While our Probate Attorneys are available to explain the probate process to you, we also understand that you might want to learn the basic terms of the probate process. Below is a glossary of some basic probate terms. But please be sure to contact our probate attorney in your state to walk you through the probate process.
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Probate is a Court proceeding to pass a deceased person’s (decedent’s) property (also called assets or estate) to the heirs or devisees.
Technically, heirs are the people who would inherit the estate if there were no will; devisees are what the recipients of an estate are called when they are named in a decedent’s will. A person can be both an heir and a devisee.
A decedent may own real property (houses, land, ranches, timber and mineral interests still attached to the ground, etc.) or personal property. Personal property includes items like bank accounts, stock accounts, retirement accounts, insurance policies, annuities, and royalties. These are items of intangible personal property. Furniture, guns, jewelry, artwork, vehicles, and other household items are tangible personal property.
Both real property and personal property may be probated in probate court.
Not all of a decedent’s assets need a probate. See section titled When a Probate is Required.
Intestate means dying without a valid will. Testate means dying with a valid will.
Both intestate and testate estates may be probated in probate court.
A large part of the probate judge’s job is to make sure the pleadings (paperwork submitted to the Court) are complete and accurate under New Mexico law. To do so, probate judges must be familiar with topics such as jurisdiction, venue, domicile, the how-to's of handling pleadings, and other legal issues. Since many probate judges are not attorneys, this basic training manual will give you an overview of common issues that may come before you. You are always free, however, to call a district court judge, another probate judge, or attorney if you encounter a case, question, or situation that you do not know the answer to or you feel uncomfortable with.
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