Santa Fe Wills Lawyer

Everyone needs a will; while many people are fortunate enough not to have to deal with other legal processes in their lifetime, they should take the time to create a will before that lifetime ends. Failing to do so forces their loved ones to deal with complicated intestacy procedures.

A Santa Fe wills lawyer can help you draft the arrangements for your ideal outcome, no matter how straightforward or intricate they may be. A will can be created at any age, after all. The earlier, the better, in fact. It’s always easier to modify an existing will than it is to start the estate planning process from scratch.

New Mexico Financial Law is available to assist you with every step of creating a will and developing an overarching estate plan. You can get started by calling our law offices at (505) 503-1637 or contacting us online to schedule a confidential, no-obligation consultation.

Do I Need to Hire a Santa Fe Wills Attorney to Complete My Estate Plan?

An attorney is not required for you to complete and execute your will, but having one can prove to be a great asset.

Some of the benefits of hiring a lawyer from a reputable Santa Fe law firm to help with your will include:

• Using clear, legally coherent language – One of the major pitfalls of DIY wills is that they can include confusing or unclear passages. They may also make arrangements that cannot be enforced. An experienced attorney can help you avoid these issues using unambiguous language and phrasings that are unlikely to lead to a legal challenge.

• Avoiding unnecessary disclosures – An attorney can advise you on what to include versus what you would want to avoid disclosing. This guidance is always personalized to accommodate your unique situation.

• Arranging for the full disposal of your estate – Even the most complete estate inventory may be out-of-date by the time of your death. An attorney can recommend provisions like a residuary clause to ensure that estate property isn’t left behind and that it can go to the people you’d want to inherit it.

• Reducing the size and complexity of your probated estate – An attorney can help you reduce the size of your probated estate using techniques like a transfer-on-death deed. Any assets that are not subject to probate do not need to be disclosed in your will. This strategy further enhances your estate’s privacy while making the settlement process easier on your personal representative and heirs.

• Anticipating common disputes – Disputes can arise because of a contested will, but more often they are sparked by arrangements that an heir could consider “unfair.” No matter how frivolous or easily handled a contested probate is, it eats up money from your estate. A Santa Fe wills lawyer can help your estate avoid these complications by making your arrangements clear while following all of the rules for executing a valid will.

• Forming strategies to handle estate debts – As part of probate, your personal representative must resolve all creditor claims (by payment, settlement, or dispute) as well as administrative expenses. An attorney can help you keep an accurate inventory of your debts and implement strategies like setting aside a cash repayment fund to resolve these matters more easily.

• Assisting you with the selection of your personal representative and guardian – The right choice for either may not be the obvious choice. An attorney can help you review your options and select appropriate, qualified choices, including successors who can serve as backups. Your lawyer can also help you avoid common complications, like listing both members of a couple as your chosen guardians rather than just one, which could lead to issues if the couple were to divorce. 

• Incorporating your will within your larger estate plan – Your will should comply with your other estate plans, including trusts, account beneficiary arrangements, and guardianship nominations. Your estate plan should also make it more straightforward for your personal representative to take possession of all estate assets.

• Keeping your will up-to-date – Your will should be updated every 3–5 years and after major life changes like a marriage, divorce, home purchase/sale, birth of a child, or retirement.
• Advising your personal representative during probate – If your personal representative needs guidance, they can refer to your Santa Fe wills attorney to obtain insights on your intentions and to better understand how your full estate plan was meant to work.

There may be other benefits to hiring an attorney when creating your will, but remember that the biggest one is this: peace of mind. 

Most often, when there are defects with a will or an estate plan, they are not commonly discovered until the person who created them has passed. The decedent’s survivors are then left scrambling to correct issues. At this point, any resolutions are likely going to be expensive and result in significant delays for probate and asset distribution. 

While a probate lawyer is able to step in and help fix a situation like this, it is always easier to anticipate problems beforehand. Then, you can craft a will that is unlikely to lead to challenges, confusion, or an estate in disarray.

What Should Be Included in a Last Will and Testament?

Every will should include at least two things (three, if you have dependents):

• Nomination of a personal representative (sometimes called your executor) – Your will should name the person you wish to manage your estate. This person goes through the probate process, pays your final debts, and then distributes your remaining assets to the selected heirs.

• Disposition of your estate – Your will should describe the property and possessions you leave behind, which collectively make up your estate. It must clearly instruct your personal representative regarding who receives what.
• Nomination of a guardian – If you are a parent with a minor child or a dependent adult, then you should name a person to care for your dependent after you pass.

Your will can include many other provisions, but you should limit the other information it provides. This precaution is recommended because a will becomes a part of Santa Fe’s public records. Any information or sensitive discussions you include would be revealed to anyone who searches for the document.

Accordingly, you may prefer to leave information like the following out of your will:

• Bank account information
• Sensitive logins and passwords
• Reasonings behind your inheritance arrangements
• Inventories of property that won’t enter probate
• Any other information you want to limit or keep private

How to Properly Execute a Will in Santa Fe

State law (NM Stat § 45-2-502) provides that a valid will must be:

• In writing, meaning that it has to be written or printed in ink (oral wills and electronic wills are not considered valid for use in probate in Santa Fe)
• Signed by the testator (i.e., the person creating the will) or, if the testator is unable to sign, signed at their express direction and in their conscious presence
• Signed by two witnesses, who must observe the signing of the will by (or for) the testator before then signing the will in front of the testator and each other

These requirements ensure that the testator unmistakably approved of the will’s contents.

A Santa Fe wills lawyer is also likely to recommend that you date the will and have it notarized. Notarizing a will is not required by state law, but doing so can prevent the need to call the witnesses to verify that the testator’s signature is genuine (NM Stat § 45-2-504).

What Happens If an Estate Does Not Have a Valid Will? (AKA Rules for Intestate Succession)

A will is not technically required by state law, but it is the only way for someone to have their assets distributed the way they wished after their death. An estate without a validly executed, non-revoked will is considered “intestate.”

State laws dictate what happens to your property once you die intestate, as follows:

• If there is a surviving spouse and children (or other descendants), then the spouse inherits all community property and ¼ of the decedent’s separate property (NM Stat § 45-2-102). The decedent’s children (or other descendants) split the remaining ¾ of the separate property (NM Stat § 45-2-103).
• If the decedent didn’t have any surviving children but did have a surviving spouse, the spouse inherits everything.
• If the decedent did not have a surviving spouse but did have surviving descendants, then their descendants split the entire estate evenly.
• If the decedent had neither a surviving spouse nor any surviving descendants, then their next-of-kin will inherit everything. This inheritance will be split evenly among the closest-related category of relatives, according to the following priority list:

1. Parents
2. Siblings
3. Grandparents
4. Other next-of-kin

Most people would prefer to have a say in how their property is distributed. They likely intended to gift specific assets to specific heirs. Having their arrangements dictated in a will reduces the risk that precious properties or heirlooms go to the unintended party, or that they would need to be sold off so that the estate can evenly split inheritances in cash. 

The only way to avoid intestacy is to have a valid will. Accordingly, make sure to sit down with a Santa Fe wills lawyer who can assist you and ensure that your wishes are recorded and can be legally enforced.

Assets That Don’t Need a Will to Be Transferred in Santa Fe

Not every asset needs to be included in a will. Instead, they can be transferred outside of probate. 

Making the appropriate arrangements means that these assets can be received by your heirs without delay, and they also avoid being publicly disclosed as part of your estate.

Examples of assets that skip probate in Santa Fe include:

• Community property
• Anything transferred to a living trust before the decedents’ death
• Balances in accounts with a payable-on-death or transfer-on-death designation
• Retirement and investment accounts with a named beneficiary
• Life insurance proceeds
• Property titled under a joint tenancy with rights of survivorship (JTWROS) agreement

How an Attorney Helps You Simplify or Avoid Probate

A Santa Fe estate planning lawyer can help you form strategies to reduce the size of your probated estate. For example, if you form a living trust, you can ensure that your arrangements include a “pour-over will” provision that automatically adds some (or all) of your remaining estate assets to the trust.

Your lawyer can also help you form other parts of an estate plan. For example, you can create an irrevocable living trust or a testamentary trust to provide asset protection to your heirs. 

They may also recommend that you create an advance healthcare directive, a living will, and a durable power of attorney. These documents ensure that your medical and legal wishes are known and can be carried out if you become incapacitated.

Your attorney can fit the details of your estate plan to fit your unique situation and the goals you have set for the remainder of your life, and beyond. 

By scheduling a consultation at a Santa Fe wills law firm, you can go over your objectives, describing your vision for the future in detail. Your attorney can then recommend a one-of-a-kind will and estate plan to help you achieve all of your goals. You can then leave behind a legacy that shows how much you cared about the people, values, or causes you considered most dear.

Get Help From an Experienced Santa Fe Wills Lawyer

Creating a will doesn’t have to take up too much of your time, but it can save your family countless hours and untold stress. When your will is incorporated within a larger estate plan, your loved ones can worry less about probate and enjoy the results of your careful strategization.

The attorneys at New Mexico Financial Law have collectively assisted households in Santa Fe and throughout the state with will creation and estate planning for decades. Reach out to an attorney you can trust to assist you with properly drafting and executing your will. We’ll help you preserve a legacy that’s truly worth remembering. 

Schedule your confidential, no-obligation review today by calling our firm at (505) 503-1637 or contacting us online.