New Mexico Deceased Resident Estate and Owner Coordination Packet
NEW MEXICO DECEASED RESIDENT ESTATE AND OWNER COORDINATION PACKET
Before use: N.M. Stat. Ann. § 47-8-34.2(D) applies when the deceased resident was the sole occupant of a rental dwelling, subject to any different property procedure the owner and resident agreed to in writing under subsection (E). A written contact-person designation and any signed authorization should be read before access or release. A contact person is not automatically an appointed estate representative; a different person lawfully entitled to property or the deposit may make a claim. Keep lease termination and ownership of belongings separate.
Facts and authority record
| Item | Supporting document and result |
|---|---|
| Deceased resident, dwelling, date of death | [NAME / ADDRESS / DATE / RECORD] |
| Sole occupant or another surviving occupant | [LEASE / OCCUPANCY / RESULT] |
| Contact person designated in writing | [NAME / ADDRESS / PHONE / DESIGNATION] |
| Resident's signed access, removal and deposit authorization | [DOCUMENT / SCOPE / DATE / NONE] |
| Any different written procedure under § 47-8-34.2(E) | [LEASE CLAUSE / AGREEMENT / NONE] |
| Competing estate representative or other lawful claimant | [NAME / COURT OR TITLE DOCUMENT / CONTACT] |
| Property removed, inventoried and stored by owner | [DATE / LOCATION / INVENTORY] |
A. Contact person's request for access and property
Date: [__/__/____] To owner: [NAME / ADDRESS] Dwelling: [ADDRESS]
[DECEASED RESIDENT] designated me, [NAME], as a contact person in the attached writing dated [DATE]. I request a reasonable access appointment at [DATE / TIME OR OPTIONS] in your or your agent's presence. The resident's signed authorization concerning access and removal is [DOCUMENT / SCOPE / ATTACHMENT / NONE]. I request possession of [IDENTIFIED ITEMS] under § 47-8-34.2(D)(1), subject to any competing person lawfully entitled to them. Please identify stored property, the inventory, proposed removal/storage charges, and any other known claimant.
My request concerning the security deposit is [PAYEE / DOCUMENT / ADDRESS]. Please send a separate itemized accounting of lawful deductions and confirm any different written property agreement. This request does not assert that my contact designation alone appoints me executor or resolves disputed title to an item.
Contact person signature: ______________________________ Date: [__/__/____] Delivery: [METHOD / DATE]
B. Owner's access and custody response
Date: [__/__/____] To requester: [NAME / ADDRESS]
I received your designation, authorization and request on [DATE]. The resident was ☐ the sole occupant based on [RECORD] ☐ not confirmed as sole occupant because [FACTS]. A different written procedure under § 47-8-34.2(E) ☐ applies: [DOCUMENT / TERMS] ☐ has not been found. Another person claiming lawful entitlement is [NAME / DOCUMENT / CONTACT / NONE KNOWN].
Subject to this review, an access appointment in my or my agent's presence is set for [DATE / TIME / PERSON]. The items available for documented handoff are [INVENTORY / LOCATION]. Any item with a competing claim will be identified separately. The owner may request a signed inventory of items removed. The proposed itemized removal and storage costs are [AMOUNT / RECEIPTS]. A deposit statement and any refund will be handled separately under §§ 47-8-34.2(D)(2) and 47-8-18(C).
Owner signature: ______________________________ Date: [__/__/____] Delivery: [METHOD / DATE]
C. Owner's certified property-removal request to the designated contact
Use this notice only after confirming the subsection (D) route and any different written agreement. The narrow § 47-8-34.2(D)(5) discard condition requires certified mail with return receipt requested to the contact person, thirty days without removal after mailing, and no claimant contact before disposal. Do not treat the resident's death as an independent permission to discard.
Date mailed: [__/__/____] To designated contact: [NAME / ADDRESS] Dwelling: [ADDRESS]
Please arrange removal of [DECEASED RESIDENT]'s remaining property, listed in [INVENTORY / ENCLOSURE], from the dwelling. Contact me at [PHONE / MAILING ADDRESS] to arrange a handoff and provide any designation, ownership or estate document supporting the proposed recipient. The mailing date is [DATE]; thirty days after mailing is [DATE]. I will document any contact or claim made before disposition. This request does not resolve a competing ownership claim or waive a different written agreement.
Owner signature: ______________________________ Date: [__/__/____]
Certified mail tracking and return receipt: [NUMBER / DATE / RECEIPT]
D. Inventory, handoff and deposit accounting
Access and handoff appointment: [DATE / PLACE]. Owner or agent present: [NAME]. Receiving person and authority: [NAME / DOCUMENT].
| Item or group | Evidence and condition | Released, stored or disputed |
|---|---|---|
| [ITEM] | [PHOTO / DESCRIPTION / CLAIM] | [STATUS / RECEIVER] |
| [ITEM] | [PHOTO / DESCRIPTION / CLAIM] | [STATUS / RECEIVER] |
Signed inventory of removed items, if requested: [ATTACHMENT / SIGNER / DATE]. Remaining-property location: [DETAIL]. Competing claim received before disposition: [PERSON / DATE / HOLD]. Keys and lease possession, determined separately: [DETAIL].
| Deposit item | Calculation and support |
|---|---|
| Deposit held | [LEDGER / AMOUNT] |
| Lawful deductions, including documented removal/storage costs | [ITEMIZED REASONS / RECEIPTS / AMOUNTS] |
| Normal wear and tear excluded | [REVIEW / RESULT] |
| Later of agreement termination or resident departure; thirty-day accounting date | [DATES / CALCULATION] |
| Net refund and contact or other lawfully entitled payee | [AMOUNT / PAYEE AUTHORITY / ADDRESS] |
Receiving person signature: ____________________ Owner signature: ____________________ Date: [__/__/____]
Official source
- New Mexico Compilation Commission, current Chapter 47 PDF, §§ 47-8-34.2 and 47-8-18(C).
About this template
- Last updated
- October 3, 2026
- Citations checked
- October 3, 2026
- Jurisdiction
- New Mexico
- Category
- Landlord & Tenant
Legal authority
- N.M. Stat. Ann. § 47-8-34.2
- N.M. Stat. Ann. § 47-8-18(C)
Landlord-tenant paperwork governs who can stay in a property, on what terms, and what happens when something goes wrong. Leases, notices to quit, security deposit demands, and habitability complaints all have state and often city-specific requirements for timing, content, and service. Getting the paperwork right is what makes an eviction actually succeed or a security deposit actually come back, because judges regularly dismiss cases over small procedural mistakes.
Not legal advice
This template is provided for informational purposes. We recommend having an attorney review any legal document before signing, especially for high-value or complex matters.
Checked against the law it cites
A reviewer verified this template's legal citations against the official source on October 3, 2026.
N.M. Stat. Ann. § 47-8-34.2(A) (checked October 3, 2026): "As used in this section, "contact person" means the person designated by a resident in writing as the person to contact and release property to in the event of the resident's death."
N.M. Stat. Ann. § 47-8-34.2(B) (checked October 3, 2026): "The owner may request in writing, including by a requirement in the rental agreement, that the resident:"
N.M. Stat. Ann. § 47-8-34.2(B)(2) (checked October 3, 2026): "sign a statement authorizing the owner in the event of the resident's death to:"
N.M. Stat. Ann. § 47-8-34.2(B)(2)(a) (checked October 3, 2026): "grant the contact person access to the dwelling unit at a reasonable time and in the presence of the owner or the owner's agent;"
Draft your New Mexico Deceased Resident Estate and Owner Coordination Packet in the editor
Answer a few questions, let the AI editor draft each section from your answers, review it, and download Word and PDF. $99 one time, or $249 per month for every document and every Ezel app.