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New Mexico route screening

New Mexico small-estate limit: $50,000

After 30 days, a successor may use an affidavit if the entire estate, wherever located and less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $50,000 and no personal-representative application is pending or granted. The affidavit collects tangible personal property and cannot perfect title to real estate. Section 45-3-1203 separately permits summary distribution when the net estate does not exceed enumerated allowances and administration, last-illness, and funeral expenses.

Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.

Threshold evidence and currency

What the reviewed source establishes

Currency: No later session-law supersession is recorded in the reviewed source set for this threshold. The edition/currentness label below is the basis for the published figure.

Controlling citation: NMSA 1978 § 45-3-1201 — 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..

Verbatim threshold text from that source:

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;
1. Where and when
Private by design: entries stay in this browser.
2. What they left

Ownership determines whether an asset usually enters probate. Choose “Not sure” when title or beneficiary status has not been confirmed.

Asset 1

Asset 2

Your working estimate

New Mexico estate snapshot

Route check

More information is needed

Counted probate estate: not yet counted

A valid date of death is required before any waiting period can be tested.

Gross probate propertyNot yet counted
Court chargeMore information neededInformal probate and appointment in county Probate Court (NMSA 1978 § 34-7-14)2 asset entries have no value entered. A blank amount is not treated as zero, so the charge cannot be computed.More information neededFormal or contested estate proceeding in District Court (NMSA 1978 § 34-6-40)2 asset entries have no value entered. A blank amount is not treated as zero, so the charge cannot be computed.Court charges only, for the proceeding named beside each figure. That proceeding is not always the route screened above.
Scheduled executor compensationMore information needed2 asset entries have no value entered.A personal representative is entitled to reasonable compensation, not a percentage schedule. If a will provides compensation and no contract with the decedent controls, the representative may renounce the will provision before qualifying and take reasonable compensation, or renounce all or part of the fee.

This route check is general information, not legal advice. It does not test every eligibility condition, creditor issue, will provision, local fee, or asset-title fact.

What the New Mexico amount screen counts

The headline limit is not a count of everything the person owned. It is a test of the property and deductions named by this procedure. Classify title and beneficiary status first; property that transfers by a valid survivorship right, beneficiary designation, or funded trust follows its own transfer path.

This screen counts the probate estate within the statute’s stated scope, not merely cash accounts. Solely owned real property can therefore affect the amount test. That does not necessarily mean the same simplified procedure transfers the house; counting scope and transfer authority are separate questions.

The reviewed value basis subtracts enforceable liens and encumbrances. Enter the asset value and the lien separately. An unsecured bill is not a lien against an asset unless this state separately requires it as an input.

Timing and facts the threshold cannot answer

The reviewed route requires 30 days after death before the affidavit or petition can be used. That is a minimum timing condition, not a promise that the institution or court completes the transfer on that day.

What does not qualify for this route

  • An estate above $50,000 does not qualify for this value-based route, unless the separately described alternate route applies.
  • Property that transfers by survivorship, beneficiary designation, or a funded trust is not probate property for this screen.
  • Filing before 30 days have elapsed from death fails the reviewed timing condition.
  • A pending or completed personal-representative appointment, a will condition, creditor issue, or family-rights condition can disqualify the route even when the amount appears within the reviewed rule.

Move from the screen to the official New Mexico path

Assemble the death date, will status, asset titles, beneficiary confirmations, values, enforceable liens, family facts, and any prior court filing before signing anything. Then use the court publisher’s current artifact for the selected route.

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.

If the state publishes no statewide form, that is a finding—not a missing link. Contact the Probate Court (informal) / District Court (formal) or clerk in the proper county for its packet and current filing instructions rather than borrowing an unofficial form from another county.

Questions to resolve before relying on “likely qualifies”

  • 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.
  • Confirm deed, account title, beneficiary, and trust ownership from the actual records.
  • Confirm whether a will, prior appointment, creditor issue, or family allowance changes the route.
  • Confirm the official form, fee, copy count, and filing method with the receiving court or institution.
Use this as a starting point.

This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.

New Mexico eligibility map

What the New Mexico simplified route still requires

The New Mexico threshold is one screen, not a complete legal conclusion. This map pairs the recorded ceiling with the property scope, deductions, date, and court artifact that have to be checked before relying on a likely-qualifies result.

QuestionRecorded New Mexico answerCarry into the case
What route is being screened?Collection of personal property by affidavitConfirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route.
What property and basis count?probate property within the rule's stated scope; net of enforceable liens and encumbrances.Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately.
What is the amount screen?$50,000Use the counted property, not a bank-balance shortcut.
What is the time or deadline record?30 days after death; 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.Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number.
What does the cost record establish?2 published schedules; the proceeding and value basis control the total.Ask the Probate Court (informal) / District Court (formal) about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings.
What does compensation use?A personal representative is entitled to reasonable compensation, not a percentage schedule. If a will provides compensation and no contract with the decedent controls, the representative may renounce the will provision before qualifying and take reasonable compensation, or renounce all or part of the fee. The relevant base is the estate accounting.Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate.

Eligibility inputs

The New Mexico screen is made of these inputs

A threshold is useful only when the amount is measured the way the source describes. Keep this table with the asset worksheet so an empty or misclassified field cannot look like a confirmed qualification.

InputRegistry record
Threshold$50,000
Property scopeprobate property within the rule's stated scope
Value basisnet of enforceable liens and encumbrances
Waiting period30 days after death
Required extra factsNone listed in the registry

Case-file context

Keep the New Mexico answer with its neighboring conditions

A route answer is easier to use when the facts that can change it stay in the same record. These are the reviewed New Mexico descriptions adjacent to this page\'s main question; they are not a substitute for the source quotations or the receiving court\'s instructions.

Cost context

New Mexico splits the opening fee by court. Informal probate and appointment filed in the county Probate Court cost $30 (NMSA 1978 § 34-7-14, "a filing fee of thirty dollars ($30.00) for each probate case"). A formal or contested estate proceeding — which District Court has exclusive original jurisdiction over — costs the $117 district-court civil docket fee (NMSA 1978 § 34-6-40). If a case properly filed in Probate Court is later transferred to District Court, no additional District Court filing fee is charged (§ 34-7-10(B)).

2 published schedules; the proceeding and value basis control the total.

Compensation context

A personal representative is entitled to reasonable compensation, not a percentage schedule. If a will provides compensation and no contract with the decedent controls, the representative may renounce the will provision before qualifying and take reasonable compensation, or renounce all or part of the fee.

A personal representative is entitled to reasonable compensation, not a percentage schedule. If a will provides compensation and no contract with the decedent controls, the representative may renounce the will provision before qualifying and take reasonable compensation, or renounce all or part of the fee. The relevant base is the estate accounting.

Deadline context

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.

  • 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.

Court-material note: 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.

Arithmetic illustration

See the New Mexico amount screen without mistaking it for a result

The recorded New Mexico ceiling is $50,000, and it is tested against probate property within the rule's stated scope, on a basis this site records as net of enforceable liens and encumbrances. Counted that way, $37,500 sits below the New Mexico figure and $62,500 sits above it. Both are comparisons to a published number rather than legal outcomes: two estates holding the same total can land on opposite sides of this line, because what New Mexico counts and how it values it are decided before the comparison is made.

Illustrative counted amountComparison to the New Mexico ceilingWhat it does not decide
$37,500Below $50,000Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties
$62,500Above $50,000Whether another statutory route or court process applies

Next evidence to collect

Use the calculator for arithmetic, then verify title, timing, and the receiving court's form.

  1. Record the date of death, the county, and the exact proceeding or affidavit being considered.
  2. Classify each asset by title, beneficiary, trust, real-property status, and the value basis shown above.
  3. Open the official court material below and keep its form or schedule with the estate record.
  4. Do not distribute property until the route, creditor position, and required approvals are resolved.

Official 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.

Source trail

Records used by this New Mexico map

Controlling source

Each legal input links to the government source reviewed for this page. Source text can change; confirm the current rule before acting.

Continue in New Mexico