How to File for Probate If Heirs Live in New Mexico & Decedent Lived in Arizona
- 1). Find out where the decedent was registered to vote, where her vehicle was registered and where she lived on a regular basis. Probate should be filed at the person's home, where she was domiciled, even if she was not in residence there at the time of death. If she was domiciled in Arizona, the probate would take place in Arizona.
Determine who should handle the decedent's estate. If an executor is named in a will, it should be that person. If no one is named, a spouse, grown child, parent, sibling or someone named in the will can initiate probate. The person handling the business of the estate should find a copy of the will, if one was created. - 2). Bring the will to the clerk of court in the Arizona jurisdiction where the decedent was domiciled. Explain that the creator of the will has died and that probate needs to be filed.
- 3). Follow the instructions given to you by the court where you've filed probate. Depending on your location, you'll have a different timeline for notifying known creditors, notifying beneficiaries and filing the last tax return of the estate. You will also have to take out a notice in the newspaper so that anyone with a claim against the estate has time to bring it to your attention before all the assets are gone.
- 4). Alert heirs in New Mexico to their bequests. Distribute the bequests as required by both the will and Arizona law.
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