Probate is the process used to settle the final affairs of someone who has passed. During probate, a personal representative of the estate is appointed (also sometimes called the executor or administrator). This representative accounts for all debts owed by the estate, contacts its heirs, and handles other required business before closing probate. Once probate is closed, heirs can receive their promised shares of the estate.
Handling even the most straightforward probate in Hobbs is still a huge responsibility. Some estates can have complicating factors, too, such as will contests, competing claims, or important legal questions that need to be answered. Throughout the probate process in Hobbs, court employees (including the probate judge) cannot answer specific questions or offer anything resembling legal advice.
Due to the risk of confusion and the significant responsibility placed on the personal representative, hiring a Hobbs probate lawyer can be beneficial. Reach out to New Mexico Financial & Estate Planning Attorneys at any time for assistance with managing probate or any other parts of estate administration. Your Hobbs probate attorney can do much of the heavy lifting, all while helping you sort through some of the more confusing or stressful parts of the procedure.
Find the help you need when you schedule a confidential, no-risk consultation with our Hobbs probate law firm when you call (505) 503-1637 or contact us online.
Most cases in Hobbs can follow the informal probate process. The informal probate timeline in New Mexico varies slightly depending on whether a will exists. If the decedent died without a will, they have what is known as an “intestate” estate.
Below, we’ve outlined what the probate process will look like for an estate with a will, followed by a brief description of what would be different if it were intestate.
If the decedent left a will, the will should describe who they want to serve as the personal representative of their estate. The will also reveals the decedent’s chosen heirs.
The person selected as the primary choice of representative can decline the position. In that case, the court will have to appoint someone to serve in their place.
Ideally, the person chosen by the decedent will submit the application to probate the will in Lea County. However, anyone can apply, including the surviving spouse, heirs, or other family members. An “interested party,” including a creditor to the decedent, can apply instead as long as 45 or more days have passed since the decedent’s death.
Note that if there is a contest to the will or other lingering legal questions, you may need to file to probate the estate in district court. Reach out to a probate lawyer in New Mexico if you aren’t sure whether the estate can qualify for simplified informal probate.
After the application is submitted and accepted by the court, the court decides who to appoint as the personal representative of the estate. Priority is given in the following order:
For someone to be eligible to serve as a personal representative, all other parties have to either be unavailable or specifically waive their right to serve. If multiple people apply, the court selects the person with the highest-available priority. If there are two or more people in the same category of priority, the court will select the most appropriate person, as determined by all available evidence.
As part of the probate procedure, the court issues an order for the will to be probated and for the personal representative to be appointed. After the representative accepts, the Lea County Clerk of the Court issues Letters Testamentary, which give the representative the authority to directly handle the decedent’s estate and its legal affairs.
The personal representative has just 30 days after their appointment to contact all heirs to the estate, declaring their appointment and informing the parties that probate has begun. They should also review the district court to see if anyone has filed a “demand for notice” regarding the estate and provide notice accordingly.
The personal representative of the estate is obligated to review the estate’s financials to see if any creditors may be owed a debt from the estate. They can then decide to send notice to these creditors individually, or they can publish a public notice. They may also do both, which can be prudent since it ensures all creditors have a chance to file a claim on the estate, both known and unknown.
The personal representative has 90 days after they have been appointed to perform a full accounting of the estate, including its assets and debts, along with any other legally relevant findings. For example, they may discover that a sizeable amount of the decedent’s former assets were transferred before their death to a trust, an individual, or another party.
As part of gathering an inventory, the representative needs an approximate valuation of all property. For real estate and other assets of significant value, they should strongly consider hiring a professional assessor or appraiser to perform an up-to-date evaluation.
Recognize that sometimes it can take quite a bit of investigation to find every piece of property owned by the decedent. You can hire a Hobbs probate lawyer for help with tracking down all property, determining a reasonable value, and accounting for documented debts owed by the decedent at the time of their death.
Under state law (NM Stat § 45-2-402), the personal representative is obligated to make a payment to the surviving spouse of the decedent of $30,000. This is called the “family allowance.” This amount must be paid before any other expenses and payments are deducted from the estate, including transfers to heirs.
If there is no surviving spouse, then any minor dependent children the decedent had are entitled to that $30,000 amount, divided equally between them.
In addition, the surviving spouse is entitled to receive a transfer in interest from the estate of personal property with a total value of at least $15,000. This transfer is usually of non-liquid, personal assets, including vehicles, furniture, jewelry, art, etc.
The decedent can specifically waive these amounts through a provision of their will.
The personal representative pays for any estate administration costs directly out of the estate’s value before any other debts are paid or transfers made to heirs. These expenses can include Hobbs’ probate attorney fees as well as the costs of any depositions, appraisals, or other professional consultations needed.
Most estates have minimal probate fees charged by the court. The filing fee is only $30, and this can be waived for estates with minimal to no remaining assets.
The representative themself is privy to a reasonable fee for their services under state law (NM Stat § 45-2-402), so they can decide a fair and reasonable amount for the work and effort they put into managing the estate.
The estate representative is obligated to pay any outstanding debts owed by the decedent, including taxes and other outstanding balances owed.
As part of their executor duties, the representative has to ensure that the decedent filed a tax return for their last year alive. They must also pay any outstanding income taxes or other taxes owed, which potentially includes estate taxes for ultra-high-net-worth individuals (the estate tax exemption amount is $13.99 million as of 2025).
You have the ability as the estate’s personal representative to contest any alleged claims on the estate, as well. The creditor has the burden of proof to prove the existence of the debt and to demonstrate that it has not been paid in full.
Hiring a lawyer from an experienced Hobbs probate law firm can give you the resources to look into creditor claims, dispute them, or offer a settlement that the creditor is willing to accept. Any money you save can go to the eventual heirs of the estate, which often makes it a prudent investment to get help verifying the accuracy of claims and minimizing the amount paid out.
The personal representative must document all expenses paid by the estate, including those used to pay debts, the family allowance, administration costs, and their own compensation. This accounting does not need to be submitted to the court, but it should be furnished to any heirs who file a demand for notice.
After all pre-empting expenses are paid and a final accounting is prepared, the personal representative is free to distribute assets from the estate to their selected recipients.
Then, the personal representative can officially close probate. At this point, they relinquish their authority to act on behalf of the estate.
Intestate succession laws (NM Stat §§ 45-2-102; 45-2-103) determine who inherits property for estates that lack a will. The administrator is responsible for identifying these parties and making the appropriate distributions. Most often, the entire estate will be split between the surviving spouse and children of the decedent. In other situations, it may be more difficult to identify the appropriate heir. You may want to contact a Hobbs probate lawyer for assistance with determining who should inherit the estate and how to evenly divide it among the heir class.
One small change worth noting is that the “personal representative” in an intestate case is called an administrator. The difference between personal representative vs. executor vs. administrator is only nominal, though.
These are the only differences in probate compared to an estate with a will.
New Mexico Financial & Estate Planning Attorneys has decades of collective experience providing probate legal services to estate representatives, as well as heirs, creditors, claimants, and other parties.
Some of the most important tasks we handle include:
At New Mexico Financial & Estate Planning Attorneys, we understand how much weight can be on your shoulders as an executor. We are available to assist you in any way, big or small, throughout the probate process. Our Hobbs probate law firm is also available to assist other heirs, creditors, and parties with an interest in the estate.
If you are someone interested in helping your estate avoid probate or be less complicated for your family to manage, you can also talk to an estate planning lawyer in Hobbs for guidance.
Schedule a confidential, no-obligation case review today when you call our firm at (505) 503-1637 or contact us online.
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