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Valencia County, NM Probate Information
Quick facts
| Detail | Valencia County Probate Court | Thirteenth Judicial District Court, Valencia County |
|---|---|---|
| What it handles | Informal, uncontested probate only. The county's own page limits it to admitting a will to informal probate, informally appointing personal representatives, fixing bond where required, enabling a personal representative to obtain discharge of liens securing performance, and signing a certificate on a verified application that the personal representative appears to have fully administered the estate (NMSA 1978, Section 45-1-302(C)). The county states affirmatively that it has no jurisdiction over estates of missing persons, formal probate including determination of heirship, will construction proceedings, guardianships and conservatorships, or trusts. | 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 case type before the resident district judges. |
| Courthouse address | 444 Luna Avenue, Los Lunas, NM 87031, shared with the Valencia County Clerk, who is the clerk of the probate court (Section 34-7-22(A)). | Valencia County District Court, 1835 Highway 314 SW, Los Lunas, NM 87031. |
| Mailing address | Valencia County Probate Court, P.O. Box 969, Los Lunas, NM 87031. The county publishes the box under the same 87031 ZIP code as the street address. | Valencia County District Court, P.O. Box 1089, Los Lunas, NM 87031. |
| Phone | 505-866-2432 is the probate judge's published office line. The Valencia County Clerk's counter, which takes probate filings the rest of the week, is 505-866-2073. | 505-865-2400 is the court's published main line for the Valencia County courthouse. |
| Fax | The probate court publishes no fax number. The County Clerk's published fax is 505-866-2015, and a probate application should not be faxed in any event. | The court publishes no general clerk's office fax; the fax numbers it publishes belong to individual judges' chambers and named court staff. It does charge for outgoing faxes, $2.50 a page in state and $5.00 a page out of state. |
| Hours | Wednesdays, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Both the county's probate judge page and the County Clerk's page carry the same notice: new probate court hours beginning April 2, 2025 are Wednesdays from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. On the other four days you may leave a completed probate application packet with the County Clerk's office, open Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and closed each Tuesday from 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. for staff training. Note a conflict on the county's own materials: the two downloadable probate packets still say the court is open Tuesdays from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., which the dated April 2, 2025 notice supersedes. Call 505-866-2432 before you travel. | Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Wednesday 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The court is closed over the lunch hour, and it publishes that no financial transaction will be accepted after 4:00 p.m., so a filing that needs a fee has to reach the window before then. |
| Filing fee | $30 for each probate case (NMSA 1978, Section 34-7-14). The Valencia County Clerk's own published fee schedule lists it as probate, new case, $30. The county's probate packets state the payee: checks are made out to the Valencia County Clerk. | $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 district publishes a probate-specific line, "Probate Cases $132.00", and its fee policy cites Sections 34-6-40, 34-6-44 and 34-6-45 together. 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 | The county's probate packets direct filers to make checks out to the Valencia County Clerk. Confirm any other method at the clerk's counter before you travel. | Attorney business firm checks, cash, money order or certified check. The court's fee policy states that no personal checks shall be accepted (Rule 1-099 NMRA), that cash must be the exact amount, and that filing fees cannot be refunded (LR13-124 NMRA). |
| Local forms | Yes. The county publishes two free downloadable packets, Probate Packet NO WILL and Probate Packet WITH WILL, each a Valencia County set of the statewide Form 4B documents preceded by the court's own filing checklist and its no-legal-advice notice. The County Clerk also sells a printed probate forms packet for $5. | None of its own for probate. Its forms library carries the statewide Supreme Court set, including Forms 4B-101, 4B-201, 4B-202, 4B-301 to 4B-307, 4B-401, 4B-402, 4B-501, 4B-601, 4B-602, 4B-701, 4B-702, 4B-801, 4B-802, 4B-901 to 4B-904 and 4B-1001, plus the New Mexico courts' plain-language probate guide and its Diné translation. |
| 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, and the county keeps it permanently. | eFile & Serve, Tyler's Odyssey File & Serve, at newmexico.tylertech.cloud/ofsweb. The district's own electronic filing user guide states that e-filing is mandatory for civil, criminal, domestic relations and probate actions in the Thirteenth Judicial District Court under Rule 1-005.2 NMRA. Self-represented parties are prohibited from e-filing and file on paper; the clerk's office scans the paper filing into the electronic record, which the guide describes as the official record (Rule 1-005.2(B)(1) and (I)(2) NMRA). |
| Case search | None. Valencia County Probate Court cases are county records and appear in no statewide index, and the county publishes no online probate docket. Ask the Valencia County Clerk's office for a case file or a certified copy. The clerk keeps public search computers at 444 Luna Avenue and asks searchers to call 505-866-2073 first to check availability. | 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. | The court publishes a Valencia County District Court hearing docket covering the current day plus six days ahead, but no general remote appearance policy for civil cases. How a hearing is held is set by the assigned judge, and the court publishes a direct phone number for each judge's chambers. |
| Website | valencianm.gov/our-county/elected-officials/probate-judge | thirteenthdistrict.nmcourts.gov |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
Before you choose a form or a counter in Valencia 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 and county and state of domicile, and it has to name the surviving spouse, children, other heirs and devisees with their full mailing addresses and the ages of any minor children (NMSA 1978, Section 45-3-301). Valencia County's own filing checklist is blunt about it: failure to provide all required information will delay the process. The checklist also asks for the written consent of anyone with equal or higher priority for appointment as personal representative, and it tells you to contact the district court to find out whether a demand for notice has already been filed. You are swearing to the application, and by verifying it you submit personally to the court's jurisdiction in any later proceeding for fraud or perjury (Section 45-3-301(G)).
The same inventory decides whether you need a probate at all. 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, and none of those needs either court in Los Lunas. So list every bank and credit union account, retirement and brokerage account, life insurance policy, vehicle, business interest and parcel of Valencia 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, and it also produces the figures for the inventory the personal representative has to prepare within three months of appointment (Section 45-3-706).
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)). Valencia County publishes the same rule in its own words: the probate court in the county where the deceased person resided, or, if they did not live in New Mexico, the county where they owned property. Both courts on this page serve the whole county, which is Los Lunas, Belen, Bosque Farms, Peralta, Rio Communities and the unincorporated communities of the middle Rio Grande valley including Meadow Lake, along with the part of the Pueblo of Isleta that lies in Valencia County.
Within Valencia County you have a choice of court. The Valencia County Probate Court takes an informal, uncontested probate, and the Thirteenth 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 Valencia County 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 paper filings across a county counter, and Section 34-7-10(B) means there is no second filing fee if the case has to move up. The Valencia 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 Thirteenth Judicial District Court is a state court covering Cibola, Sandoval and Valencia counties, and Valencia County has its own staffed courthouse in Los Lunas rather than sharing one with another county in the district.
Three Los Lunas buildings are easy to confuse, and only two of them touch probate. The Valencia County Probate Court and the Valencia County Clerk are both at 444 Luna Avenue. The Valencia County District Court is at 1835 Highway 314 SW. The Valencia County Magistrate Court at 1206 Main St. NE, and its sister magistrate court at 639 Becker Ave. in Belen, hear landlord and tenant matters, small civil claims and criminal cases and have no probate jurisdiction at all; nothing about an estate is filed at either. One more thing worth knowing about this district: the Sandoval County courthouse is in the town of Bernalillo, which is a different county from Valencia and a different county again from Bernalillo County, so check the county of domicile before you drive.
The jurisdiction process
- Confirm the case belongs in Valencia 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 county's own probate page publishes both limits.
- 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 Valencia County Probate Court, 444 Luna Avenue, Los Lunas. 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 Thirteenth Judicial District Court at 1835 Highway 314 SW (Section 45-1-302(A) and (B)).
- Get the packet. Download the county's own Probate Packet NO WILL or Probate Packet WITH WILL free from the probate judge's page at valencianm.gov, or buy the printed probate forms packet from the Valencia County Clerk for $5. Either way the documents are the statewide Supreme Court forms, captioned for Valencia County: Form 4B-301 or 4B-302 (the application, without or with a will), 4B-303 or 4B-304 (the order), 4B-305 (acceptance of appointment) and 4B-306 or 4B-307 (letters of administration or letters testamentary). The county's checklist says to leave the rest of the forms blank until you have actually been appointed.
- Gather the proof the counter will ask for. Valencia County accepts a death certificate, a letter from the Office of the Medical Investigator or a letter from the funeral home as proof of death, and requires it to show the name, date of birth, date of death, marital status and county of domicile of the person who died. Proof of death is returned to you. Where there is a will, the original will has to be in the court's possession before it can be probated (Section 45-3-303(A)(5)), and Valencia County states plainly that the original will is permanently retained and will not be given back.
- File on paper and pay the $30 fee (Section 34-7-14). You can hand the packet in at the probate court itself on a Wednesday between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., or leave the completed packet with the Valencia County Clerk's office at 444 Luna Avenue Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., or mail it to P.O. Box 969, Los Lunas, NM 87031. The county's packets say checks are made out to the Valencia County Clerk. There is no e-filing at any New Mexico probate court. The county keeps the original documents, so if you want endorsed copies back by mail, enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope, as the packet instructs. If you cannot afford the fee, ask for free process on Form 4B-201 with the order at Form 4B-202 (Section 34-6-27(B)); the county's packets do not include those two forms, so download them free from the statewide library at nmcourts.gov/forms-files/probate.
- Let the court review and docket the case. 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). Use the assigned case number on everything you file afterwards, which the county's packet asks for expressly. 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; both are in the Valencia County packet.
- 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, and the flow chart bound into the county's own packets says so. Form 4B-601.
- Deal with creditors. Publishing a notice to creditors once a week for three successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in Valencia County 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 Valencia County house is conveyed by a personal representative's deed recorded with the Valencia County Clerk at 444 Luna Avenue. Recording is $25 for each document of up to ten index entries, and the clerk records the original and hands it straight back. 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 Thirteenth 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. Valencia County's own page says that with efficient planning a routine, uncontested probate is opened and closed in six to twelve months.
Forms and documents
Probate forms in Valencia County
Valencia County is one of the New Mexico counties that publishes probate materials of its own. They are free to download from the probate judge's page at valencianm.gov, and the printed version is sold at the County Clerk's counter.
| Form or packet | What it is |
|---|---|
| Probate Packet, NO WILL | The county's free downloadable packet for an estate with no will. It opens with the Valencia County Probate Court's own checklist for submitting an informal probate, then the court's no-legal-advice notice, then the statewide flow chart and the Form 4B documents captioned for Valencia County, beginning with Form 4B-301. |
| Probate Packet, WITH WILL | The same packet for an estate with a will, built around Form 4B-302, and carrying the county's warning that the original last will and testament will not be returned and will be permanently retained by the court. |
| Valencia County Probate Court checklist | The first page of each packet. It lists what the application must contain, the accepted forms of proof of death, the documents to file with the application, the $30 fee, the payee and where to leave the packet when the court is not sitting. |
| Printed probate forms packet, $5 | Sold at the Valencia County Clerk's counter at 444 Luna Avenue and listed on the clerk's own published fee schedule as probate forms packet, $5 (verified July 27, 2026). |
Everything inside those packets is the statewide set, so nothing is lost if you download the forms directly instead. The Supreme Court's Form 4B series lives at nmcourts.gov/forms-files/probate, is cited as Form 4B-302 NMRA, and is used with the Probate Court Rules, Rules 1B-101 to 1B-701 NMRA. The ones a Valencia County filer meets are 4B-101 (the opening and closing flow chart), 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-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 Thirteenth Judicial District Court publishes no probate forms of its own, but its forms library carries the statewide 4B set for Cibola, Sandoval and Valencia counties, together with the New Mexico courts' plain-language probate guide and a Diné translation of it, at thirteenthdistrict.nmcourts.gov. The district does sell printed packets for other case types at $5 each and gives some forms away free, but there is no probate packet on that list, because probate forms are the statewide ones. 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 offices in Los Lunas publish their own charges beyond the statutory filing fee, and in Valencia County the probate counter and the recording counter are the same County Clerk's office, so one fee schedule covers both. All figures below were read from the offices' own pages on July 27, 2026.
| Charge | Amount | Office and authority |
|---|---|---|
| Probate case, new case | $30 | Valencia County Clerk's published fee schedule (NMSA 1978, Section 34-7-14). Checks are made out to the Valencia County Clerk, per the county's probate packets |
| Printed probate forms packet | $5 | Valencia County Clerk's published fee schedule |
| Copies at the county clerk | $1 per page | Valencia County Clerk. That is the statutory ceiling for a probate clerk's document copies (Section 14-8-14(B)) |
| Certifying a general document at the county clerk | $2.50, in addition to the document fee | Valencia County Clerk's published fee schedule |
| Exemplification at the county clerk | $5, plus standard fees | Valencia County Clerk's published fee schedule, listed under probate |
| Recording a personal representative's deed or a surviving spouse's homestead affidavit | $25 per document of up to ten index entries | Valencia County Clerk. The clerk adds $25 for each further block of ten or fewer index entries, and counts every name indexed as one entry |
| Filing a civil or children's case, which is what a formal probate is | $132 | Thirteenth Judicial District Court fee policy, citing NMSA 1978, Sections 34-6-40, 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)). The court's fee table lists probate cases at the same $132 |
| Photocopies at the district court | 35 cents per page | Thirteenth Judicial District Court (Rule 1-099 NMRA) |
| Certification at the district court | $1.50 per document | Thirteenth Judicial District Court (Rule 1-099 NMRA) |
| Exemplification at the district court | $4.50 | Thirteenth Judicial District Court's own published fee schedule |
| Record search at the district court | $1.50 per name, $5.00 for a name before 1986 | Thirteenth Judicial District Court fee schedule |
| Outgoing fax at the district court | $2.50 per page in state, $5.00 per page out of state | Thirteenth Judicial District Court fee schedule |
Two things about paying. First, the district court is strict in ways that turn filers away at the window: its fee policy says fees may be paid by attorney business firm checks, cash, money order or certified check and that no personal checks shall be accepted (Rule 1-099 NMRA); cash must be the exact amount; filing fees are not refunded (LR13-124 NMRA); and no financial transaction is accepted after 4:00 p.m. even though the counter stays open until 5:00 p.m. Second, at the probate counter the only payee the county publishes is the Valencia County Clerk, so make the check out that way and confirm any other payment method at the counter first.
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. Neither form is bound into Valencia County's own packets, so download both free from the statewide library at nmcourts.gov/forms-files/probate or from the district's forms library. 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)); the district also keeps free process forms in its free forms list. 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
Valencia County-specific considerations
| Local fact | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| The probate court sits one day a week, and the day changed | Since April 2, 2025 the Valencia County Probate Court's published hours are Wednesdays 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The same notice appears on the probate judge's page and on the County Clerk's page. New Mexico makes the probate judgeship a part-time position (NMSA 1978, Section 34-7-1(B)) and leaves the court's hours to the clerk of the probate court to set and the county to publish (Section 34-7-8), which is why a one-day week is normal rather than a sign of a problem. Plan your trip around the Wednesday, or use the clerk's counter instead. |
| The county's own packets still print the old day | Both downloadable probate packets say the court is open Tuesdays from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The dated April 2, 2025 notice on two separate county pages supersedes that line, but the stale text is still in circulation, so call 505-866-2432 before you make the trip and do not rely on the packet's cover sheet. |
| The County Clerk is the counter the rest of the week | The county publishes it in terms: you may leave your completed probate application packet with the County Clerk's office Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. That is Section 34-7-22(A) in practice, which makes the county clerk the clerk of the probate court, and it is why the payee on your check is the Valencia County Clerk. Note one small closure: the clerk's office shuts every Tuesday from 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. for staff training. |
| Everything county-side happens in one building | The probate court, the clerk who takes your filing, the clerk who records a personal representative's deed and the public search computers are all at 444 Luna Avenue, and the mail for all of them goes to P.O. Box 969, Los Lunas, NM 87031. That is unusually convenient: the same trip that opens the probate can record the deed at the end of it. |
| The original will never comes back | Valencia County states that the original last will and testament will not be returned to you and will be permanently retained by the court, and that original documents generally are not returned. Keep your own copies before you file, and if you are filing by mail, enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope for endorsed copies, which the county's packet asks for. |
| The district court is a real courthouse for this county, not a routing point | In several New Mexico multi-county districts the smaller county's district courthouse takes no filings and sends everything to the district's main clerk. That is not the case here. The Valencia County District Court at 1835 Highway 314 SW has its own clerk's office, its own mailing box at P.O. Box 1089, its own published main line on 505-865-2400 and three resident district judges, and the district's own electronic filing guide describes the clerk's office scanning paper filings into the electronic record. A formal Valencia County probate is filed in Los Lunas, not in Bernalillo or Grants. |
| The district court's Wednesday starts late, and its cashier closes early | The court opens at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesdays and 8:00 a.m. on the other four weekdays, closes over the lunch hour from noon to 1:00 p.m., and publishes that no financial transaction will be accepted after 4:00 p.m. If your filing needs a fee, get to the window before four. |
| This district really does run an alternative dispute resolution program | The $15 that turns the $117 statutory docket fee into $132 is only collected in a judicial district that has established an alternative dispute resolution program (Section 34-6-45(A)). The Thirteenth publishes its own civil ADR program for Cibola, Valencia and Sandoval counties, with a named director and a sliding fee scale set by the Supreme Court, so the $132 total is grounded here. A judge may refer a case to mediation without a party asking, and you do not need an attorney to request a referral. |
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 Valencia 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 Valencia County that means the Valencia County Clerk at 444 Luna Avenue, Los Lunas, 505-866-2073, open Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at $25 per document of up to ten index entries. The clerk requires the original document, records it and hands it back the same visit, and cannot tell you whether what you have drafted is correct or sufficient. The value cap in that statute is measured as assessed for property taxation purposes, not market value.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| April 2, 2025 | The Valencia County Probate Court changed its sitting day and hours. The notice on the County Clerk's page reads that new probate court hours beginning on April 2, 2025 are Wednesdays from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and adds that a completed probate application packet may be left with the County Clerk's office Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The probate judge's page publishes the same new day and hours. The county's two downloadable probate packets still print the earlier Tuesday 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. line and have not been updated. | valencianm.gov, probate judge page and County Clerk page |
| November 3, 2026 and January 1, 2027 | The Valencia 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, Valencia County'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 page as of July 27, 2026 is Wendy Wallace. 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; valencianm.gov probate judge page |
| Current practice | The Thirteenth Judicial District Court publishes that no financial transaction will be accepted after 4:00 p.m., that cash must be the exact amount, that filing fees are not refunded (LR13-124 NMRA), and that personal checks are not accepted at all (Rule 1-099 NMRA). It also opens at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesdays rather than 8:00 a.m. | Fees, Costs and Filing and Fee Policy and Schedule, thirteenthdistrict.nmcourts.gov |
| Current practice | The Thirteenth Judicial District runs monthly pro se clinics in each of its three counties and publishes a legal teleclinic for Cibola and Valencia County residents, run with the Volunteer Attorney Program of New Mexico Legal Aid and the State Bar Foundation's Modest Means Helpline, whose civil law topics expressly include wills and probate. The most recent published session was June 25, 2026, with a fixed application window beforehand and eligibility at 200 per cent of the federal poverty level or under the program's other financial criteria. | Fees, Costs and Filing page and the legal teleclinic notice, thirteenthdistrict.nmcourts.gov |
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in Valencia County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | A Los Lunas, Belen or Bosque Farms home held in joint tenancy passes to the survivor outside probate, and title is cleared at the Valencia County Clerk's recording counter at 444 Luna Avenue 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), for the clerk's $25 recording fee. 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 Valencia 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 Valencia County application, order, acceptance and letters, ready to hand in on a Wednesday or leave with the County Clerk. Guidance on the recording step at the same counter. |
| Out-of-state adult child, small estate | If the parent was domiciled in Valencia 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 Valencia County Probate Court at P.O. Box 969, Los Lunas, NM 87031, with the $30 fee made out to the Valencia County Clerk 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, and the one-day-a-week counter matters less to a filer who is posting the packet anyway. The original will still has to physically reach Los Lunas, and the county keeps it. | Asset discovery to establish whether the estate clears the affidavit route or needs letters. Packet generation for a mail-in Valencia County filing, including the Section 45-3-705 notice to heirs and devisees due within 30 days of appointment and the proof of notice on Form 4B-402. Help tracking the case afterwards, which in this county means dealing with the County Clerk rather than an online docket. |
| 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 Valencia 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 Valencia County Clerk. If a sibling, a co-owner or a creditor disputes who owns the house, only the Thirteenth 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)). A disputed Valencia County case may also be referred to the district's civil mediation program. | Asset discovery to surface the mortgage, liens, unpaid property tax and any recorded interest against the Valencia 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 Valencia County probate attorney if the title question goes to the district court. |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers |
|---|---|
| Valencia County Probate Court (444 Luna Avenue, Los Lunas, P.O. Box 969, 505-866-2432) | The county's own probate judge page at valencianm.gov carries the court's duties and jurisdiction statements, the list of matters it cannot hear, the 120-hour and three-year timing rules (NMSA 1978, Sections 45-3-302 and 45-3-108), the venue answer in the county's own words, the current Wednesday hours and both downloadable probate packets. The county also runs a Contact Probate Judge web form, which is the right way to reach the office in writing. |
| Valencia County Clerk (444 Luna Avenue, Los Lunas, 505-866-2073, fax 505-866-2015) | The clerk of the probate court under Section 34-7-22(A), and the practical counter: it takes completed probate packets Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., sells the printed probate forms packet for $5, publishes the fee schedule that carries the $30 probate line, records personal representatives' deeds and homestead affidavits, and keeps public search computers. Call ahead for computer availability. Staff cannot draft a deed, supply a legal form or tell you whether a document is legally sufficient. |
| Thirteenth Judicial District Court, Valencia County (1835 Highway 314 SW, Los Lunas, P.O. Box 1089, 505-865-2400) | Location, Hours and Contacts for the Valencia County courthouse and each judge's chambers; the Fees, Costs and Filing page and the separate Fee Policy and Schedule, which is where the payment rules and the $132 probate line are published; the Valencia County court hearing docket for the current day plus six days; the district's probate forms library; and its electronic filing user guide. |
| Thirteenth Judicial District pro se clinics and legal teleclinic (1-877-266-9861) | The court states that it holds monthly pro se clinics in each county and that the Clerk's Office has the details. It also publishes a legal teleclinic for residents of Cibola and Valencia counties, run with the Volunteer Attorney Program of New Mexico Legal Aid and the New Mexico State Bar Foundation's Modest Means Helpline, giving a free one-time telephone consultation with a volunteer attorney; its civil law list expressly includes wills and probate, and applicants must fall within 200 per cent of the federal poverty level or meet the program's other financial eligibility criteria. The most recent published session was June 25, 2026, with applications open only for a fixed window beforehand, so watch the district's announcements for the next one. |
| 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 Diné translation. These are the same documents bound into Valencia County's own packets, so you can download them free rather than buying the printed packet. |
| New Mexico Courts Case Lookup (caselookup.nmcourts.gov/caselookup) | The free public index for Thirteenth Judicial District Court cases, along with magistrate, metropolitan and municipal courts. It has no probate court option, so a Valencia County Probate Court case will not appear there; ask the County Clerk instead. |
| 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) | Valencia County is inside its service area: it is 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, including the Thirteenth Judicial District teleclinic above, for households at or below 200 per cent of the guidelines. Its nearest office to Valencia County is Albuquerque, 505-243-7871. |
| New Mexico Courts self-representation site (selfrepresentation.nmcourts.gov) | The judiciary's self-representation hub, with a probate page carrying the same 4B forms. Note that the free Guide and File document builder has no probate interview, so it will not help with an estate. |
When to hire an attorney
Valencia County publishes the line its staff will not cross, and that line is a good guide to when you need a lawyer. The notice bound into both county probate packets says the staff at the County Clerk's office and the Probate Court are prohibited from assisting with filling out forms beyond saying what information is required, from providing any forms other than the New Mexico Supreme Court approved probate forms, from reviewing or interpreting a deed or helping you decide which deed to use or fill one in, from explaining court orders, from advising on the payment of claims against an estate or the distribution of the estate, from talking to one party outside the presence of the others, from advising on how to administer an estate once a personal representative has been appointed, and from deciding whether to close a case, all under Rule 23-113 NMRA. The county's own conclusion is that if you need more assistance than that, you should seek legal advice. So counsel makes particular sense in Valencia County when a will's validity or the identity of the heirs is in doubt, because only the Thirteenth 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 a Los Lunas or Belen parcel has to be sold and a deed drafted, which the New Mexico courts' own guide warns can be very tricky to draft and execute properly and which the County Clerk is expressly barred from helping with; 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 Valencia 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, Valencia 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 often turns on how the assets were titled; it fills the verified application the Valencia County Probate 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 Valencia 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 hand in at 444 Luna Avenue on a Wednesday, leave with the County Clerk on any weekday, or mail to P.O. Box 969 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 Thirteenth Judicial District Court on Form 4B-1001, Sunset connects families to a vetted Valencia 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 Valencia County?
At one of two places in Los Lunas, depending on the case. An informal, uncontested probate is filed on paper at the Valencia County Probate Court, 444 Luna Avenue, which sits Wednesdays 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.; on the other four days you leave the completed packet with the Valencia County Clerk in the same building, open Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or you mail it to P.O. Box 969, Los Lunas, NM 87031. Anything formal or contested is filed at the Valencia County District Court, 1835 Highway 314 SW, or mailed to P.O. Box 1089, Los Lunas, NM 87031. You file in Valencia 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 Valencia County Probate Court or the Thirteenth 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 paper filings across a county counter, 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.
What days and hours is the Valencia County Probate Court open?
Wednesdays, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The county changed the day and the hours with effect from April 2, 2025, and publishes the notice on both the probate judge's page and the County Clerk's page. The county's two downloadable probate packets have not been updated and still say Tuesdays 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., so go by the dated notice and call 505-866-2432 if you are unsure. You do not have to come on a Wednesday to file: the County Clerk's office at 444 Luna Avenue accepts a completed probate application packet Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. New Mexico makes the probate judgeship a part-time position and leaves the court's hours to the clerk of the probate court to set (Sections 34-7-1(B) and 34-7-8).
How much does it cost to file probate in Valencia County?
$30 for a probate case at the Valencia County Probate Court (Section 34-7-14), which the County Clerk's own fee schedule lists as probate, new case, $30, and which the county's packets say is paid by check made out to the Valencia County Clerk. At the Thirteenth 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 district publishes a probate line at that same total. Beyond the filing fee, the County Clerk charges $1 a page for copies, $2.50 to certify a general document, $5 for exemplification and $5 for a printed probate forms packet, while the district court charges 35 cents a page and $1.50 per certification and refuses 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; the county's packets do not include those two forms, so download them free from nmcourts.gov/forms-files/probate.
Can I e-file a probate case in Valencia 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 Valencia County Probate Court filing is paper, at the counter or by mail, and the original will has to arrive physically. At the Thirteenth Judicial District Court e-filing runs on eFile & Serve, Tyler's Odyssey File & Serve, and the district's own user guide states that it is mandatory for civil, criminal, domestic relations and probate actions. Self-represented parties are prohibited from e-filing and must file on paper, after which the clerk's office scans the filing into the electronic record, which the guide describes as the official record (Rule 1-005.2(B)(1) and (I)(2) NMRA).
How do I look up a Valencia County probate case?
For a case in the Valencia County Probate Court, you ask the county, not a website. Probate court records are county records held by the clerk of the probate court (Section 34-7-7), Valencia County publishes no online probate docket, and the statewide search does not reach probate courts. Contact the Valencia County Clerk at 444 Luna Avenue, 505-866-2073, for a case file or a certified copy; the office keeps public search computers and asks searchers to call first to check availability, and it processes copy requests paid for in advance within 48 hours excluding weekends and holidays. Thirteenth Judicial District Court probate cases are in the statewide New Mexico Courts Case Lookup at caselookup.nmcourts.gov/caselookup, which shows an index only, with no document images.
What happens if someone objects or contests the will in Valencia County?
The probate court cannot decide it, and the case moves to the Thirteenth Judicial District Court, which has exclusive original jurisdiction over formal proceedings, will contests, will construction and determination of heirs (Section 45-1-302(A)); Valencia County's own page lists those matters among the things its probate court has no jurisdiction over. 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 Los Lunas?
An informal probate at the Valencia 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 $30 fee and a self-addressed stamped envelope to P.O. Box 969, Los Lunas, NM 87031, so an out-of-state family often never appears, although the original will must physically reach the court and will not be sent back. If the case is in the Thirteenth Judicial District Court, hearings are set by the assigned judge; the court publishes a Valencia County hearing docket covering the current day plus six days and a direct number for each judge's chambers, and it publishes no general remote appearance policy, so ask the assigned judge's staff how your hearing will be held.
Does the Valencia County Probate Court have its own forms?
Yes, in the sense that matters. It publishes two free downloadable packets, Probate Packet NO WILL and Probate Packet WITH WILL, each opening with the court's own filing checklist and its no-legal-advice notice and then reproducing the statewide Supreme Court Form 4B documents captioned for Valencia County. The County Clerk also sells the printed probate forms packet for $5. The underlying forms are the same statewide ones published at nmcourts.gov/forms-files/probate, so downloading them free is equally valid. Court and clerk staff are not permitted to help you fill any of them in beyond telling you what information is required (Rule 23-113 NMRA).
How long does probate take in Valencia County?
The county publishes its own expectation: with efficient planning a routine, uncontested probate is opened and closed in six to twelve months. The statutory floor explains the shape of that. Nothing can be granted until 120 hours have passed since the death (Sections 45-3-302 and 45-3-307(A)); the inventory is prepared within three months of appointment and does not have to be filed with the court (Section 45-3-706); a published notice to creditors runs once a week for three successive weeks and then gives creditors four months to claim (Section 45-3-801), while claims that arose before the death are barred a year after the death whether or not you publish (Section 45-3-803); and the verified closing statement cannot be filed earlier than six months after the original appointment (Section 45-3-1003). A probate is normally opened within three years of the death (Section 45-3-108).
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.