Purpose of the Probate Court

Probate is the judicial process for transferring the property of a person who has died (called

decedent). The property is transferred according to either: (1) the decedent's Will, or (2) if the

decedent dies without a Will, according to New Mexico's laws of intestate succession. The

Probate Court appoints legally qualified persons, called Personal Representatives, to manage

and settle the decedent's business affairs. Personal representatives pass the deceased

person's estate property, real and personal, to the rightful recipients. Rightful Recipients might

include heirs, devisees named in a valid and current will, or creditors.

Informal Probate Filing Information:

$30.00 basic filing fee
$0.50 per certification
$0.10 per copy per page

Fees must accompany recording. Your original documents will not be returned. Please notify our office if copies of the recorded documents will be needed. If you require recorded copies, please provide a self-addressed stamped envelope for the return of your copies.

Probate Court Information

State law limits the jurisdiction of the Probate Courts to:

Admitting Wills to Informal Probate
Appointing Personal Representatives informally (without a hearing)
Appointing Special Administrators for Estates
Issuing Certificates of Full Administration of the Estate
State law also allows Probate Judges to perform marriages within their county only

No matter when or where a Will was originally made, you would use the Los Alamos County Probate Court if:

The decedent was domiciled in Los Alamos County at the time of death (i.e., Los Alamos County was the permanent place of decedent’s abode), or,
The decedent lived outside New Mexico but owned property in Los Alamos County

Formal probates, determinations of heirship, contested cases, and trust matters cannot be heard by the Probate Court, but instead must be filed in the District Court.

In addition to handling informal probate cases, the Probate court provides general information on process (how to file), record (what is on file), title searches and information about court history.

Need..?

Not all estates require a probate or a personal representative. Much depends on how the decedent's property was titled. But when a probate is necessary, the person seeking appointment as Personal Representative applies to the Probate Court (or the District court) to obtain authority to act on behalf of the decedent's estate

Time..?

Normally, a probate must be filed within three years following the decedent's death. New Mexico law says that no probate may be filed during the first 120 hours (5 days) following the death. Once a probate case is filed it should be kept open until all creditors receive notice, make claims, taxes are paid and estate assets are distributed. Once the probate is closed, the Personal Representative no longer has authority to act for the Estate.

Cost..?

The docket fee to file for informal probate in the Probate Court is $30.00. Certification of filed documents is $1.00 per document. To have files copied by the Court, the fee is $1.00 per page.

Opening a Probate Case

Estate papers (called pleadings), the original Will, if any, and proper payment are presented together to the Court for review and appointment of the personal representative and/or probate of the Will, if any. The initial Application must be signed by the applicant in the presence of a notary public and should include an original Death Certificate. Applicants must submit complete, accurate and truthful pleadings to the Court.

If, for any reason, the Court does not accept the estate, all payments and pleadings are returned to the applicant. Once the Court opens the probate case, no refunds are possible,

but a receipt is given to the filing party.

Once the Judge signs the Order appointing the Personal Representative, the Court issues Letters of Testamentary (cases where the decedent left a valid will) or Letters of Administration (in cases where the decedent did not leave a valid will). These Letters give the Personal Representative legal authority to conduct the decedent's estate business.

Examples of matters to arise in a Probate Case include:

Legally changing title to real property owned by the decedent to name of the new owner(s)
Legally changing title to personal property owned by the decedent to name of the new owner(s)
Paying creditors
Filing decedent's income taxes and estate taxes, if necessary

Help..?

Probate Court cases can be filed with or without the help of an attorney. Do-it-yourself forms are available. These forms can be downloaded for free from the following website: www.supremecourtlawlibrary.org/Forms

Forms can also be purchased for $5.00 directly from the Court.

Sometimes after reviewing the packet of paperwork involved and the responsibilities of serving as personal representative of an estate, people will hire an attorney. Knowing when to obtain competent legal services when needed is essential.

The Court can provide information, but not legal services.