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Mora County, NM Probate Information
Quick facts
| Category | Mora County Probate Court | Fourth Judicial District Court |
|---|---|---|
| What it handles | Informal, uncontested probate only: informal probate of a will and informal appointment of a personal representative, with the letters testamentary or letters of administration that flow from it, plus informal appointment of a special administrator (NMSA 1978, Sections 45-1-302(C) and 45-3-301 to 45-3-309). An informal case is decided on the verified application without a hearing | Everything formal or contested, exclusively: formal testacy and formal appointment proceedings, supervised administration, determination of heirs, will construction, will contests, disputes over who owns property as between the estate and someone claiming against it, disclaimers and tax apportionment (NMSA 1978, Section 45-1-302(A) and (B)). It can also open an informal probate, because the two courts have concurrent jurisdiction over informal matters (Section 45-1-302.1) |
| Courthouse address | The Mora County Courthouse, 1 Courthouse Drive, Mora, NM 87732, where the Mora County Clerk's Office is the filing counter. Mora County publishes no street address of its own, only a post office box; the courthouse street address is confirmed from the New Mexico judiciary's own listing for the Mora County Magistrate Courthouse at the same address | There is no Fourth Judicial District courthouse in Mora County. The district publishes its Mora County District Courthouse at 496 West National Ave., Las Vegas, NM 87701, which is in San Miguel County, about thirty miles from Mora, in the same building as the San Miguel County District Courthouse. A district court probate filing for a Mora County estate goes there |
| Mailing address | Two boxes in the same small post office, so check which one you want. Mora County publishes P.O. Box 580, Mora, NM 87732 as the county's own address in its site footer. The New Mexico Secretary of State's county clerk directory publishes the Mora County Clerk separately at P.O. Box 360, Mora, NM 87732. Call before posting an original will | Mora County District Courthouse, 496 West National Ave., Las Vegas, NM 87701, which the district publishes as both the street and the mailing address |
| Phone | 575-387-5014, extension 1017, the probate office line published in Mora County's own Staff Directory, and 575-387-2448 for the Mora County Clerk's Office, which is the filing counter (verified August 2026) | 505-425-7281. The district publishes this one number for both the Mora County and San Miguel County District Courthouses, because they are the same clerk's office in the same building (verified August 2026) |
| Fax | (575) 387-9023, published for the Mora County Clerk by the New Mexico Secretary of State's county clerk directory. It is the Clerk's fax, not a filing channel: nothing here says a probate application may be faxed | 505-454-8611, which the district publishes on its fee page as its fax filing number and against its San Miguel County entry at the same address. The district publishes no separate fax for its Mora County entry |
| Hours | The court itself is by appointment, and Mora County dates it: the county's probate judge page states "Office Hours: by Appointment as of 3/15/2020". The counter hours that matter are the Clerk's, because the county clerk is the clerk of the probate court (NMSA 1978, Section 34-7-22(A)): Mora County Offices are open 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, changed to those hours effective Monday, July 20, 2026. Call 575-387-5014 for the appointment and 575-387-2448 for the counter | 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. The district notes that its Guadalupe and San Miguel counters stay open during the lunch hour and makes no such note against its Mora County entry, so do not count on it |
| Filing fee | $30.00 for each probate case (NMSA 1978, Section 34-7-14): clerks of the probate courts shall receive a filing fee of thirty dollars for each probate case. Mora County publishes a Mora County Clerks Office Fees sheet, but it is a one-page scan with no readable text, so no county figure beyond the statute is quoted here and no payee or payment method is published. Ask when you call | $132.00, which the Fourth Judicial District publishes on its own fee page as "Civil and Probate Cases $132.00". The statutory build is $117 for docketing a civil cause (NMSA 1978, Section 34-6-40(A)) plus $15 in a judicial district running an alternative dispute resolution program (Section 34-6-45(A)). The district's published payment rule is strict: cash, cashier's checks, money orders and in-state attorney checks, and it does not accept personal checks or credit cards |
| Local forms | None for probate. Mora County publishes no probate packet, no probate checklist and no probate instructions, and the statewide Form 4B set applies. What the County Clerk does publish, free, is a set of deed forms including a Personal Rep Deed and a Transfer on Death deed, which matter to an estate at the other end of the process | None of its own for probate. The district's Forms and Files library has a Probate category that carries the statewide forms |
| E-filing | None. New Mexico's electronic filing system is approved for use by the district courts (Rule 1-005.2(A)(3) NMRA) and no probate court appears in any e-filing authority. You file on paper at the counter in Mora or by mail, and the original will has to reach the court physically | eFile & Serve, Tyler's Odyssey File & Serve, is mandatory for attorneys (Rule 1-005.2 NMRA). Self-represented parties are prohibited from e-filing and file on paper; the clerk scans a paper filing into the system (Rule 1-005.2(B)(1) and (I)(2) NMRA) |
| Case search | None. Mora County Probate Court cases are county records, they are in no statewide system, and Mora County publishes no probate index of its own. Ask the Mora County Clerk's Office for a case file or a certified copy | Case Lookup, the free statewide index, covers New Mexico's district courts, so a Fourth Judicial District case appears there. It is an index only, with no document images, and it offers no probate court option |
| Remote appearance | Nothing published. An informal probate is decided on the papers and needs no hearing, and the court is by appointment, so ask what the office will do by telephone or post when you call | Nothing published for probate. Ask the clerk's office in Las Vegas at 505-425-7281 |
| No office mailbox is published. Every address Mora County publishes for the probate judge and the Clerk's Office belongs to a named individual, so use the telephone line or the post office box | No public help mailbox. The district publishes a proposed text mailbox for each of its three divisions on its eFile page, for orders and other documents that need a judge's signature and are not e-filed. It is neither a help line nor a filing address | |
| Website | https://countyofmora.com/county-judge for the probate judge's office, https://countyofmora.com/county-clerk for the filing counter and the Clerk's forms, and https://countyofmora.com/directory for the county Staff Directory with the direct extensions | https://fourthdistrict.nmcourts.gov/location-hours-contacts/ for locations, hours and contacts, and https://fourthdistrict.nmcourts.gov/about-this-district/fees-costs-filing/ for the district's own fee page |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
Know what the estate holds before you make the appointment. Which route fits, and which of the two Mora County forums you use, depends on whether there is a will, who is entitled to be appointed, whether anyone is likely to object, and what kind of property is involved. Some estates here never need a court at all, because the property passes by survivorship, by a transfer on death deed, by a payable on death designation or by a beneficiary designation, and some qualify for one of New Mexico's affidavit routes that are handled at a bank or at the County Clerk's recording counter rather than in a courtroom. Those statewide routes and their dollar limits are covered on the New Mexico state page. Sorting it out first matters more in Mora County than almost anywhere in the state: the probate court is by appointment rather than open at a counter every day, there is no e-filing in either forum, nothing about a probate case here is online, and the district court counter is in another county, so a wrong or incomplete filing costs a long drive rather than a resubmission.
Then list every asset and every debt in detail. New Mexico requires the application for informal probate to be verified as accurate and complete (NMSA 1978, Section 45-3-301), and by verifying it you submit personally to the court's jurisdiction in any later proceeding for fraud or perjury, so a missed account is not a small thing. Within three months of appointment the personal representative must prepare an inventory of everything the person owned at death, with a value for each item as of the date of death (Section 45-3-706). Sunset's asset discovery work, searching more than 2,300 financial institutions, exists for exactly this step, so the application you bring to your appointment in Mora describes the estate accurately the first time.
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)). Within Mora County you have a choice of court: the Mora County Probate Court for an informal, uncontested probate, or the Fourth Judicial District Court for anything formal or contested (Sections 45-1-302 and 45-1-302.1). Where a proceeding could be brought in more than one place, the court where it is first commenced has the exclusive right to proceed (Section 45-1-303(A)).
The Mora County Probate Court serves the whole county from the county seat at Mora: the Mora valley itself, Wagon Mound, Cleveland, Holman, Chacon, Guadalupita, Ocate, Ledoux, Rainsville, Watrous and the ranch country between them. It is a county office within New Mexico's judicial branch, funded by the county (NMSA 1978, Section 34-7-4), and the position of probate judge is a part-time, elected one (Sections 34-7-1 and 34-7-2). Its clerk is the Mora County Clerk, because the county clerk of each county is designated as the clerk of the probate court in that county (Section 34-7-22(A)), and Mora County states the arrangement in its own words on the probate judge's page: the office "works as a branch of the County Clerk's office recording / filing", and "Probates may perform marriages". Its hours are whatever the clerk sets and publishes on the county's website (Section 34-7-8), and what Mora publishes is "Office Hours: by Appointment as of 3/15/2020", so the Clerk's counter hours are the practical ones and the judge is an appointment.
The Fourth Judicial District Court covers Guadalupe, Mora and San Miguel Counties, and for a Mora County reader it has one consequence worth understanding before you plan a trip. A multi-county district is an administrative fact rather than a venue rule, but the Fourth publishes no district courthouse and no district court clerk inside Mora County. It lists three district courthouses for the whole district: the Guadalupe County District Courthouse at 1448 Historic Route 66, Suite 5, Santa Rosa, the Mora County District Courthouse at 496 West National Ave., Las Vegas, and the San Miguel County District Courthouse at the same 496 West National Ave. in Las Vegas. Las Vegas is in San Miguel County, about thirty miles from Mora, and the Mora and San Miguel entries share a building and the telephone number 505-425-7281. So a formal or contested Mora County estate is still a Mora County case, filed under Mora County venue, but the counter that takes the paper is in the next county. Nothing about that changes venue: you do not file in a district, you file in the county where venue lies, and the clerk who receives it sits elsewhere.
One other court sits in Mora County and it is not the place for an estate. The Mora County Magistrate Courthouse is at 1 Courthouse Drive, Mora, NM 87732, mailing to P.O. Box 131, on 575-387-2937, open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. It is a court of limited jurisdiction handling small civil claims, misdemeanors and traffic matters, and it has no probate jurisdiction at all. It shares the courthouse address with the county offices, so it is genuinely easy to walk into it by mistake, and a search for a courthouse in Mora will often find it first. An estate goes to the probate court by appointment, or to Las Vegas.
The jurisdiction process
- Wait the five days, and check the three-year window. A New Mexico court cannot issue a written statement of informal probate or an order of informal appointment until at least 120 hours have elapsed since the death (NMSA 1978, Sections 45-3-302 and 45-3-307(A)), and if the person was not a New Mexico resident the court must wait 30 days before ordering an informal appointment unless the domiciliary personal representative is the applicant or the will directs New Mexico law. At the other end, a probate or appointment proceeding cannot be commenced more than three years after the death (Section 45-3-108(A)), although a limited late proceeding remains available after that, chiefly to confirm title to real property in the heirs.
- Get the statewide forms, because Mora County publishes none of its own. Unlike some New Mexico counties, Mora publishes no probate packet, no checklist and no instructions. The forms you need are the Supreme Court's Form 4B set, free from the New Mexico Courts probate forms library, and Form 4B-101 NMRA is the flow chart for opening and closing a probate court case. If you would rather have a person walk you through which form is which, the New Mexico Courts HelpLine on 1-855-268-7804 can provide court-approved forms and explain what a form is asking for.
- Fill in the opening forms before your appointment. With a will, that is Form 4B-302 NMRA, the application for informal probate of will and for informal appointment of personal representative, and Form 4B-304 NMRA, the order. With no will, it is Form 4B-301 NMRA, the application for informal appointment of personal representative, and Form 4B-303 NMRA, the order. Both routes then use Form 4B-305 NMRA, the acceptance of appointment, and the letters form, which is Form 4B-307 NMRA for letters testamentary where there is a will and Form 4B-306 NMRA for letters of administration where there is not. New Mexico's statutory term for the person who settles the estate is personal representative; executor and administrator are correct informal usages for the same office. The application has to be verified as accurate and complete (Section 45-3-301), and the priority order for who may be appointed is set by Section 45-3-203(A).
- Make the appointment, and bring the originals. Mora County publishes the probate court's hours as by appointment, dated to March 15, 2020, so telephone 575-387-5014, extension 1017, before you go anywhere. Where there is a will, the original, duly executed and apparently unrevoked will must be in the court's possession (Section 45-3-303(A)(5)); a will with the required signatures and an attestation clause showing proper execution is probated without further proof (Section 45-3-303(C)). Bring a certified copy of the death certificate as well. If you are posting an original will from out of state, call first and ask how the office wants to receive it, and confirm which post office box to use: the county publishes P.O. Box 580 and the Secretary of State's directory publishes P.O. Box 360 for the Clerk.
- File on paper and pay $30.00. There is no electronic filing in a New Mexico probate court: the statewide system is approved for use by the district courts (Rule 1-005.2(A)(3) NMRA), the Probate Court Rules contain no electronic filing rule, and the original will has to be physically delivered in any event. The filing fee is $30.00 for each probate case (NMSA 1978, Section 34-7-14), collected by the clerk of the probate court, which in Mora County is the County Clerk (Section 34-7-22(A)). Mora County publishes a fee sheet on the Clerk's page, but it is a scanned image with no readable text, and it publishes no payee and no accepted payment methods, so telephone 575-387-2448 and ask before you write a check. If the estate cannot afford the fee, ask for free process on Form 4B-201 NMRA, the affidavit of poverty and indigency, with Form 4B-202 NMRA as the order.
- Take the appointment and collect the letters. If the judge makes the findings the statute requires, the court issues a written statement of informal probate and letters (Sections 45-3-302, 45-3-307 and 45-3-103), and administration of the estate is commenced by the issuance of letters. Before receiving them the personal representative qualifies by filing any required bond and a statement of acceptance (Section 45-3-601). Order enough certified copies for the banks, title company and transfer agents you will deal with, and ask the Clerk's Office what it charges, because the county's published price list cannot be read. Note that the court may decline an application for informal appointment for any reason, which is not an adjudication and does not stop a formal appointment later (Section 45-3-309).
- Give notice within 30 days, and file the proof. Not later than 30 days after appointment the personal representative must give notice of the appointment to the heirs and devisees, by delivery or ordinary mail, stating the personal representative's name and address, that the recipient has or may have an interest, whether a bond has been filed, and where the papers are on file, and must then file a statement with the court naming who was notified (Section 45-3-705). Form 4B-401 NMRA is the notice and Form 4B-402 NMRA is the proof. Note that in an informal case notice comes after the probate, not before: no other notice of informal probate is required (Section 45-3-306(A)).
- Prepare the inventory within three months. The personal representative prepares an inventory of the property owned at death, in reasonable detail, with an estimated value as of the date of death and any encumbrance noted, within three months of appointment (Section 45-3-706). It must be sent to interested persons who ask for it, and filing it with the court is permitted but not required. Form 4B-601 NMRA is the inventory.
- Decide whether to publish a notice to creditors. Publication is optional in New Mexico. A personal representative may publish notice once a week for three successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the proceeding is pending, giving creditors four months from the first publication to present claims, and may also give written notice to a known creditor (Section 45-3-801). It is a tool for cutting claims off early rather than a required step, and the personal representative is not liable for giving or failing to give it. Independently of any notice, claims arising before the death are barred one year after the death (Section 45-3-803(A)). Form 4B-501 NMRA covers both kinds of notice.
- Know the fork to the district court, that it is in Las Vegas, and that it costs nothing extra. If anyone contests the will, if the heirs are in dispute, if the estate needs a court order about who owns something, if a formal appointment or formal closing is asked for, or if a hearing is required, the case goes to the Fourth Judicial District Court, which has exclusive jurisdiction over those matters (NMSA 1978, Section 45-1-302(A) and (B); Rule 1B-101(B)(2) NMRA; Rule 1B-701 NMRA). For a Mora County estate that counter is at 496 West National Ave., Las Vegas, NM 87701, on 505-425-7281, open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Form 4B-1001 NMRA is the transfer order, and Section 34-7-10(B) provides that where a case was properly filed within the probate court's jurisdiction and is later transferred, no filing fee shall be charged in the district court. Starting in the Mora County Probate Court therefore costs you nothing if the case has to move up. If you do open a case in the district court instead, it charges $132.00 and takes cash, cashier's checks, money orders and in-state attorney checks only, with photocopies at $.35 per page and a certified copy at $1.50 per pleading. Note also that while a formal testacy proceeding is pending, the probate court cannot act on any informal application (Section 45-3-401(C)).
- Administer, then close. Pay the valid debts and the taxes, deal with the property, and distribute what is left. 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)), so real property in Mora County can be conveyed by personal representative's deed and recorded with the Mora County Clerk, the same office that took the filing. The Clerk publishes a Personal Rep Deed form free on its own page, though it is a scanned document and the courts' own guide warns that deeds can be tricky to draft and execute properly. What the probate court cannot do is decide a dispute about that title, which belongs to the district court in formal proceedings (Section 45-1-302(B)). Outside supervised administration there is no routine annual court accounting in New Mexico, though Form 4B-602 NMRA exists where one is needed. To close informally, file a verified closing statement no earlier than six months after the original appointment (Section 45-3-1003(A)), on Form 4B-701 NMRA, and if no proceeding is pending one year after it is filed the appointment terminates.
Forms and documents
Probate forms in Mora County
Mora County publishes no probate forms of its own, and that is an affirmative finding rather than a missing link. The county's probate judge page carries three lines of text and no documents, the County Clerk's page carries election notices, deed forms and two scanned office notices, and neither offers a probate packet, a probate checklist, a cover sheet or written filing instructions. The Fourth Judicial District publishes no probate forms of its own either; its Forms and Files library has a Probate category that carries the statewide forms. So in both Mora County forums you use the Supreme Court's Form 4B set, which is free.
The set is complete enough to run an informal probate end to end. Form 4B-101 NMRA is the flow chart for opening and closing a probate court case. Where there is a will you apply on Form 4B-302 NMRA and the court signs Form 4B-304 NMRA; where there is none you apply on Form 4B-301 NMRA and the court signs Form 4B-303 NMRA. Form 4B-305 NMRA is the acceptance of appointment, Form 4B-307 NMRA is letters testamentary and Form 4B-306 NMRA is letters of administration. After appointment you use Form 4B-401 NMRA and Form 4B-402 NMRA for the notice and its proof, Form 4B-501 NMRA if you publish a notice to creditors, Form 4B-601 NMRA for the inventory, Form 4B-602 NMRA if an accounting is ever needed, and Form 4B-701 NMRA for the verified closing statement. Form 4B-201 NMRA and Form 4B-202 NMRA are the free process affidavit and order, Forms 4B-901 to 4B-904 NMRA cover a special administrator, Forms 4B-801 and 4B-802 NMRA cover proof of authority, and Form 4B-1001 NMRA is the 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 ignore older four-digit numbers you may find in a guide.
Two gaps to plan around, both statewide rather than local. There is no Form 4B for the affidavit routes that avoid probate altogether, so a claiming successor's affidavit and a surviving spouse's homestead affidavit are drafted rather than filled in, and the homestead affidavit is recorded at the Mora County Clerk's counter rather than filed with any court. And there is no renunciation or waiver form, no proof of publication form and no notice of hearing form, because the 4B set is written for informal cases and a contested matter transfers out on Form 4B-1001 NMRA. The newspaper supplies its own affidavit of publication, and consent by someone with higher appointment priority is a signature block inside Forms 4B-301 and 4B-302 NMRA.
The Mora County Clerk's Office does publish forms, and they belong to the property end of an estate rather than the court end. Free on the Clerk's page are a Personal Rep Deed, a Transfer on Death deed, a quitclaim deed, a warranty deed and a public records request form. The personal representative's deed is the instrument used to convey Mora County real property once letters have issued, and the same office records it. All of them are one-page scanned documents rather than fillable forms, and the courts' own probate guide warns that deeds can be tricky to draft and execute properly, so treat the Clerk's copy as a starting point and not as legal advice: an informal probate court and a county clerk are both barred from giving any (Rule 23-113 NMRA).
| Resource | What it provides |
|---|---|
| New Mexico Courts probate forms, the 4B set (nmcourts.gov) | The free statewide library used in both Mora County forums: the Form 4B-101 flow chart, the applications, orders, acceptances and letters, the notice and proof of notice, the notice to creditors, the inventory and accounting, the closing statements, proof of authority, the special administration set and Form 4B-1001 for transfer to the district court, plus a plain-language guide and a Diné (Navajo) translation |
| Mora County Probate Judge (countyofmora.com) | The county's probate page. It publishes the office's role as a branch of the County Clerk's office, that the office may perform marriages, and office hours by appointment as of March 15, 2020. It publishes no forms and no fee |
| Mora County Clerk's Office (countyofmora.com) | The filing counter and the clerk of the probate court (NMSA 1978, Section 34-7-22(A)). Its Our Forms section offers a Personal Rep Deed, a Transfer on Death deed, a quitclaim deed, a warranty deed and a records request form, all as scanned documents, and it posts a Mora County Clerks Office Fees sheet and a Legal Advice Limitation notice that are scans with no readable text |
| Fourth Judicial District forms and files (fourthdistrict.nmcourts.gov) | The district's library, with a Probate category carrying the statewide forms. The district publishes no probate forms of its own and no local probate cover sheet |
| New Mexico Courts self-representation (nmcourts.gov) | The judiciary's self-representation site, with a probate page carrying the same 4B forms. Note that the free Guide and File document tool elsewhere on the site covers free process, divorce and orders of protection only, and has no probate interview |
Local nuance
Mora County-specific considerations
The district court is not in Mora County, and this is the sharpest version of that problem in New Mexico. The Fourth Judicial District covers Guadalupe, Mora and San Miguel Counties and publishes exactly three district courthouses: Santa Rosa for Guadalupe, and two entries at the same Las Vegas address for Mora and San Miguel. What the district calls the Mora County District Courthouse is at 496 West National Ave., Las Vegas, NM 87701, which is in San Miguel County about thirty miles away, sharing its building, its clerk's office and its telephone number of 505-425-7281 with the San Miguel County District Courthouse. There is no district court building, no district court clerk and no district court counter inside Mora County. If your matter is formal or contested, or if you choose the district court for an informal probate, plan on the drive to Las Vegas. The district's counters are open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and although it notes that its Guadalupe and San Miguel counters stay open through lunch, it makes no such note for its Mora County entry, so telephone before you rely on the middle of the day.
The probate court is by appointment, and Mora County has published that since 2020. New Mexico makes the position of probate judge a part-time one (NMSA 1978, Section 34-7-1(B)) and provides that the probate court shall be open at such times as determined by the clerk of the probate court and published on the county's website (Section 34-7-8). What Mora County's probate judge page publishes is three lines: that the office "works as a branch of the County Clerk's office recording / filing", that "Probates may perform marriages", and "Office Hours: by Appointment as of 3/15/2020". That first line is the county saying out loud what Section 34-7-22(A) provides, that the county clerk is the clerk of the probate court, so treat the Clerk's counter as the filing counter and the judge as an appointment. Mora County Offices are open 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, having changed to those hours effective Monday, July 20, 2026. Telephone 575-387-5014 for the appointment and 575-387-2448 for the Clerk before you drive in from Wagon Mound, Ocate or Chacon.
Read the address twice, because the magistrate court is in the same building. The Mora County Magistrate Courthouse is at 1 Courthouse Drive, Mora, NM 87732, mailing to P.O. Box 131, on 575-387-2937 with a fax of 575-387-9081, open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. It is the only state court physically in Mora County, it is the courthouse a search engine finds most easily, and it has no probate jurisdiction of any kind. The post office boxes need the same care: Mora County publishes P.O. Box 580 as the county's address and the New Mexico Secretary of State's county clerk directory publishes P.O. Box 360 for the Mora County Clerk. An original will is not a document to send to the wrong box, so telephone and ask which one the probate filing should go to.
Almost nothing about a Mora County probate is published, and that is the honest answer rather than a gap in this page. Mora County publishes no probate packet, no probate checklist, no probate instructions, no payee, no payment methods and no probate case index. It does publish a Mora County Clerks Office Fees sheet and a Legal Advice Limitation notice on the Clerk's page, and both are one-page scanned images with no readable text, so no figure from either is quoted here. The Clerk's page also posts a document headed Notice Clerks Office Delays Due to Digitization, which is worth asking about if you need a record quickly. County probate court cases are in no statewide system either: the free statewide Case Lookup tool offers District, Magistrate, Metropolitan and Municipal as its court types and has no probate court option, and no probate court appears in the New Mexico Courts locator. To find out what is on file in an estate here, ask the Mora County Clerk's Office at 575-387-2448.
What the County Clerk does publish is aimed at the end of a probate, not the beginning, and it is genuinely useful. The Clerk's Office page offers free downloadable deed forms including a Personal Rep Deed, a Transfer on Death deed, a quitclaim deed and a warranty deed, plus a public records request form. A personal representative's deed is the instrument an informally appointed personal representative uses to convey Mora County land (NMSA 1978, Section 45-3-711(A)), and the Clerk's counter is where it is recorded, where a transfer on death deed is recorded in the first place, and where a surviving spouse's homestead affidavit under Section 45-3-1205 is recorded. All of the Clerk's forms are scanned documents rather than fillable files, and the recording charges are on the fee sheet that cannot be read, so ask at the counter.
Recent updates
| Item | What it means in Mora County |
|---|---|
| Mora County Offices changed their hours effective Monday, July 20, 2026 | The county published a notice of change in work hours, dated July 2, 2026, setting the regular business hours for Mora County Offices at 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Those are the counter hours for a probate filing, because the County Clerk is the clerk of the probate court (NMSA 1978, Section 34-7-22(A)). The probate court itself remains by appointment (verified August 2026) |
| Every New Mexico probate judgeship is on the ballot on November 3, 2026, with the winner taking office January 1, 2027 | The probate judge is an elected county official and the position is part-time (NMSA 1978, Sections 34-7-1 and 34-7-2). The current cohort's terms were extended to December 31, 2026 by Laws 2023, chapter 44, Section 15(B), so the Mora County seat, like all 33, turns over at the start of 2027. This page names the office rather than the officeholder for that reason. The court, its courthouse, its appointment-only practice and its $30.00 fee do not change with the election |
| The Fourth Judicial District has no courthouse in Mora County | The district publishes three district courthouses for Guadalupe, Mora and San Miguel Counties, and the Mora one is at 496 West National Ave., Las Vegas, NM 87701, in San Miguel County, sharing a building and the number 505-425-7281 with the San Miguel County District Courthouse (verified August 2026). Directories that give a Mora address for a district court probate filing are pointing at a building that does not exist. The only court physically in Mora County besides the probate court is the Mora County Magistrate Courthouse at 1 Courthouse Drive, which has no probate jurisdiction |
| The county's own probate and fee documents are scans that cannot be read as text | The Mora County Clerk's page publishes a Mora County Clerks Office Fees sheet, a Legal Advice Limitation notice and a set of deed forms including a Personal Rep Deed, and every one of them is a one-page image with no text layer (checked August 2026). No figure from the county fee sheet is quoted anywhere on this page for that reason. Confirm any county charge beyond the statutory $30.00 filing fee at the counter on 575-387-2448 |
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in Mora County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | If the home in Mora, Wagon Mound or elsewhere in the county was held with a right of survivorship or passes by a recorded transfer on death deed, it goes to the survivor with no court involved, and accounts with payable on death or beneficiary designations do the same. Where the home was community property and passes to the survivor, New Mexico has a recorded affidavit route that avoids probate entirely and is handled at the Mora County Clerk's recording counter rather than in court; that route and its assessed-value limit are covered on the New Mexico state page. Where assets stood in the deceased person's sole name, the spouse telephones 575-387-5014 for an appointment with the Mora County Probate Court and applies informally on Form 4B-302 NMRA with a will or Form 4B-301 NMRA without one. A surviving spouse who is a devisee ranks second in the appointment priority, behind only a person named in a probated will (NMSA 1978, Section 45-3-203(A)). | Asset discovery to establish how the home and the accounts are actually titled and how much really has to reach a court. Packet generation for the application, the acceptance and the notices, ready to take to the appointment in Mora. A vetted attorney referral if title or a claim turns out to be disputed, which would move the matter to the Fourth Judicial District Court in Las Vegas. |
| Out-of-state adult child, small estate | Start by checking whether a court is needed at all: New Mexico lets a claiming successor collect personal property from a bank or transfer agent on an affidavit thirty days after the death, with no court filing and no fee, where the whole estate is under the statewide limit and no real estate is involved. That route is covered on the New Mexico state page. Where a probate is needed, the informal route in the Mora County Probate Court costs $30.00 (Section 34-7-14) against $132.00 in the district court, and it is decided on the papers with no hearing. Doing it from out of state means post and telephone, and Mora is harder than most: there is no e-filing in either forum, the probate court is by appointment, the original will has to reach the court physically, and there are two county post office boxes. Telephone 575-387-5014 for the appointment and 575-387-2448 for the Clerk before posting anything. | Asset discovery to value the estate from out of state and work out which route it qualifies for before anyone books a flight. Packet generation for the affidavit or the application, assembled so it can be posted to Mora and accepted the first time. |
| Parent settling a predeceased child's estate, home must be sold | Selling real property does not by itself force the case to Las Vegas. 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)), so a parent appointed by the Mora County Probate Court can convey by personal representative's deed, recorded with the Mora County Clerk, which is also the office that publishes a Personal Rep Deed form. With no will the parent applies on Form 4B-301 NMRA and receives letters of administration on Form 4B-306 NMRA, ranking behind any surviving spouse and any children in the priority order of Section 45-3-203(A), so obtain the renunciations or consents of anyone ahead. Notice follows within 30 days (Section 45-3-705) and the inventory within three months (Section 45-3-706). What does move the case to the Fourth Judicial District Court is a dispute about who owns the property, because determining title as between the estate and an adverse claimant is exclusively a district court matter in formal proceedings (Section 45-1-302(B)), and Section 34-7-10(B) means that transfer costs no second filing fee. | Asset discovery for the accounts, insurance, vehicles, Mora County real property and debts. Packet generation for the application, the notices and the inventory. Attorney referral where the sale, a mortgage payoff, a dispute among heirs or a title question makes counsel worthwhile. |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers |
|---|---|
| Mora County Probate Judge (countyofmora.com), 575-387-5014, extension 1017 | The informal probate forum for the county, at the Mora County Courthouse, 1 Courthouse Drive, Mora, NM 87732. The county publishes its office hours as by appointment as of March 15, 2020 and describes the office as working as a branch of the County Clerk's office. Court staff can explain procedure but cannot give legal advice (Rule 23-113 NMRA) |
| Mora County Clerk's Office (countyofmora.com), 575-387-2448, fax (575) 387-9023 | The filing counter and the clerk of the probate court (NMSA 1978, Section 34-7-22(A)). Mora County Offices are open 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. This is where the $30.00 fee is paid, where case files and certified copies are requested, where a personal representative's deed is recorded, and where the county's free deed forms are published |
| Mora County staff directory (countyofmora.com) | The county's own directory of departments with direct extensions, including the probate judge's office line and the Clerk's Office. Useful in a county where a general switchboard number reaches several buildings |
| Fourth Judicial District, location, hours and contacts (fourthdistrict.nmcourts.gov), 505-425-7281 | The formal and contested forum for Guadalupe, Mora and San Miguel Counties. It publishes the Mora County District Courthouse at 496 West National Ave., Las Vegas, NM 87701, open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, at the same address and number as the San Miguel County District Courthouse. There is no district court counter inside Mora County |
| Fourth Judicial District fees, costs and filing (fourthdistrict.nmcourts.gov) | The district's own fee page: Civil and Probate Cases $132.00, photocopies $.35 per page, certified copy $1.50 per pleading, exemplified copy $4.50 per pleading, and the payment rule that it takes cash, cashier's checks, money orders and in-state attorney checks and does not accept personal checks or credit cards |
| Fourth Judicial District, ways we can help (fourthdistrict.nmcourts.gov) | The district's own list of what its staff can and cannot do. It can provide court-approved forms and instructions, explain what a form asks for, and give general information about procedure and docketed cases; it cannot fill in forms, create documents, apply the law to your facts or tell you what to say in court. Read it before you telephone, so you ask for something the clerk is allowed to give |
| New Mexico Courts HelpLine (nmcourts.gov), 1-855-268-7804 | The judiciary's own information service, Monday through Friday 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Saturdays 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., in English and Spanish with interpreters available. It can provide court-approved forms and explain what a form is asking for and point you to free or low-cost legal services, but it cannot tell you what to write on a form or apply any law to your situation. The single most useful statewide resource for a self-represented probate filer in a county with no self-help center |
| New Mexico Courts probate forms (nmcourts.gov) | The free statewide Form 4B library, which is what both Mora County forums use, plus a plain-language guide and a Diné (Navajo) translation |
| New Mexico Courts Case Lookup (nmcourts.gov) | The free statewide case index, covering the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, district, magistrate and municipal courts. It reaches a Fourth Judicial District case and it does not reach a Mora County Probate Court case, because it has no probate court option. It is an index only, with no documents |
| New Mexico Secretary of State, county clerk directory (sos.nm.gov) | The official state directory of county clerks, and the source for the Mora County Clerk's post office box of P.O. Box 360, Mora, NM 87732 and fax of (575) 387-9023. Note that the probate court's clerk and the county's general mail go to different boxes |
| Legal Resources for the Elderly Program, State Bar of New Mexico (sbnm.org), 505-797-6005 or 1-800-876-6657 | A free statewide legal helpline for New Mexico residents aged 55 and older, with no income restrictions, in English and Spanish. Phone lines are open and accepting voicemails Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Mountain Time. It names probate and transfer on death deeds among the areas it advises on, which makes it the strongest probate-specific free resource in the state |
| Modest Means Helpline, State Bar of New Mexico (sbnm.org), 505-797-6013 or 888-857-9935 | Advice by telephone for New Mexico residents of modest means, Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mountain Time, with referrals to pro bono attorneys in limited cases. Callers aged 55 or older should use the elderly program instead |
| New Mexico Free Legal Answers (nm.freelegalanswers.org) | Free written answers to civil legal questions from volunteer New Mexico attorneys, for people who qualify. Useful for a single question about a Mora County estate rather than for representation |
| New Mexico Compilation Commission (nmonesource.com) | The official free text of NMSA 1978 and the rules and forms, published by the state's own compiler. The place to read Sections 34-7-14, 45-1-302 and 45-3-201 for yourself |
When to hire an attorney
Most Mora County estates are uncontested, and the cheap route is built for families doing this themselves: an informal probate is decided on the papers for $30.00 (NMSA 1978, Section 34-7-14) with no hearing, and both forums' staff are barred from giving legal advice (Rule 23-113 NMRA), which the Fourth Judicial District spells out in its own published list of what its clerks can and cannot do. Consider counsel when a will is likely to be contested or the heirs disagree, when someone outside the family claims an interest in ranch ground, grazing rights, acequia water rights or a land grant interest, when the estate is insolvent or a creditor is pressing, when a personal representative's deed or a sale has to be drafted, when heirs cannot be located, when a guardianship or conservatorship has to run alongside the estate, or whenever the matter has to move to the Fourth Judicial District Court, which is the only forum that can decide any of it. Distance is its own argument in Mora County: the district court counter is in another county about thirty miles away, the probate court is only open by appointment, and there is no local self-help center and no online docket to check between visits. Sunset can connect families to a vetted New Mexico probate attorney serving Mora County.
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, Mora County real property and unclaimed property, so you know what the estate holds before estate settlement begins. New Mexico requires the application for informal probate to be verified as accurate and complete (NMSA 1978, Section 45-3-301), and requires an inventory with date of death values within three months of appointment (Section 45-3-706).
Generate the probate packet. Sunset assembles the paperwork for your route, whether an informal application on Form 4B-302 or Form 4B-301 NMRA or one of New Mexico's affidavit routes, ready to take to an appointment at the Mora County Courthouse or to post to the county.
Find a local probate attorney. When a matter is contested, when title is disputed, or when it otherwise has to go to the Fourth Judicial District Court in Las Vegas, Sunset connects families to a vetted New Mexico probate attorney serving Mora County.
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
Do I file in the Mora County Probate Court or the Fourth Judicial District Court?
Both can open an informal probate, and only the district court can do anything else. The Mora County Probate Court handles informal, uncontested probate: admitting a will informally, appointing a personal representative informally, and issuing letters (NMSA 1978, Section 45-1-302(C)). The Fourth Judicial District Court has exclusive jurisdiction over formal proceedings, determinations of testacy and of heirs, will construction, will contests, supervised administration, disputes about who owns property as between the estate and an adverse claimant, disclaimers and tax apportionment (Section 45-1-302(A) and (B)), and it also has concurrent jurisdiction over informal matters (Section 45-1-302.1). In practice almost everyone starts in the probate court, because it costs $30.00 rather than $132.00, because it is in Mora rather than in Las Vegas, and because Section 34-7-10(B) means there is no second filing fee if the case has to be transferred up.
Where is the district court for Mora County, and is it really in another county?
Yes. The Fourth Judicial District publishes no district courthouse and no district court clerk inside Mora County. What it calls the Mora County District Courthouse is at 496 West National Ave., Las Vegas, NM 87701, which is in San Miguel County about thirty miles from Mora, in the same building and on the same telephone number, 505-425-7281, as the San Miguel County District Courthouse. Its counter is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. A Mora County estate is still a Mora County case under the venue rule in Section 45-3-201 NMSA 1978, and the paper still goes to Las Vegas. This is the single most useful thing to know before planning a trip, and it is the reason the $30.00 informal route in Mora is worth starting with where it fits.
Where exactly do I file a probate in Mora County?
At the Mora County Clerk's Office, in the Mora County Courthouse at 1 Courthouse Drive, Mora, NM 87732, after telephoning 575-387-5014 for an appointment with the probate court. The county clerk of each county is designated as the clerk of the probate court in that county (NMSA 1978, Section 34-7-22(A)), and Mora County says it in its own words, describing the probate office as working as a branch of the County Clerk's office. Check the post office box before you post anything: the county publishes P.O. Box 580, Mora, NM 87732 for itself, and the New Mexico Secretary of State's directory publishes P.O. Box 360, Mora, NM 87732 for the County Clerk. File in Mora County if the person who died lived here (Section 45-3-201(A)(1)), or if they lived out of state and owned property here (Section 45-3-201(A)(2)).
What are the Mora County Probate Court's hours?
By appointment, and Mora County dates that: its probate judge page states "Office Hours: by Appointment as of 3/15/2020". The position of probate judge in New Mexico is a part-time one (NMSA 1978, Section 34-7-1(B)), and the probate court is open at such times as the clerk of the probate court determines and publishes on the county's website (Section 34-7-8), so an appointment-only court is the statute working normally rather than an office that is closed. The counter hours that matter for the filing and the fee are the County Clerk's: Mora County Offices are open 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, changed to those hours effective Monday, July 20, 2026. Telephone 575-387-5014 for the appointment and 575-387-2448 for the Clerk.
How much does it cost to file probate in Mora County?
$30.00 in the Mora County Probate Court and $132.00 in the Fourth Judicial District Court. The probate court fee is set by statute at thirty dollars for each probate case (NMSA 1978, Section 34-7-14). Mora County publishes a Mora County Clerks Office Fees sheet on the Clerk's page, but it is a one-page scanned image with no readable text, and the county publishes no payee and no accepted payment methods, so telephone 575-387-2448 and ask before you write a check. The district court figure is what the Fourth Judicial District publishes on its own fee page as Civil and Probate Cases $132.00, and it is built from $117 for docketing a civil cause (Section 34-6-40(A)) plus $15 in a judicial district running an alternative dispute resolution program (Section 34-6-45(A)). The district takes cash, cashier's checks, money orders and in-state attorney checks, and states that it does not accept personal checks or credit cards. If the estate cannot afford the fee, ask for free process on Form 4B-201 NMRA in the probate court or under Rule 23-114 NMRA in the district court.
Can I e-file a probate case in Mora County?
Not in the probate court, and not as a self-represented filer in the district court either. New Mexico's electronic filing system, Tyler's Odyssey File & Serve branded by the courts as eFile & Serve, is defined by rule as the system approved for use by the district courts (Rule 1-005.2(A)(3) NMRA); no probate court appears in any e-filing authority, and the Probate Court Rules contain no electronic filing rule. And even at the district court, self-represented parties are prohibited from electronically filing documents and shall continue to file documents through traditional methods (Rule 1-005.2(B)(1) NMRA), with the clerk converting a paper filing into electronic format (Rule 1-005.2(I)(2)). So you file on paper at the counter or by post in both forums. One practical consequence in a county this remote: the original will has to be physically delivered, so an out-of-state filer posts it or brings it.
What happens if someone contests the will in Mora County?
The case leaves the probate court and goes to Las Vegas. A probate court case must be transferred to the district court when a contest arises, when a formal appointment or formal closing is requested, when a determination of testacy or heirship is requested, when a hearing is required, or when any interested party or the judge asks for it (Rule 1B-101(B)(2) NMRA, with the procedure in Rule 1B-701 NMRA), and the district court has exclusive original jurisdiction over all of it (NMSA 1978, Section 45-1-302(A)). For Mora County that court sits at 496 West National Ave., Las Vegas. Form 4B-1001 NMRA is the transfer order, and the transfer costs nothing: where a case was properly filed within the probate court's jurisdiction and later transferred, no filing fee shall be charged in the district court (Section 34-7-10(B)). Note also that a probate judge may decline an application for informal appointment for any reason, which is not an adjudication and does not prevent a formal appointment later (Section 45-3-309), and that while a formal testacy proceeding is pending the probate court cannot act on any informal application (Section 45-3-401(C)). A contest is also the point at which counsel is worth having.
How do I look up a Mora County probate case?
By asking the Mora County Clerk's Office at 575-387-2448 or at the counter in the courthouse. Case Lookup, the free statewide index, covers New Mexico's district, magistrate, metropolitan and municipal courts and has no probate court option at all; the New Mexico Courts locator lists no probate courts either. Each county probate court keeps its own records, and other counties' probate court records are not available online. Mora County publishes no probate index of its own, and it posts a notice on the Clerk's page about delays due to digitization, so allow time and telephone ahead for a record. A Fourth Judicial District Court case, by contrast, does appear in Case Lookup, as an index entry without documents.
Are there local Mora County probate forms?
No. Mora County publishes no probate packet, no probate checklist, no cover sheet and no written filing instructions, and the Fourth Judicial District publishes no probate forms of its own either. Both forums use the statewide Supreme Court Form 4B set, which is free from the New Mexico Courts probate forms library, with Form 4B-101 NMRA as the flow chart for opening and closing a case. What the Mora County Clerk's Office does publish, free, is a set of deed forms including a Personal Rep Deed and a Transfer on Death deed, which matter at the property end of an estate: a personal representative's deed is how Mora County land is conveyed once letters have issued, and the Clerk's counter is where it is recorded. They are scanned documents rather than fillable files.
Do I have to travel to Mora to settle an estate here?
Usually at least once, because the original will and the death certificate have to reach the court physically and the probate court is seen by appointment. Beyond that, most of an uncontested estate here runs on post and telephone: the later filings can be posted, and certified copies of the letters can be posted back. What you cannot do is e-file, in either forum. Telephone 575-387-5014 for the appointment and 575-387-2448 for the Clerk's counter before you plan anything, and confirm which post office box to use. Neither Mora County nor the Fourth Judicial District publishes any rule about appearing by telephone or video in a probate matter, so if something needs the judge, ask rather than assume it can be done from home. If the matter turns formal, the trip is to Las Vegas rather than to Mora.
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.