Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Mexico

My mother left her house to our brother in her will and provided a quickclaim deed for him. After recording quickclaim deed with county it was discovered that in the property description area she put a B instead of an 8 and now they are refusing to accept it is tell him he has to go to probate. Our sister was designated Personal Representative of mom's estate and think she wants to go to probate since she thinks she is entitled to 1/3 of profits from a sale of house. Wouldn't the property be a non-probate assets? Would the quickclaim be considered a will substitute? Would our sister be able to just do a Personal Representative deed instead of going to probate? Would New Mexico's NM Stat ยง 45-6-101 be relevant in this situation?

45-6-101. Nonprobate transfers on death.

C. any property controlled by or owned by the decedent before death that is the subject of the instrument passes to a person the decedent designates either in the instrument or in a separate writing, including a will, executed either before or a


Asked on 11/01/24, 8:34 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Richard Bryan Richard Bryan Attorney PC

This is a terrible situation and you all are going to have a lot of grief and aggravation. As Personal Representative, your sister has control of what happens going forward, and the only thing you can do is hire a lawyer and file your own papers in court. Everyone is going to lose here, even if you win.

Good luck.

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Answered on 11/04/24, 11:37 pm


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