Estate Inventory and Appraisement Requirements in New Mexico

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Preparation deadline and exceptions

NMSA 1978 § 45-3-706 gives the personal representative three months after appointment to prepare the inventory. A special administrator does not have this statutory duty, and a successor is excused when the predecessor already discharged it. The section states no extension standard.

The inventory covers property the decedent owned at death. Each item is listed with reasonable detail, its estimated value as of death, and the type and amount of any encumbrance tied to it.

Requested copies and optional filing

New Mexico does not make court filing the universal route. Section 45-3-706(B) requires a copy for an interested person who requests one and permits the representative to file the original with the appropriate court.

The same structure applies after correction. Section 45-3-708(B) again requires requested copies and makes filing the original optional. Neither section creates an automatic recipient list or states a particular delivery method, confidentiality protection, sealing rule, or redaction process.

Appraisers and valuation measures

Under NMSA 1978 § 45-3-707, the representative may employ one or more qualified and disinterested appraisers when an asset's value is reasonably doubtful. Different specialists are allowed because the number is not capped, but the inventory must identify each appraiser by name and address with that person's item or items.

The statutory measures are worded differently. Section 45-3-706 asks the representative for each item's estimated death-date value, while § 45-3-707 describes the optional appraiser's task as determining death-date fair market value. Neither section requires a representative affidavit, oath, notarization, perjury declaration, or appraiser signature certificate.

Supplements and corrections

NMSA 1978 § 45-3-708 reaches two events: property omitted from the original inventory later comes to the representative's knowledge, or the representative learns that an original value or description is erroneous or misleading. The supplementary inventory or appraisement shows the new item's estimated death-date value or the revised estimated value or description.

The section gives no fixed deadline for making or sending the supplement. Sections 45-3-706 through -708 also state no inventory-specific fine, removal, contempt, surcharge, or bond consequence.

What trips people up

Optional filing does not mean optional preparation. The representative still must prepare the inventory within three months and send it to an interested person who requests it, even when the original is not filed.

The statute does not make “estimated value” and “fair market value” interchangeable everywhere. Fair market value is the optional appraiser's measure for a reasonably doubtful asset; the representative's initial inventory language says estimated value.

Common questions

Does every heir automatically receive the inventory?

No. The statutory copy duty is request-based and applies to interested persons who ask.

Must the original inventory be filed with the court?

Section 45-3-706 says the representative may file it. The original filing is not mandatory under that section.

Is an appraiser required for real estate?

Not automatically. The representative may use a qualified, disinterested appraiser when an asset's value is reasonably doubtful, without a property-category mandate.

Statutes and sources

• NMSA 1978 § 45-3-706 — preparation, three-month clock, contents, requested copies, and optional filing. Official New Mexico Statutes Annotated Chapter 45 master (accessed August 10, 2026).
• NMSA 1978 § 45-3-707 — optional qualified and disinterested appraisers. The appraiser determines death-date fair market value for a reasonably doubtful asset and is identified with the item. Same official Chapter 45 source (accessed August 10, 2026).
• NMSA 1978 § 45-3-708 — supplementary inventory or appraisement. The section covers omitted property and erroneous or misleading values or descriptions, with the same requested-copy and optional-filing structure. Same official Chapter 45 source (accessed August 10, 2026).