New Mexico timeline
New Mexico probate timeline: the 30-day wait and when creditor claims close
The simplified route starts 30 days after death.
In New Mexico, claims are due four months after first publication, or 60 days after mailed notice if later, a year after death at most; each clock is set out below against the event it runs from.
Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Sources rechecked October 3, 2026. This page last revised .
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.
Source: NMSA 1978 § 45-3-1201, collection by affidavit(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.).
The section’s own words
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;
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 number of days would misstate how these deadlines work.
Source: NMSA 1978 §§ 45-3-801, -803, NMSA 1978 §§ 45-3-801 and 45-3-803, creditor claims(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.).
The section’s own words
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,
General sequence: first week, how long probate takes.
Sources rechecked October 3, 2026: New Mexico source list · how sources are checked · report a correction