contents.

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Terms Used In New Mexico Statutes 45-3-402

  • Decedent: A deceased person.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Probate: Proving a will

A. Petitions for formal probate of a will, or for adjudication of intestacy with or without request for appointment of a personal representative, must be directed to the district court, request a judicial order after notice and hearing, and contain further statements as indicated in this section. A petition for formal probate of a will:

(1)     contains the original will, unless excused under the provisions of Subsection B of this section;

(2)     requests an order as to the testacy of the decedent in relation to a particular instrument which may or may not have been informally probated and determining the heirs; and

(3)     contains the statements required for informal applications as stated in Subsection A of Section 3-301 [45-3-301 N.M. Stat. Ann.] and the statements required by Paragraphs (1) through (3) of Subsection B of Section 3-301 [45-3-301 N.M. Stat. Ann.].

B. If the original will is neither in the possession of the court nor accompanies the petition and no authenticated copy of a will probated in another jurisdiction accompanies the petition, the petition also must state the contents of the will and why it is unavailable.

C. A petition for adjudication of intestacy and appointment of a personal representative must request a judicial finding and order that the decedent left no will and, determining the heirs, contain the statements required by Subsections A and D of Section 3-301 [45-3-301 N.M. Stat. Ann.] and indicate whether supervised administration is sought. A petition may request an order determining intestacy and heirs without requesting the appointment of a personal representative, in which case, the statements required by Paragraph (2) of Subsection D of Section 3-301 [45-3-301 N.M. Stat. Ann.] may be omitted.