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Bernalillo County, NM Probate Information
Quick facts
| Detail | Bernalillo County Probate Court | Second Judicial District Court |
|---|---|---|
| What it handles | Informal, uncontested probate only. The court's own jurisdiction statement limits it to admitting wills to probate, appointing personal representatives and appointing special administrators, with no hearings (NMSA 1978, Section 45-1-302(C)). | Every formal and contested probate matter, exclusively: formal testacy and formal appointment, supervised administration, determination of heirs, will construction and will contests, title disputes between the estate and an adverse claimant, trusts and disclaimers (Section 45-1-302(A) and (B)). It may also take an informal probate (Section 45-1-302.1). There is no separate probate department and no probate judge; probate is a Civil Division case type. |
| Courthouse address | Bernalillo County at Alvarado Square, 415 Silver Ave. SW, 2nd Floor, Albuquerque, NM 87102. | Bernalillo County Courthouse, 400 Lomas Blvd. NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102. The Civil Division counter, which takes probate filings, is Room 119 on the 1st floor. |
| Mailing address | Bernalillo County Court of Wills, Estates and Probate, 415 Silver Ave. SW, 2nd Floor, Albuquerque, NM 87102. The court publishes no PO Box. | Bernalillo County Courthouse, PO Box 488, Albuquerque, NM 87103. |
| Phone | (505) 468-1229, the court's own published line for filings, questions and appointments. | (505) 841-8400 is the main court line. The Civil Division, which is the probate desk, is (505) 841-7451. |
| Fax | (505) 468-1298. | The court publishes no fax number for the Civil Division on its Location, Hours and Contacts page. Use the counter or mail. |
| Hours | 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, and the court stays open through the noon to 1:00 p.m. lunch hour. Walk-ins are accepted in those hours, but appointments take priority over walk-ins, so call ahead. Note a conflict on the court's own website: the contact flyout on every probate page still reads 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., while the Contact the Court page and the walk-in notice both say 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Confirm before you travel. | Office hours 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The public service windows, including the Civil Division counter in Room 119, are open 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. |
| Filing fee | $30 for each probate case (NMSA 1978, Section 34-7-14). The court publishes it as a $30 docket filing fee due at the time the case documents are filed. It publishes no payee, so ask at the counter before you write anything on a check. | $132 to open a civil case, which is what a formal probate is: $117 by statute (Section 34-6-40(A)) plus the $15 alternative dispute resolution fee (Section 34-6-45(A)). The court's own fee table reads "Initial Filing of a Civil Case or Children's Court Case $132.00" and cites both statutes. No second filing fee is charged if a case properly filed in the probate court is later transferred up (Section 34-7-10(B)). |
| Payment accepted | Cash, credit cards, checks, money orders or cashier's checks. | Attorney firm checks, cash, money order or certified check. No personal checks are accepted (Rule 1-099 NMRA), which turns filers away at the window. |
| Local forms | Yes, and they are the most substantial county probate materials in New Mexico: an intestate checklist, a testate checklist, intestate (no will) and testate (with will) forms packets, a special administration packet, a proof of authority form and a probate court process flow chart, all free to download. A printed packet with all the basic recommended forms and instructions costs $5 at the counter, or $5 plus postage by mail. | None of its own for probate. Its forms library carries the statewide Supreme Court set, including Forms 4B-101, 4B-301 to 4B-307, 4B-401, 4B-402, 4B-501, 4B-601, 4B-602, 4B-701 and 4B-702, plus the New Mexico courts' plain-language probate guide. |
| E-filing | None. Probate court filing is on paper, at the counter or by mail. The electronic filing system is defined for the district courts only (Rule 1-005.2(A)(3) NMRA), and the Probate Court Rules, Rules 1B-101 to 1B-701 NMRA, contain no electronic filing rule. The original will has to arrive physically. | eFile & Serve, Tyler's Odyssey File & Serve, at newmexico.tylertech.cloud/ofsweb. It is mandatory for attorneys (Rule 1-005.2 NMRA). Self-represented parties are prohibited from e-filing and file on paper; the clerk converts the paper filing into electronic form (Rule 1-005.2(B)(1) and (I)(2) NMRA). |
| Case search | Yes, and it is the exception in New Mexico. The court runs its own online probate case docket index at bernco.gov/probate-court/case-lookup covering 1964 through the current date. In the court's own words, the database "only contains records for cases filed in the Bernalillo County Probate Court" and other counties' probate records are not online. Official records may be viewed in person on the 2nd floor at 415 Silver SW. | New Mexico Courts Case Lookup, caselookup.nmcourts.gov/caselookup, indexes district, magistrate, metropolitan and municipal court cases. There is no probate court option in its court-type filter, and it is an index only, with no document images. |
| Remote appearance | Not applicable. An informal probate is decided on the papers and there is no hearing to attend. | Hearings are held in person or remotely as the presiding judge directs. The court publishes Tips for Appearing in Court in Person, Tips for Appearing in Court by Video or Phone, a How to Use Zoom and Google Meet guide, and the New Mexico Judiciary Remote Proceedings and Meeting Standards. |
| Website | bernco.gov/probate-court | seconddistrict.nmcourts.gov |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
Before you choose a form or a courthouse in Bernalillo County, work out what the estate actually holds and who is entitled to it. The verified application that opens an informal probate has to state the decedent's date of death, age, and county and state of domicile at death, and it has to name the surviving spouse, children, heirs and devisees with their addresses (NMSA 1978, Section 45-3-301). You are swearing to it: the Bernalillo County Probate Court requires the application and the acceptance of appointment to be signed in front of a notary, and by verifying the application you submit personally to the court's jurisdiction in any later proceeding for fraud or perjury (Section 45-3-301(G)). Getting the asset picture wrong at this stage is what sends a Bernalillo filer back to the counter.
The same inventory decides whether you need a probate at all. The court says so on its own Welcome to the Court page: not every estate requires a probate proceeding, and whether one is needed often depends on how the assets were titled. Accounts with a payable on death beneficiary, property held in joint tenancy and real estate covered by a recorded transfer on death deed pass outside probate entirely. So list every bank and credit union account, retirement and brokerage account, life insurance policy, vehicle, business interest and parcel of Bernalillo County real estate, along with every debt, before you file. Sunset's asset-discovery work, which searches more than 2,300 financial institutions, exists for exactly this step.
Which court handles jurisdiction
New Mexico probate is filed in the county where the person lived at the time of death (NMSA 1978, Section 45-3-201(A)(1)). If the person was not a New Mexico resident, it is filed in any New Mexico county where they owned property at the time of death (Section 45-3-201(A)(2)). The Bernalillo County Probate Court publishes the same rule in its own words: a probate proceeding can be filed there if the decedent was domiciled in Bernalillo County at the time of death, or lived outside New Mexico but owned property in Bernalillo County. Both courts on this page serve the whole county, which is Albuquerque, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, Tijeras, the North and South Valleys and the East Mountain communities.
Within Bernalillo County you have a choice of court. The Bernalillo County Probate Court takes an informal, uncontested probate, and the Second Judicial District Court takes anything formal or contested and may also take an informal probate (Sections 45-1-302 and 45-1-302.1). Almost everyone who handles a Bernalillo estate without a lawyer uses the probate court, because it costs $30 rather than $132 (Sections 34-7-14, 34-6-40 and 34-6-45), it takes walk-in paper filings, and Section 34-7-10(B) means there is no second filing fee if the case has to move up. The Bernalillo County Probate Court is a county office within New Mexico's judicial branch, funded by the county (Section 34-7-4), and the probate judge is an elected, part-time county official (Sections 34-7-1 and 34-7-2). The Second Judicial District Court is a state court and covers Bernalillo County alone (Section 34-6-1(B)).
Three Albuquerque courthouses are close enough together to be confused, and only two of them touch probate. The Bernalillo County Probate Court is at 415 Silver Ave. SW, 2nd Floor, in the Alvarado Square building. The Second Judicial District Court is at 400 Lomas Blvd. NW, with the Civil Division counter in Room 119. Directly across the street at 401 Lomas Blvd. NW is the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court, which hears misdemeanors, traffic and small civil claims and has no probate jurisdiction at all; nothing about an estate is filed there. One more name trap worth knowing: the town of Bernalillo is the county seat of Sandoval County, about 20 miles north, and is not in Bernalillo County. If the person who died lived in the town of Bernalillo, the case belongs in Sandoval County, not here.
The jurisdiction process
- Confirm the case belongs in Bernalillo County and check the timing. Venue is the county of domicile at death, or a county where a non-resident owned property (NMSA 1978, Section 45-3-201(A)). Nothing can be granted for the first 120 hours after the death (Sections 45-3-302 and 45-3-307(A)), and a probate is normally opened within three years of the death (Section 45-3-108). The probate court publishes both limits on its own Welcome to the Court page.
- Choose your forum. If nobody is fighting, there is a will or a clear set of heirs, and you only need authority to act, file informally at the Bernalillo County Probate Court, 415 Silver Ave. SW, 2nd Floor. If you need a determination of heirs, a ruling on whether a will is valid, a court order about who owns something, supervised administration, or anything with a hearing, that is exclusively the Second Judicial District Court at 400 Lomas Blvd. NW (Section 45-1-302(A) and (B)).
- Gather the documents the counter will ask for: the original will if there is one, which must be in the court's possession before it can be probated (Section 45-3-303(A)(5)); a death certificate; and the names, addresses and, for minors, ages of the surviving spouse, children, heirs and devisees (Section 45-3-301).
- Get the forms. Download the Bernalillo County Probate Court's own intestate (no will) or testate (with will) packet from bernco.gov/probate-court/about-the-forms, along with the matching checklist, or buy the printed packet from the court for $5, or $5 plus postage by mail. The statewide equivalents are Form 4B-301 (no will) and Form 4B-302 (with will) at nmcourts.gov/forms-files/probate.
- Sign in front of a notary. The Bernalillo County Probate Court requires the application and the acceptance of appointment to be notarized before they are submitted, because you are swearing the statements are complete, accurate and truthful.
- File on paper and pay the fee. Take the application, order, acceptance and proposed letters to the counter at 415 Silver Ave. SW, 2nd Floor between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., or mail them to the same address, and pay the $30 docket fee (Section 34-7-14). There is no e-filing at any New Mexico probate court. The court keeps the originals, so bring at least one set of copies for it to endorse, or pay 50 cents a page, and include a self-addressed stamped envelope if you are filing by mail and want endorsed copies back. Once the case is docketed the court cannot refund the fee. If you cannot afford it, ask for free process on Form 4B-201 with the order at Form 4B-202 (Section 34-6-27(B)).
- Let the court review and docket the case. Staff check the paperwork before docketing. An informal probate is decided on the papers and does not require a hearing; the judge signs the order and the court issues Letters Testamentary where there is a will (Form 4B-307) or Letters of Administration where there is not (Form 4B-306). Administration of the estate begins with the issuance of letters (Section 45-3-103). The court may also decline an informal appointment for any reason, which is not an adjudication and does not stop you filing formally (Section 45-3-309).
- Tell the family within 30 days. Not later than 30 days after appointment the personal representative must give written notice of the appointment to the heirs and devisees, by delivery or ordinary mail, and must file a statement with the court naming who was notified (Section 45-3-705). Use Form 4B-401 for the notice and Form 4B-402 for the proof.
- Prepare an inventory within three months of appointment, listing each item with its date-of-death value and any encumbrance (Section 45-3-706). You must send a copy to any interested person who asks for one. Filing it with the court is optional in New Mexico, not required. Form 4B-601.
- Deal with creditors. Publishing a notice to creditors once a week for three successive weeks in an Albuquerque newspaper of general circulation is permitted, not required, and it starts a four-month claim window (Section 45-3-801, Form 4B-501). Whether or not you publish, claims that arose before the death are barred one year after the death (Section 45-3-803).
- Transfer any real estate at the county clerk, not the court. An informally appointed personal representative has the same power over the title to estate property that an absolute owner would have, exercisable without notice, hearing or court order (Section 45-3-711(A), and Section 45-3-715(A)(23) for sales), so a Bernalillo County house is conveyed by a personal representative's deed recorded with the Bernalillo County Clerk's recording counter in the same building at 415 Silver Ave. SW. Recording is $25 per document. What the probate court cannot do is decide a dispute about that title; that is the district court's, in a formal proceeding (Section 45-1-302(B)).
- If it turns contested, the case moves up. If anyone contests the will, if the heirs are in dispute, if a formal appointment or formal closing is requested, if a determination of testacy or heirship is needed, or if any hearing is required, the matter goes to the Second Judicial District Court (Section 45-1-302; Rule 1B-101(B)(2) NMRA), on Form 4B-1001, order transferring case from probate court to district court. A disqualified or interested probate judge transfers the proceeding the same way (Section 34-7-9). Section 34-7-10(B) is the reason this is safe: if the case was properly filed in the probate court and is later transferred, no filing fee is charged in the district court. A pending formal case in the district court also freezes the probate court, which may not act on an informal application while it is pending (Section 45-3-401(C)).
- Close the estate. After the property is distributed, file a verified closing statement with the appointing court no earlier than six months after the original appointment (Section 45-3-1003, Form 4B-701; Form 4B-702 is the small-estate version). If no proceedings involving the personal representative are pending in the district court one year after the closing statement is filed, the appointment terminates. Outside supervised administration, which is district court only, there is no routine annual accounting to the court in New Mexico.
Forms and documents
Probate forms in Bernalillo County
Bernalillo County is one of the few New Mexico counties whose probate court publishes substantial materials of its own, and they are free to download from bernco.gov/probate-court/about-the-forms.
| Form or packet | What it is |
|---|---|
| Intestate checklist and testate checklist | The court's own two checklists, one for an estate with no will and one with a will. They tell you what is needed to open a probate and state the docketing fee. |
| Intestate forms packet (no will) | The court's own downloadable packet for an estate with no will. |
| Testate forms packet (with will) | The court's own downloadable packet for an estate with a will. |
| Special administration forms packet | For the appointment of a special administrator before or instead of a general personal representative. The statewide equivalents are Forms 4B-901 to 4B-904. |
| Proof of authority | The court's own form, matching statewide Form 4B-801, used to show authority granted in another proceeding. |
| Probate court process flow chart | A one-page map of opening and closing a probate court case. The statewide equivalent is Form 4B-101. |
| Printed packet, $5 | A printed packet containing all the basic recommended forms and instructions, sold at the counter for $5, or mailed for $5 plus postage (Bernalillo County Probate Court, verified July 27, 2026). |
The court has stopped hosting links to the statewide forms. In its own words, "due to the difficulty of keeping up with the frequent changes to the links to the New Mexico Supreme Court probate forms, the links to the probate forms will no longer be available through this website", and it directs filers to nmcourts.gov instead. So do not expect to reach the statewide forms from bernco.gov.
The statewide set is the Supreme Court's Form 4B series at nmcourts.gov/forms-files/probate, cited as Form 4B-302 NMRA and used with the Probate Court Rules, Rules 1B-101 to 1B-701 NMRA. The ones a Bernalillo filer meets are 4B-301 and 4B-302 (application, without and with a will), 4B-303 and 4B-304 (the orders), 4B-305 (acceptance of appointment), 4B-306 and 4B-307 (letters of administration and letters testamentary), 4B-401 and 4B-402 (notice of appointment and proof of notice), 4B-501 (notice to creditors), 4B-601 (inventory), 4B-602 (accounting), 4B-701 and 4B-702 (closing statements), 4B-801 and 4B-802 (proof of authority), 4B-901 to 4B-904 (special administration), 4B-201 and 4B-202 (free process) and 4B-1001 (order transferring a case to the district court). The whole set was renumbered by Supreme Court Order No. 18-8300-014, effective for cases pending or filed on or after December 31, 2018, so older numbering you find elsewhere is superseded.
The Second Judicial District Court publishes no probate forms of its own either, but its forms library hosts 15 of the statewide 4B forms and the New Mexico courts' plain-language probate guide at seconddistrict.nmcourts.gov/forms-files/probate. There is no statewide 4B form for the small-estate affidavit or for the surviving spouse's homestead affidavit, no waiver or renunciation form (consent is a signature block inside Forms 4B-301 and 4B-302), no proof-of-publication form (the newspaper supplies its own affidavit) and no notice-of-hearing form, because the 4B set is informal-only and contested matters transfer out on Form 4B-1001.
Fees
Both courts publish their own charges beyond the statutory filing fee, and in Bernalillo County so does the county clerk, whose recording counter is in the same building as the probate court. All figures below were read from the offices' own pages on July 27, 2026.
| Charge | Amount | Office and authority |
|---|---|---|
| Probate case, docket filing fee | $30 | Bernalillo County Probate Court, published as due at the time the case documents are filed (NMSA 1978, Section 34-7-14) |
| Copies at the probate court | 50 cents per page | Bernalillo County Probate Court. The statutory ceiling for a probate clerk's document copies is $1.00 per page (Section 14-8-14(B)) |
| Certifying a document at the probate court | 50 cents per document | Bernalillo County Probate Court |
| Printed probate packet | $5, or $5 plus postage by mail | Bernalillo County Probate Court |
| Initial filing of a civil case, which is what a formal probate is | $132 | Second Judicial District Court fee table, citing NMSA 1978, Section 34-6-40 and Sections 34-6-44 and 34-6-45. It is $117 by statute (Section 34-6-40(A)) plus the $15 alternative dispute resolution fee (Section 34-6-45(A)) |
| Copies at the district court | 35 cents per page | Second Judicial District Court (Rule 1-099 NMRA) |
| Certification at the district court | $1.50 per document | Second Judicial District Court (Rule 1-099 NMRA) |
| Exemplification at the district court | $4.50 | Second Judicial District Court's own published figure. Print it as the court's own published figure |
| Recording a personal representative's deed or a surviving spouse's homestead affidavit | $25 per document, up to 10 entries | Bernalillo County Clerk, Recording and Filing, 415 Silver Ave. SW |
| Certified copy from the county clerk | $2 per document | Bernalillo County Clerk, Recording and Filing |
Two things about paying. First, the two counters take different things: the probate court accepts cash, credit cards, checks, money orders or cashier's checks, while the district court accepts attorney firm checks, cash, money order or certified check and takes no personal checks at all (Rule 1-099 NMRA). Second, the probate court does not publish a payee, so confirm at the counter or by phone before you make out a check, and note that once the case is docketed the court makes no refunds.
If you cannot afford the fee, New Mexico's route is called free process, not a fee waiver motion. At the probate court it is Form 4B-201, affidavit of poverty and indigency, with Form 4B-202, order allowing free process. At the district court it runs under Rule 23-114 NMRA on Forms 4-222 to 4-224, with presumptive indigency for public-assistance recipients or income at or below 185 per cent of the federal poverty guidelines (Section 34-6-27(B)). And if the probate court transfers a properly filed case up to the district court, no filing fee is charged in the district court at all (Section 34-7-10(B)).
Local nuance
Bernalillo County-specific considerations
| Local fact | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| The probate court is a stand-alone county office, not a county clerk counter | In most New Mexico counties the county clerk is the clerk of the probate court (NMSA 1978, Section 34-7-22(A)), so you file at the clerk's window. Bernalillo runs a separate probate court office with its own staff, its own phone, its own email and its own building floor. Section 34-7-22(B) lets a county create a separate probate clerk by ordinance; no ordinance was read for this page, but the practical point is settled: the probate filing counter in Bernalillo County is the 2nd floor at 415 Silver Ave. SW, not the county clerk's window. |
| The county clerk's recording counter is in the same building | The Bernalillo County Clerk's Recording and Filing office is in the same Alvarado Square building at 415 Silver Ave. SW, 505-468-1290, open Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and closed from noon to 1:15 p.m. That is where a personal representative's deed and a surviving spouse's homestead affidavit get recorded, at $25 per document. Two different offices, two different sets of hours, one building. |
| The court's published hours contradict each other | The Contact the Court page and the court's walk-in notice both say 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The contact flyout that appears on every probate page says 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Treat 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. as the counter hours and call (505) 468-1229 before making the trip. The court's own hours are set by the clerk of the probate court and published on the county's website under Section 34-7-8, which is why they can differ from a courthouse's hours. |
| It stays open through lunch, and appointments beat walk-ins | Unusually for a New Mexico court office, the probate court does not close from noon to 1:00 p.m. Walk-ins are accepted, but in the court's own words appointments are still encouraged, because those with an appointment take priority. Book by calling (505) 468-1229 or emailing [email protected], which the court aims to answer within three working days. |
| The Second Judicial District Court has no probate department | Its divisions are Children's, Civil, Criminal and Family, and its Clerk's Office lists probate among the Civil Division's case types alongside torts, contract and debt, foreclosure, name changes and expungements. So a formal or contested probate is filed at the Civil Division counter, Room 119, and reaches one of the ten civil judges by random assignment. New Mexico district judges sit in numbered divisions, which are judge slots, not subject-matter departments. |
| Probate is excluded from court-annexed arbitration | The Second Judicial District Court's local rule on court-annexed arbitration lists probate among the case categories the rule does not apply to, alongside conservatorship, guardianship, adoption and domestic relations (LR2-603 NMRA, Section I(A), as hosted by the court). A contested Bernalillo probate is therefore not diverted into the arbitration program. The court's separate settlement facilitation rule does not exclude probate by name. |
| Civil cases can wait months for a judge | The court says so itself on its Civil Division page: because of the large number of civil cases filed in the district, parties sometimes wait several months or longer to come before a judge. That is the court's own general statement about civil cases, not a published probate scheduling window, and it is one more reason to keep an uncontested matter in the probate court, where nothing is scheduled at all. |
Small-estate Alternatives
The New Mexico small-estate routes are statewide and are covered on the New Mexico state page. Two of them have a Bernalillo County step worth knowing about, because they are finished at a county counter rather than at either court.
A surviving spouse's homestead affidavit for a community-property homestead is recorded with the county clerk in the county where the home is, six months after the death, and no probate or administration is needed (NMSA 1978, Section 45-3-1205). In Bernalillo County that means the Bernalillo County Clerk's Recording and Filing office at 415 Silver Ave. SW, 505-468-1290, at $25 per document. The value cap in that statute is measured as assessed for property taxation purposes, not market value. The Bernalillo County probate judge has published a short video on homestead affidavits through the county's Where's Your Will series if you want the plain-language version.
The small-estate affidavit for personal property under Section 45-3-1201 is not filed with any court and carries no court fee. You present it to the bank, transfer agent or other holder of the property. Neither court on this page takes it, there is no statewide 4B form for it, and the New Mexico courts' own guide calls it an affidavit of successor in interest. It cannot be used to perfect title to real estate (Section 45-3-1201(C)).
Recent updates
| Date | Change | Source |
|---|---|---|
| November 3, 2026 and January 1, 2027 | The Bernalillo County probate judge is an elected county official and the position is part-time (NMSA 1978, Sections 34-7-1 and 34-7-2). Every New Mexico probate judgeship, Bernalillo's included, is on the ballot on November 3, 2026, and the winner takes office on January 1, 2027. The judge named on the county's own probate pages as of July 27, 2026 is Cristy J. Carbon-Gaul, sworn in for a second term on January 1, 2023. Address correspondence to the office rather than the person, and expect the name to change. | NMSA 1978, Sections 34-7-1 and 34-7-2; bernco.gov/probate-court |
| Current practice | The court accepts walk-ins between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. after a period of closure, but in its own words appointments are still encouraged, because those with an appointment take priority over walk-ins. Appointments are made on (505) 468-1229 or at [email protected]. | Bernalillo County Probate Court walk-in notice and Contact the Court page, bernco.gov/probate-court |
| Current practice | The court has removed its links to the New Mexico Supreme Court probate forms, citing the difficulty of keeping up with frequent link changes, and now directs filers to nmcourts.gov for the statewide Form 4B set while continuing to publish its own packets, checklists and flow chart and to sell a printed packet for $5. | About the Forms, bernco.gov/probate-court |
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in Bernalillo County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | An Albuquerque or East Mountains home held in joint tenancy passes to the survivor outside probate, and title is cleared at the Bernalillo County Clerk's recording counter at 415 Silver Ave. SW rather than at either court. Where the home was community property and the other conditions are met, a surviving spouse can record a homestead affidavit six months after the death and skip probate altogether (NMSA 1978, Section 45-3-1205). Accounts and property in the deceased spouse's sole name may still need a probate. Where they do, the surviving spouse applies informally at the Bernalillo County Probate Court for $30 (Section 34-7-14); a surviving spouse who is a devisee has priority for appointment, and a surviving spouse who is not still ranks ahead of other heirs (Section 45-3-203(A)). There is no hearing. | Asset discovery to separate survivorship and beneficiary property from sole-name assets, which is what decides whether a probate is needed at all. Packet generation for the Bernalillo testate or intestate application, order, acceptance and letters, ready to notarize and walk into 415 Silver Ave. SW. Guidance on the recording step at the county clerk in the same building. |
| Out-of-state adult child, small estate | If the parent was domiciled in Bernalillo County, that is where the case belongs (Section 45-3-201(A)(1)), even though the child is not. If the whole estate is small enough and there is no real estate, the Section 45-3-1201 affidavit is presented directly to the bank or transfer agent 30 days after the death, with no court, no filing and no fee. Where a probate is needed, the informal application can be mailed to the Bernalillo County Probate Court at 415 Silver Ave. SW, 2nd Floor, with the $30 fee and a self-addressed stamped envelope for endorsed copies back. There is no e-filing at any New Mexico probate court and no hearing to attend, so the trip is usually avoidable, but the original will has to physically reach the court, so it is mailed or carried. | Asset discovery to establish whether the estate clears the affidavit route or needs letters. Packet generation for a mail-in Bernalillo filing, including the Section 45-3-705 notice to heirs and devisees due within 30 days of appointment and the proof of notice the court expects on Form 4B-402. Help tracking the case afterwards through the court's own 1964-to-now case index. |
| Parent settling a predeceased child's estate, home must be sold | A parent is an heir where the child left no spouse or descendants, and ranks after any devisees and the surviving spouse in the appointment order (Section 45-3-203(A)). If nobody objects, the parent applies informally at the Bernalillo County Probate Court and, once letters issue, has the same power over the title to the house that an absolute owner would have, exercisable without notice, hearing or court order (Sections 45-3-711(A) and 45-3-715(A)(23)), so the sale closes on a personal representative's deed recorded with the Bernalillo County Clerk. If a sibling, a co-owner or a creditor disputes who owns the house, only the Second Judicial District Court can decide it, in a formal proceeding (Section 45-1-302(B)), and the probate court transfers the case up on Form 4B-1001 with no second filing fee (Section 34-7-10(B)). | Asset discovery to surface the mortgage, liens, unpaid property tax and any recorded interest against the Bernalillo County parcel before the sale is agreed. Packet generation for the informal application and for the closing statement due no earlier than six months after appointment (Section 45-3-1003). A vetted Bernalillo County probate attorney if the title question goes to the district court. |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers |
|---|---|
| Bernalillo County Probate Court (bernco.gov/probate-court, 415 Silver Ave. SW, 2nd Floor, (505) 468-1229, [email protected]) | The court's own site: Contact the Court, Welcome to the Court with its jurisdiction, timing and fee statements, About the Forms with the downloadable packets and checklists, Probate Process with the flow chart and the list of what staff may not do, and Case Lookup. The court aims to answer email within three working days and takes appointments on the same phone line. |
| Bernalillo County Probate Court case lookup (bernco.gov/probate-court/case-lookup) | The county's own probate docket index, 1964 through the current date, covering Bernalillo County Probate Court cases only. Official records can be viewed in person on the 2nd floor at 415 Silver SW during court hours. No other New Mexico county publishes an index like it except Santa Fe. |
| Second Judicial District Court (seconddistrict.nmcourts.gov, 400 Lomas Blvd. NW, Civil Division Room 119, (505) 841-7451) | Location, Hours and Contacts for every division and the holiday schedule; the Clerk's Office page with the full fee table and the Court Fee Policy; the Civil Division page, which names probate among its case types; the court's own probate forms library; and the court hearing schedules with the remote-appearance guidance. |
| Center for Self Help and Dispute Resolution (400 Lomas Blvd. NW, Room 134, 1st floor, 505-841-6702, [email protected]) | The Second Judicial District Court's own walk-in self-help window, Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. It does not schedule interviews: people are seen first come, first served, with a 15-minute limit per visit, and help is also given by phone in those hours. It stocks legal forms and packets and the court's forms library carries the probate 4B forms. It is a forms and procedure desk, not a probate advice service. |
| New Mexico Courts HelpLine (1-855-268-7804) | The judiciary's own information service, Monday through Friday 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., in English and Spanish with interpreters available. It provides court-approved forms and explains what a form is asking for, and points to free or low-cost legal services. It cannot tell you what to write on a form (Rule 23-113 NMRA). |
| New Mexico Courts statewide probate forms (nmcourts.gov/forms-files/probate) | The Supreme Court's complete Form 4B series, plus a plain-language probate guide and a Dine (Navajo) translation. This is where the Bernalillo County Probate Court now sends filers for the statewide forms. |
| New Mexico Courts Case Lookup (caselookup.nmcourts.gov/caselookup) | The free public index for Second Judicial District Court cases, along with magistrate, metropolitan and municipal courts. It has no probate court option, so a Bernalillo County Probate Court case will not appear there. |
| Legal Resources for the Elderly Program, State Bar of New Mexico (505-797-6005 or 1-800-876-6657) | A free statewide helpline for New Mexico residents aged 55 and older with no income restrictions, whose published advice areas expressly include probate, powers of attorney, transfer on death deeds and general estate planning. Phone lines are open and accepting voicemails Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Mountain Time. |
| Modest Means Helpline, State Bar of New Mexico (505-797-6013 or 888-857-9935) | Advice by phone for New Mexico residents of modest means, Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Mountain Time. Callers aged 55 or older are directed to the elderly program instead. |
| Senior Citizens' Law Office (1240 Pennsylvania St. NE, Suite A, Albuquerque, (505) 265-2300) | The only legal services agency whose mission is direct representation of older residents of Bernalillo, Sandoval, Torrance and Valencia counties. It accepts simple, uncontested probates in probate court for a flat fee, listed at $1,850 with price dependent on complexity, effective March 17, 2026, for New Mexico residents aged 60 and over. This is a paid service, not free. |
| New Mexico Legal Aid (1-833-545-4357) and its Volunteer Attorney Program (1-877-266-9861) | Statewide intake Monday through Thursday 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. for households at or below 125 per cent of the federal poverty guidelines. Probate is not one of its staff practice areas; it reaches probate through the Volunteer Attorney Program's free one-time consultations at scheduled clinics, for households at or below 200 per cent of the guidelines. Its Albuquerque office is 505-243-7871. |
| Bernalillo County Clerk, Recording and Filing (415 Silver Ave. SW, 505-468-1290, berncoclerk.gov) | The recording counter for a personal representative's deed and a surviving spouse's homestead affidavit, Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., closed noon to 1:15 p.m., with a free public search area open until 4:45 p.m. Recording is $25 per document. Staff are explicit that they cannot supply a form or tell you how to fill one in. |
When to hire an attorney
The Bernalillo County Probate Court is unusually clear about the line it will not cross, and that line is a good guide to when you need a lawyer. Its staff are prohibited from helping you fill out a form, from offering any form other than those approved by the New Mexico Supreme Court, from interpreting, creating or filling out any deed or transfer of property, from determining how assets are distributed, from explaining court orders, from advising on denying or paying claims and from deciding whether a case should be closed, all under Rule 23-113 NMRA. The court adds that there are significant legal consequences to deciding when to close an estate. So counsel makes particular sense in Bernalillo County when a will's validity or the identity of the heirs is in doubt, because only the Second Judicial District Court can decide either (NMSA 1978, Section 45-1-302(A)); when someone claims an interest in estate property adverse to the estate, which is again district court only in a formal proceeding (Section 45-1-302(B)); when the estate holds a business, out-of-state property or an Albuquerque parcel whose sale terms are disputed; when a deed has to be drafted, which the New Mexico courts' own guide warns can be very tricky to draft and execute properly; when the estate looks insolvent or creditors are pressing; and whenever the probate judge declines an informal appointment, which the judge may do for any reason without deciding anything (Section 45-3-309). An attorney also brings e-filing with them, since attorneys must e-file at the district court while self-represented parties are prohibited from doing so (Rule 1-005.2 NMRA). Sunset can connect families to a vetted Bernalillo County probate attorney when the situation calls for counsel.
How Sunset helps
Find the accounts and assets. Sunset searches more than 2,300 financial institutions and public records to surface bank and credit union accounts, retirement plans, brokerage holdings, life insurance, Bernalillo County real estate, business interests and unclaimed property, so you know what the estate holds before you file during estate settlement. In New Mexico that picture does real work: it decides whether a probate is needed at all, which the Bernalillo County Probate Court itself says often turns on how the assets were titled; it fills the verified application the court requires you to swear to (NMSA 1978, Section 45-3-301); and it is the basis of the inventory due within three months of appointment (Section 45-3-706).
Generate the probate packet. Sunset assembles the Bernalillo County filing: the application, order, acceptance and proposed letters in the form the court expects, with the heirs and devisees named and addressed, ready to notarize and file at 415 Silver Ave. SW or mail to the same address with the $30 fee (Section 34-7-14), plus the notice of appointment and proof of notice due within 30 days (Section 45-3-705) and the closing statement due no earlier than six months in (Section 45-3-1003).
Find a local probate attorney. When a will is contested, when the heirs are in dispute, when someone claims the house against the estate, or when the case has to move to the Second Judicial District Court on Form 4B-1001, Sunset connects families to a vetted Bernalillo County probate attorney who can file, e-file and appear.
Sunset is free for families. Revenue comes from bank partners that pay Sunset while estate funds sit in an FDIC-insured estate account ($3M coverage).
Frequently asked questions
Where do I file probate in Bernalillo County?
At one of two courthouses, depending on the case. An informal, uncontested probate is filed on paper at the Bernalillo County Probate Court, 415 Silver Ave. SW, 2nd Floor, Albuquerque 87102, open 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, or mailed to the same address. Anything formal or contested is filed at the Second Judicial District Court, 400 Lomas Blvd. NW, at the Civil Division counter in Room 119, or mailed to Bernalillo County Courthouse, PO Box 488, Albuquerque 87103. You file in Bernalillo County if the person who died lived here at the time of death, or lived outside New Mexico but owned property here (NMSA 1978, Section 45-3-201(A)).
Do I file in the Bernalillo County Probate Court or the Second Judicial District Court?
Both courts can open an informal probate (Section 45-1-302.1), so you have a genuine choice, but only the district court can do anything formal or contested (Section 45-1-302(A) and (B)). Use the probate court if nobody is objecting, there is a will or a clear set of heirs, and you just need the legal authority to act: it costs $30 rather than $132, it takes walk-in paper filings, and there is no hearing. Use the district court if you need a determination of heirs, a ruling on whether a will is valid, a court order about who owns something, supervised administration, or any hearing. If you start in the probate court and it turns contested, the case transfers up on Form 4B-1001 and no second filing fee is charged (Section 34-7-10(B)), which is why starting in the probate court is low-risk.
How much does it cost to file probate in Bernalillo County?
$30 for a probate case at the Bernalillo County Probate Court, which the court publishes as a docket filing fee due when the case documents are filed (Section 34-7-14). At the Second Judicial District Court a civil case, which is what a formal probate is, costs $132: $117 by statute (Section 34-6-40(A)) plus a $15 alternative dispute resolution fee (Section 34-6-45(A)), and the court's own fee table publishes that total. Beyond the filing fee the probate court charges 50 cents a page for copies and 50 cents a document to certify, sells a printed forms packet for $5, and takes cash, credit cards, checks, money orders or cashier's checks. The district court charges 35 cents a page and $1.50 per certification and takes no personal checks (Rule 1-099 NMRA). If you cannot afford the fee, ask for free process (Section 34-6-27(B)), which is Forms 4B-201 and 4B-202 at the probate court.
Can I e-file a probate case in Bernalillo County?
Not at the probate court, ever: New Mexico's electronic filing system is defined for the district courts only (Rule 1-005.2(A)(3) NMRA) and the Probate Court Rules contain no electronic filing rule, so every Bernalillo County Probate Court filing is paper, at the counter or by mail, and the original will has to arrive physically. At the Second Judicial District Court e-filing runs on eFile & Serve, Tyler's Odyssey File & Serve, and it is mandatory for attorneys, but self-represented parties are prohibited from e-filing and must file on paper, after which the clerk scans the filing into the system for you (Rule 1-005.2(B)(1) and (I)(2) NMRA).
How do I look up a Bernalillo County probate case?
Bernalillo is the exception in New Mexico. The Bernalillo County Probate Court runs its own online case docket index at bernco.gov/probate-court/case-lookup covering 1964 through the current date, and in the court's own words it "only contains records for cases filed in the Bernalillo County Probate Court", because each county has its own probate court and other counties' probate records are not online. Official records can be viewed in person on the 2nd floor at 415 Silver SW. Second Judicial District Court probate cases are in the statewide New Mexico Courts Case Lookup at caselookup.nmcourts.gov/caselookup, which has no probate court option and shows an index only, with no document images.
What happens if someone objects or contests the will in Bernalillo County?
The probate court cannot decide it, and the case moves to the Second Judicial District Court, which has exclusive original jurisdiction over formal proceedings, will contests, will construction and determination of heirs (Section 45-1-302(A)). An objection to an appointment can only be made in a formal proceeding (Section 45-3-203(B)). The move is made on Form 4B-1001, order transferring case from probate court to district court, and the triggers are set out in Rule 1B-101(B)(2) NMRA: a formal appointment or formal closing is requested, a contest arises, testacy or heirship has to be determined, a hearing is required, or any interested party or the judge asks for the transfer. No filing fee is charged in the district court on a transfer of a case properly filed in the probate court (Section 34-7-10(B)). While a formal case is pending, the probate court may not act on an informal application at all (Section 45-3-401(C)).
Is there a hearing, and do I have to travel to Albuquerque?
An informal probate at the Bernalillo County Probate Court is decided on the papers and does not require a hearing, because informal proceedings in New Mexico are conducted without notice to interested persons (Section 45-1-201(25)). You can mail the application, the fee and a self-addressed stamped envelope to 415 Silver Ave. SW, 2nd Floor, so an out-of-state family often never appears, although the original will must physically reach the court. If the case is in the Second Judicial District Court, hearings are held in person or remotely as the presiding judge directs; the court publishes guidance on appearing by video or phone and on using Zoom and Google Meet, along with the New Mexico Judiciary's remote proceedings standards.
Does the Bernalillo County Probate Court have its own forms?
Yes, more than any other New Mexico county probate court. It publishes free downloadable intestate and testate checklists, intestate (no will) and testate (with will) forms packets, a special administration packet, a proof of authority form and a probate court process flow chart, and it sells a printed packet with all the basic recommended forms and instructions for $5, or $5 plus postage by mail. It has stopped hosting links to the statewide Supreme Court forms and points filers to nmcourts.gov instead, where the Form 4B series lives. Court staff are not permitted to help you fill any of them in (Rule 23-113 NMRA).
Which Albuquerque courthouse do I go to?
Three buildings sit close together and only two of them touch probate. The Bernalillo County Probate Court is at 415 Silver Ave. SW, 2nd Floor, in the Alvarado Square building. The Second Judicial District Court is at 400 Lomas Blvd. NW, with the Civil Division counter in Room 119 on the first floor. Across the street at 401 Lomas Blvd. NW is the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court, which has no probate jurisdiction at all, so nothing about an estate is filed there. And note that the town of Bernalillo is the county seat of Sandoval County, not part of Bernalillo County; an estate from the town of Bernalillo belongs in Sandoval County.
Can the probate court staff help me fill out the forms?
No. The Bernalillo County Probate Court publishes the list itself: staff cannot assist with filling out individual forms, offer forms other than those approved by the New Mexico Supreme Court, interpret, create or fill out any deed or transfer of property, determine how assets are distributed, explain court orders, advise on denying or paying claims, or decide whether a case should be closed, all under Rule 23-113 NMRA. They can give general information about probate procedure, about court files and about the process, and can tell you which forms to include. For help beyond that, the New Mexico Courts HelpLine on 1-855-268-7804, the Second Judicial District Court's Center for Self Help and Dispute Resolution in Room 134 at 400 Lomas Blvd. NW, and the State Bar's free elderly-law helpline on 505-797-6005 are the places to start.
Shaped by the families we've helped
Thank you to the thousands of families who have trusted Sunset to help settle their loved ones' estates. This page is shaped by the questions they actually asked and the obstacles they actually hit — and that hard-won experience is what keeps it accurate, current, and genuinely useful to the families who come next.