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
In New Mexico, estates up to $50,000 can use the small-estate route; executor pay is whatever the court finds reasonable (NMSA 1978 § 45-3-719); and claims are due four months after first publication, or 60 days after mailed notice if later, a year after death at most. 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. Sources rechecked October 3, 2026. This page last revised .
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 affidavitNo combined New Mexico probate total
The Probate Court (informal) / District Court (formal) filing charge (NMSA 1978 § 34-7-14 and NMSA 1978 § 34-6-40) differs by proceeding or by a value the statute defines. Executor pay is reasonable compensation (NMSA 1978 § 45-3-719), not a rate. Each side in full: New Mexico probate filing cost and New Mexico executor fees.
Screen 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 detailsStatutes read in full for New Mexico
Read on the enacting state’s own site, with the date each was read.
| Citation | What reading it established | Read on |
|---|---|---|
| NMSA 1978 §§ 45-3-719, 45-3-721 (with compilation annotations) | New Mexico dropped its percentage formula in 1995, so older figures describe repealed law — representative pay note | 2026-10-13 |
New 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
- New Mexico's official PDF prints the statutes with extra spaces inside some words; the quotations keep that spacing exactly as printed.
- The official PDF shows no edition date, so each section's own amendment history is given instead (§ 34-7-14 reenacted in 2023; § 34-6-40 last amended in 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
Each link goes to the court’s own page and is checked before every 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
Each rule on the New Mexico pages comes from one of these 6 sources; the citation opens the publisher’s own text. All were last rechecked October 3, 2026.
Simplified-procedure rule
NMSA 1978 § 45-3-1201, collection by affidavit.
Executor compensation rule
NMSA 1978 § 45-3-719, personal-representative compensation.
- A personal representative is entitled to reasonable pay for the work; the section names no rate.
- A fee set by the will can be given up before qualifying, when there is no contract with the decedent about pay, in exchange for reasonable pay; any part of the fee can also be waived by a written renunciation filed with the court.
Creditor deadline rule
NMSA 1978 §§ 45-3-801, -803, NMSA 1978 §§ 45-3-801 and 45-3-803, creditor claims.
Court cost rule
NMSA 1978 § 34-7-14, Fees of probate court.
Court cost rule
NMSA 1978 § 34-6-40, Finance; fees (district court docket fee).
Court and venue rule
NMSA 1978 § 45-1-302, district and probate jurisdiction.
Sources rechecked October 3, 2026: New Mexico source list · how sources are checked · report a correction