announcing the personal representative's appointment and address and notifying the creditor to present the creditor's claim within four months after the published notice, if given as provided in Subsection A of this section, or within sixty days after the mailing or other delivery of the notice, whichever is later,NMSA 1978 §§ 45-3-801, -803 — New Mexico Compilation Commission / NMOneSource; History: 1953 Comp., § 32A-3-801, enacted by Laws 1975, ch. 257, § 3-801; 1993, ch. 174, § 71; repealed and reenacted by Laws 2016, ch. 69, § 715..
General sequence: first week, how long probate takes.
New Mexico record: 6/6 verified, 18 matched checks, latest source re-fetch October 3, 2026. Source record · method · report a correction