Settle a small estate in New Mexico without probate
In New Mexico this is called: Affidavit for collection of personal property (affidavit of successor in interest / affidavit of claiming successor); affidavit of surviving spouse for the homestead. If the whole estate is worth no more than $50,000 after liens and has no real estate, the person who inherits can collect personal property by giving a sworn affidavit to whoever holds it, with no court case.
Up to $50,000 (deaths on or after January 1, 2012), 30 days after the death, no court filing.
Checked against official sources: October 30, 2026.
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Free tools
Small estate checker
Add up the estate and compare it with the New Mexico limit for the date of death.
Letter to a bank
Present your signed affidavit to a bank or other holder in New Mexico.
Balance request letter
Ask a bank or holder for the balance on the date of death.
What-to-gather checklist
Papers, steps, forms and fees for New Mexico, by procedure.
Car, bank, house in New Mexico
Car or other vehicle
There are two ways to transfer a vehicle or vessel when there is no will or the will was not probated. (1) Claiming Successor: after 30 days, if the entire estate minus liens is worth no more than $50,000, bring the title, the Affidavit of Claiming Successor (MVD-10013, notarized), an original or certified death certificate, a lien release if any, and an odometer statement (MVD-10187).
Bank accounts
A bank account with a payable-on-death beneficiary passes to that person without probate. For an account in the person's name alone, the successor can present the small estate affidavit after 30 days if the entire estate, minus liens, is worth no more than $50,000 and there is no real property.
House or land
If the couple owned their home as community property and the home passes to the spouse (because there is no will, or the will leaves the person's share to the spouse), it passes without probate.
Related pages
- Small estate affidavit in New Mexico
- Car title after a death in New Mexico
- Bank accounts after a death in New Mexico
- House without probate in New Mexico
- Small estate checker for New Mexico
- Letter to a bank in New Mexico
- Balance request letter for New Mexico
- What-to-gather checklist for New Mexico
- All about small estates in New Mexico
Collection of personal property by affidavit (Affidavit of Successor in Interest)
A sworn statement you give to a bank, company or the Motor Vehicle Division, so they pay or deliver the person's property to you. It is not filed with a court. It cannot be used to transfer title to real estate.
- Limit
Up to $50,000 (deaths on or after January 1, 2012) Counted after subtracting liens (what is owed on the property).
Date of death Limit On or after January 1, 2012$50,000The entire estate, wherever it is, minus liens and encumbrances, cannot be worth more than $50,000.
- What counts
The value of the entire estate, wherever located, minus liens and encumbrances. The courts' self-help guide says a small estate does not include any real property.
- Waiting period
At least 30 days must have passed since the death.
- Who can use it
A person claiming to be the successor (the person entitled to the property under the will or state law), or someone acting for that person.
- Court or where to file
Not filed with a court. You give it to the bank, company or Motor Vehicle Division.
- Notary
The affidavit must be signed by the person entitled to the property and notarized.
- Papers to attach
- Certified copy of the death certificate (the MVD requires an original or certified copy)
- Steps
- Wait until at least 30 days after the death.
- Check that no one has applied to be personal representative in any state.
- Prepare the affidavit with the required statements (your county probate court can tell you where to get a form).
- Sign it in front of a notary.
- Give it to the bank or other holder; for a vehicle, use MVD form MVD-10013.
- Fee
No court filing fee, because the affidavit is not filed with a court.
- What the bank or holder must do
On a proper affidavit, the holder must pay the debt or deliver the property, and a transfer agent must re-register securities to the successor.
Law: NMSA 1978, 45-3-1201 (Laws 2011, ch. 124 (SB 146), sec. 50)
Source: Official page
Transfer of title to homestead to surviving spouse by affidavit (Affidavit of Surviving Spouse)
If the couple owned their home as community property and the home passes to the spouse (because there is no will, or the will leaves the person's share to the spouse), it passes without probate. After six months the spouse records an affidavit with the county clerk.
- Limit
Up to $500,000 (deaths on or after January 1, 2012)
Date of death Limit On or after January 1, 2012$500,000The home's full value as assessed for property taxes cannot be more than $500,000. 'Homestead' means the principal residence (or the last one, if neither spouse lives there because of illness or incapacity), the land under it and land reasonably needed for its use.
- What counts
The full value of the home as assessed for property taxes.
- Waiting period
At least six months must have passed since the death, as shown on the death certificate.
- Who can use it
The surviving spouse. The couple must have owned the home as community property, and the spouse must be entitled to it by inheritance with no will or under the person's valid will.
- Court or where to file
Recorded with the county clerk in the county where the home is.
- Notary
Signed by the surviving spouse and notarized.
- Papers to attach
- Copy of the deed with the legal description of the home
- The original will, if the spouse inherits under a will
- Death certificate showing six months have passed
- Steps
- Wait until at least six months after the death.
- Pay the funeral expenses, last-illness expenses and all unsecured debts.
- Prepare the affidavit with the statements the law requires, including that no federal or state tax is due and that, apart from the home, the estate does not need probate. Attach a copy of the deed.
- Sign it in front of a notary.
- Record it with the county clerk where the home is.
- Fee
The county clerk charges a recording fee.
- Debts and responsibility
The spouse affirms that funeral, last-illness and all unsecured debts are paid, no federal or state tax is due, and that a false statement can lead to perjury penalties.
Law: NMSA 1978, 45-3-1205
Source: Official page
Small estates summary administrative procedure
In an open probate case, if the estate after liens is worth no more than the family allowances, administration costs, funeral and last-illness expenses, the personal representative can distribute it without notice to creditors and close with a verified small estate closing statement.
Source: form 4B-702
- Waiting period
The personal representative may distribute once the inventory shows the estate qualifies.
- Who can use it
A personal representative appointed by the probate court or district court.
- Court or where to file
Probate court (or district court) in the county where the person lived.
- Notary
The closing statement is verified (sworn).
- Papers to attach
- Inventory
- Verified small estate closing statement (4B-702)
- Steps
- Open a probate case and have a personal representative appointed.
- The personal representative pays and distributes the estate.
- The personal representative files the verified small estate closing statement.
- Fee
Ask the county probate court for its current filing fee.
- If you can't pay
A person with low income can ask for 'free process'.
Law: NMSA 1978, 45-3-1203, 45-3-1204; Rule 4B-702 NMRA
Source: Official page
What counts toward the limit in New Mexico
Add up the value of the person's estate, wherever it is, and subtract liens and encumbrances. The courts' guide says a small estate does not include any real property, and that property passing by non-probate transfer (joint tenancy real estate, a recorded transfer on death deed, payable-on-death bank accounts, brokerage accounts with death beneficiaries) passes outside probate.
Law: NMSA 1978, 45-3-1201
In this state the total is counted after subtracting liens.
| Kind of property | How it is treated | Details |
|---|---|---|
Bank accounts in the person's name alone | Counts | Bank accounts in the person's name alone count. Law: NMSA 45-3-1201(A) |
Joint or payable-on-death (POD) bank accounts | Left out | Payable-on-death accounts pass to the named beneficiary as a non-probate transfer. |
Cars and other vehicles | Counts | Vehicles in the person's name count. The MVD also has a Transfer Without Probate process for heirs and spouses with no value limit. Law: NMSA 45-3-1201(A) |
Boats and mobile or manufactured homes | Counts | Boats (vessels) titled with the MVD count as personal property. Law: NMSA 45-3-1201(A); MVD-10013 |
Real estate in New Mexico | Has its own procedure | The courts' guide says a small estate does not include real property, and the affidavit cannot transfer real estate. A home passing to a surviving spouse can use the surviving spouse affidavit; other real estate needs probate. Law: NMSA 45-3-1201(C), 45-3-1205 |
Main home (primary residence) | Own procedure, up to $500,000 | A home the couple owned as community property that passes to the surviving spouse (no will, or a will leaving it to the spouse) can go to the spouse with the surviving spouse affidavit if its assessed full value is $500,000 or less. Other homes need probate. Law: NMSA 45-3-1205 |
Real estate in another state | Not clear | Ask the probate court how real estate in another state affects the small estate affidavit. Law: NMSA 45-3-1201(A)(1) |
Unpaid wages owed to the person | Counts | Money owed to the person, such as a final paycheck, counts. Law: NMSA 45-3-1201(A) |
Military pay owed to the person | Not clear | Ask the probate court how military pay owed to the person is treated. Law: NMSA 45-3-1201 |
Life insurance or retirement money paid to a named person | Left out | Accounts and benefits with a named death beneficiary pass outside probate. |
Life insurance or retirement money paid to the estate | Counts | Benefits payable to the person's estate count. Law: NMSA 45-3-1201(A) |
Property in a living trust | Not clear | Ask the probate court how trust property is treated. Law: NMSA 45-3-1201 |
Property owned jointly with right of survivorship | Left out | Real estate held as joint tenants passes to the surviving owner as a non-probate transfer. |
Property going to a surviving spouse | Not clear | New Mexico is a community property state. Ask the probate court how community property passing to the spouse is counted. Law: NMSA 45-3-1201, 45-3-1205 |
Stocks, bonds and brokerage accounts | Counts | Stocks in the person's name alone count; brokerage accounts with a death beneficiary pass outside probate. Law: NMSA 45-3-1201(A)-(B) |
Furniture, jewelry and other belongings | Counts | Belongings count at their value. Law: NMSA 45-3-1201(A) |
Source: Official page
Car or vehicle title after a death in New Mexico
There are two ways to transfer a vehicle or vessel when there is no will or the will was not probated. (1) Claiming Successor: after 30 days, if the entire estate minus liens is worth no more than $50,000, bring the title, the Affidavit of Claiming Successor (MVD-10013, notarized), an original or certified death certificate, a lien release if any, and an odometer statement (MVD-10187). (2) Transfer Without Probate: a legal heir or spouse can use the Certificate of Transfer Without Probate (MVD-10011) after 30 days if the vehicle was not left to someone else by will and no personal representative is appointed; it only works in the state where the vehicle was titled. No excise tax is due when a beneficiary receives the vehicle for no payment.
Law: NMSA 45-3-1201(A), 66-3-105(C)
- Agency
- New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department, Motor Vehicle Division (MVD)
- Waiting period
- 30 days after the death
- Fee
Normal MVD title fees apply.
Source: Official page
Bank accounts after a death in New Mexico
A bank account with a payable-on-death beneficiary passes to that person without probate. For an account in the person's name alone, the successor can present the small estate affidavit after 30 days if the entire estate, minus liens, is worth no more than $50,000 and there is no real property.
Law: NMSA 45-3-1201
Source: Official page
Transfer-on-death (TOD) and payable-on-death (POD) in New Mexico
- Real estate (TOD deed)
Yes · Transfer on death deed
Real estate with a recorded transfer on death deed passes to the named beneficiary without probate.
- Bank account (POD)
Yes
- Securities (TOD)
Yes
Source: Official page
Surviving spouse in New Mexico
New Mexico is a community property state. A home the couple owned as community property passes to the surviving spouse without probate when there is no will or the will leaves the person's share to the spouse; after six months the spouse can record an Affidavit of Surviving Spouse with the county clerk if the home's assessed full value is $500,000 or less. A spouse or legal heir can also transfer a vehicle at the MVD with a Certificate of Transfer Without Probate.
Law: NMSA 45-3-1205
Debts of the person in New Mexico
The surviving spouse affidavit states that funeral, last-illness and all unsecured debts have been paid. Medicaid estate recovery heirs are not personally liable; the claim is against the estate.
Law: NMSA 45-3-1205(B)(6)
Source: HCA brochure
Medicaid estate recovery in New Mexico
HCA seeks repayment from the estates of Medicaid members who were 55 or older and received long-term care services (nursing facility, home and community-based services and related hospital and drug costs). The estate means real and personal property subject to probate or estate administration in New Mexico. Heirs are not personally liable. An undue hardship waiver can be requested with documents; claims can be compromised or settled. HCA does not currently place liens on members' property.
Law: NMSA 27-2A-1; NMSA 8.200.430 NMAC; HCA brochure (Rev. 01/8/26)
- Agency
- New Mexico Health Care Authority (HCA), Medical Assistance Division, Estate Recovery Program (run by contractor HMS/Gainwell)
- Phone
- 800-293-3973
- Official page
- Official page
Who inherits with no will in New Mexico
If there is no will, the surviving spouse's share is set by NMSA 45-2-102 and depends on whether the property is community or separate property. Anything not going to the spouse, or everything if there is no spouse, goes to the descendants, then parents, then the parents' descendants (brothers and sisters and their children), then grandparents and their descendants, half on each side.
Law: NMSA 1978, 45-2-102, 45-2-103
Source: Official page
Death certificates in New Mexico
Make checks or money orders payable to NM Vital Records.
- Where to get it
- New Mexico Department of Health, Vital Records
- Official page
- Official page
Where to file in New Mexico
The small estate affidavit is not filed with any court; you give it to the bank, company or MVD. The surviving spouse's homestead affidavit is recorded with the county clerk where the home is. A probate case is filed with the probate court in the county where the person lived (some cases go to district court).
Good to know in New Mexico
- The small estate affidavit cannot be used to perfect title to real estate.
- A surviving spouse can take a community-property home worth up to $500,000 (assessed full value) by recording an affidavit after six months, with no probate.
- The MVD's Transfer Without Probate lets a legal heir or spouse retitle a vehicle after 30 days without a value limit.
National rules that apply in every state
Federal estate tax
- For a person who died in 2026, a federal estate tax return (Form 706) is required only if the gross estate, plus certain lifetime taxable gifts, is more than $15,000,000.
- Most estates owe no federal estate tax and do not need to file a federal estate tax return.
Law: 26 U.S.C. 2010(c)(3) (as amended by Pub. L. 119-21)
The final income tax return
- Report all income up to the date of death and claim all eligible credits and deductions.
- Someone must file the final federal income tax return of a person who died, the same way it would have been filed if they were alive.
- To claim a refund due to the person who died, attach Form 1310 (Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer).
Law: Form 1310 instructions (Rev. December 2025)
Social Security
- Social Security retirement benefits are paid through the month before the month the person died.
- If the person had enough Social Security work credits (was fully or currently insured), a one-time death payment of $255 (or three times the person's basic benefit, if that is smaller) can be paid to a surviving spouse who lived with the person.
Law: 42 U.S.C. 402(a), 402(i)
Savings bonds
- If the person's savings bonds and other Treasury securities held directly with the Treasury are worth more than $100,000 at the date of death, the Treasury requires a court-administered estate.
Law: 31 CFR 353.71; FS Form 5336 (Rev. April 2026)
Debts
- Debts are generally paid from the money and property the person left (the estate).
- If the estate cannot pay a debt and no one else shared responsibility for it, the debt may go unpaid.
- You may have to pay if you co-signed the loan, were a joint account holder on a credit card (not just an authorized user), or state law makes a spouse responsible for certain debts, such as in community property states or states with laws on necessary costs like health care.
Law: 12 CFR 1006.6(a)(4)
A house with a mortgage
- For a home with fewer than five units, a lender may not call the whole loan due just because the home passes to a relative after the borrower's death, to a spouse or children who become owners, or to a surviving joint owner.
- Https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/how-do-i-get-mortgage-information-about-a-home-i-inherited-en-217/
- Https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/i-recently-inherited-a-house-the-mortgage-lender-said-its-required-to-determine-my-ability-to-repay-before-it-will-let-me-take-over-the-mortgage-loan-is-this-true-en-1939/
Law: 12 U.S.C. 1701j-3(d)(3), (5), (6); 12 CFR 1024.30(d), 1024.31
FDIC insurance on bank accounts
- After a deposit owner dies, FDIC insurance on the account stays the same for six months, unless the account is restructured.
Law: 12 CFR 330.3(j)
Medicaid estate recovery
- States must try to recover some Medicaid costs from the estate of a person who got benefits at age 55 or older: nursing facility services, home and community-based services, and related hospital and prescription drug services.
- The 'estate' includes at least the property in the person's probate estate under state law.
- Https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/42/1396p?type=usc&year=mostrecent&link-type=html
Law: 42 U.S.C. 1396p(b)
Death certificates
- Certified copies of a death certificate come from the vital records office of the state where the death happened, not from the federal government.
Free help in New Mexico
A court self-help center or a legal aid office can check whether the estate qualifies, free of charge or at low cost.
- LawHelpNewMexico (legal aid)
- State Bar of New Mexico: For the Public
- New Mexico Courts Self-Representation: Probate
- New Mexico Courts Self-Representation: Probate Forms
- NM District Court Self Help Guide: Probate
- LawHelp.org
- Legal Services Corporation (LSC) - Find legal aid
- Eldercare Locator · 1-800-677-1116
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (debt collection and mortgage complaints) · (855) 411-2372
More help on our sister sites
Questions about small estates in New Mexico
What is a small estate affidavit called in New Mexico?
In New Mexico this is called: Affidavit for collection of personal property (affidavit of successor in interest / affidavit of claiming successor); affidavit of surviving spouse for the homestead. If the whole estate is worth no more than $50,000 after liens and has no real estate, the person who inherits can collect personal property by giving a sworn affidavit to whoever holds it, with no court case.
What is the small estate limit in New Mexico?
Up to $50,000 (deaths on or after January 1, 2012), 30 days after the death, no court filing.
How long do I wait in New Mexico?
At least 30 days must have passed since the death.
Do I have to go to court in New Mexico?
Not filed with a court. You give it to the bank, company or Motor Vehicle Division.
How do I transfer a car after a death in New Mexico?
There are two ways to transfer a vehicle or vessel when there is no will or the will was not probated. (1) Claiming Successor: after 30 days, if the entire estate minus liens is worth no more than $50,000, bring the title, the Affidavit of Claiming Successor (MVD-10013, notarized), an original or certified death certificate, a lien release if any, and an odometer statement (MVD-10187).
What happens to a bank account after a death in New Mexico?
A bank account with a payable-on-death beneficiary passes to that person without probate. For an account in the person's name alone, the successor can present the small estate affidavit after 30 days if the entire estate, minus liens, is worth no more than $50,000 and there is no real property.
Who inherits in New Mexico if there is no will?
If there is no will, the surviving spouse's share is set by NMSA 45-2-102 and depends on whether the property is community or separate property. Anything not going to the spouse, or everything if there is no spouse, goes to the descendants, then parents, then the parents' descendants (brothers and sisters and their children), then grandparents and their descendants, half on each side.
Do I owe the person's debts in New Mexico?
The surviving spouse affidavit states that funeral, last-illness and all unsecured debts have been paid. Medicaid estate recovery heirs are not personally liable; the claim is against the estate.
- Laws 2011, SB 146 (final), secs. 50-51 amending NMSA 45-3-1201 and 45-3-1205, effective January 1, 2012
- New Mexico Courts Self-Representation: Probate
- NM District Court Self Help Guide: Probate
- NM MVD Vehicle Procedures Manual, Chapter 8
- NM MVD form MVD-10013
- NM HCA Medicaid Estate Recovery Program (Rev. 01/8/26)
- CDC NCHS Where to Write: New Mexico