Probate and Estate Administration

We assist clients in opening estate proceedings and in the ensuing administration of the estate. If the person that died, the “Decedent”, left a Last Will and Testament and the transferring of assets by a court-appointed Personal Representative is necessary, a probate proceeding must be initiated.

Probate is the court process in which a Last Will and Testament is submitted to the court for the purpose of proving that it is a valid Will. If the court determines that the Last Will is a valid Will, it “admits” the Last Will to probate and appoints a Personal Representative of the Decedent’s estate. The Personal Representative (Executor) is a fiduciary, who like a Trustee, must faithfully carry out the terms of the Will.

If the Decedent did not leave a valid Last Will and Testament, and the Decedent is determine to have died “intestate”, then the proceeding is an intestacy proceeding that follows a similar procedure to a probate but is governed by New Mexico’s intestate statutes.

In New Mexico, depending on what needs to be done, estate proceedings can be informal or formal. Informal proceedings are typically less expensive to do.

Trust Administration

We assist Trustees in administering Trusts. A Trustee is a fiduciary, who must faithfully carry out the terms of the Trust Agreement. Common revocable living trusts can be fairly simple to administer in private, or they can be complicated depending on the terms of the Trust Agreement.

Ancillary Probate or Proof of Authority

An ancillary probate is an estate proceeding opened in an additional state to the initial state while the initial probate proceeding is still ongoing.

You may not need to initiate an ancillary probate in New Mexico if you are the current Court-Appointed Personal Representative (Executor) in another state. If you only need to transfer one or more properties, you may be able to file a Proof of Authority. Although some title companies prefer that an ancillary probate is conducted, a Proof of Authority is New Mexico Statutory process that is typically less expensive to do. If an ancillary probate is needed, it follows the procedure of a probate that is initially opened in New Mexico.