Free New Mexico Last Will and Testament
Build a complete New Mexico will in minutes — free, no account. Fill in your details and download a ready-to-sign PDF with the protective clauses built in and New Mexico's correct signing requirements.
A free, ready-to-sign will — but not legal advice.
This builds a complete New Mexico will with the protective clauses most templates skip (survivorship period, residuary, minor's trust, executor powers). It becomes legally valid only when you sign it correctly (see the signing steps below). For a large or blended estate, have an attorney review it. RecordingLaw.com is not a law firm.
About you
Children
Name all your children, even any you are not leaving anything to — naming them prevents an 'omitted child' claim.
Who inherits everything else (your residuary estate)
The catch-all gift of everything not specifically given. Shares should total 100%.
Specific gifts (optional)
Particular items or sums to particular people.
Executor (the person who carries out your will)
Options
Naming them states the omission is intentional. Note: you generally cannot fully disinherit a spouse (see the warnings).
Before you sign — New Mexico notes
Choose 2 witnesses who are adults and who do NOT inherit under this Will. A beneficiary (or a beneficiary's spouse) should never witness your Will.
Add at least one residuary beneficiary with a share above 0%. Without a residuary gift, everything not specifically given would pass by intestacy (state default rules), defeating the point of the Will.
To make this Will valid in New Mexico: Sign the will (or direct another to sign in your conscious presence) and have at least two witnesses sign in your conscious presence after watching you sign or acknowledge the will. New Mexico does NOT recognize holographic wills. To self-prove, you and both witnesses swear or affirm under penalty of perjury before a notary using the 45-2-504 form (notary required). New Mexico is one of the few states with an official Uniform Statutory Will form (45-2A-17).
This is a do-it-yourself Will for a straightforward estate. If you have a large or blended estate, business interests, tax concerns, a special-needs beneficiary, or want to disinherit close family, have an attorney review it. This is not legal advice and RecordingLaw.com is not a law firm.
Or email yourself a copy (PDF)
Last Will and Testament of [YOUR FULL NAME]
ARTICLE I — DECLARATION
I, [YOUR FULL NAME], a resident of [CITY], [COUNTY] County, New Mexico, being of full legal age to make a will and of sound mind and memory, declare this to be my Last Will and Testament, and I revoke all wills and codicils I have previously made.
ARTICLE II — FAMILY
I am not married.
If I have not named or provided for a child or other descendant in this Will, that omission is intentional and not the result of accident or mistake.
ARTICLE III — PAYMENT OF DEBTS, EXPENSES, AND TAXES
I direct my Executor to pay my legally enforceable debts, the expenses of my last illness and funeral, the costs of administering my estate, and any estate or inheritance taxes payable by reason of my death, out of the residue of my estate, without apportionment.
ARTICLE IV — TANGIBLE PERSONAL PROPERTY
I give my tangible personal property (household goods, furniture, vehicles, jewelry, collections, and personal effects not otherwise specifically given) to my residuary beneficiaries as they agree, or as my Executor determines if they cannot agree.
I may leave a separate written memorandum, signed and dated by me, disposing of items of tangible personal property. New Mexico law allows such a memorandum to be given effect, and I direct my Executor to honor the most recent such memorandum I leave.
ARTICLE V — RESIDUARY ESTATE
I give all the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate to [RESIDUARY BENEFICIARY].
If no beneficiary named in this article survives me, my residuary estate shall pass to my heirs at law under the intestacy laws of my state.
ARTICLE VI — SURVIVORSHIP
Except as otherwise provided, a beneficiary must survive me by 30 days to receive any gift under this Will. A beneficiary who does not survive me by 30 days shall be treated as having predeceased me. This protects my estate from passing through the estate of a beneficiary who dies shortly after me.
ARTICLE VII — APPOINTMENT OF EXECUTOR
I nominate [EXECUTOR NAME] as Executor of this Will.
I direct that my Executor serve without bond and, to the fullest extent allowed by law, without court supervision (independent administration). My Executor shall have all powers granted to executors and personal representatives under the law of my state, including the power to sell, lease, invest, and distribute estate property, to pay debts and taxes, and to settle claims, all without prior court approval, as my Executor deems to be in the best interest of my estate.
ARTICLE VIII — DIGITAL ASSETS
I authorize my Executor to access, manage, distribute, and dispose of my digital assets and electronic communications, and to act as my fiduciary under the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (or its equivalent in my state), with full authority to consent to a custodian's disclosure of the content and records of my electronic communications and accounts.
ARTICLE IX — SIMULTANEOUS DEATH
If any beneficiary and I die under circumstances in which the order of our deaths cannot be established, that beneficiary shall be deemed to have predeceased me. If my spouse and I die under such circumstances, my spouse shall be deemed to have predeceased me.
ARTICLE X — GENERAL PROVISIONS
This Will shall be governed by the laws of the State of New Mexico.
If any provision of this Will is held invalid, the remaining provisions shall remain in full effect. Words of one gender include the other, and the singular includes the plural, as the context requires. The headings are for convenience only and do not affect the meaning of this Will.
EXECUTION
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I sign this Will, consisting of the foregoing pages, on this _____ day of ____________, 20____, at [CITY], New Mexico.
____________________________________
[YOUR FULL NAME], Testator
ATTESTATION — The foregoing instrument was signed by the Testator and declared to be the Testator's Will in our presence, and we, at the Testator's request and in the Testator's presence and in the presence of each other, sign below as witnesses, believing the Testator to be of sound mind and under no constraint or undue influence.
Witness 1: ____________________________ Address: ____________________________
Witness 2: ____________________________ Address: ____________________________
SELF-PROVING AFFIDAVIT (N.M.S.A. § 45-2-504) — sign this part before a notary to make probate easier:
STATE OF NEW MEXICO COUNTY OF ________
I, [TESTATOR NAME], the testator, swear or affirm under penalty of perjury on this [DAY] day of [MONTH], [YEAR], that: I sign and execute this instrument as my will; I willingly sign it or willingly direct another to sign for me; I execute it as my free and voluntary act for the purposes expressed in the will; I am 18 years of age or older (or an emancipated minor); I am of sound mind; and I am under no constraint or undue influence.
_______________________ Testator
We, [WITNESS 1] and [WITNESS 2], the witnesses, swear or affirm under penalty of perjury that: the testator signs and executes this instrument as the testator's will and signs it willingly (or willingly directs another to sign for the testator); each of us, in the conscious presence of the testator, signs this will as witness to the testator's signing; and, to the best of our knowledge, the testator is 18 years of age or older (or an emancipated minor), of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence.
_______________________ Witness
_______________________ Witness
Subscribed, sworn to and acknowledged before me by [TESTATOR NAME], the testator, and subscribed and sworn to before me by [WITNESS 1] and [WITNESS 2], witnesses, this [DAY] day of [MONTH], [YEAR].
(SEAL) (Signed) _______________________
_______________________ (Official capacity of officer)
How to Sign Your Will in New Mexico
Sign the will (or direct another to sign in your conscious presence) and have at least two witnesses sign in your conscious presence after watching you sign or acknowledge the will. New Mexico does NOT recognize holographic wills. To self-prove, you and both witnesses swear or affirm under penalty of perjury before a notary using the 45-2-504 form (notary required). New Mexico is one of the few states with an official Uniform Statutory Will form (45-2A-17).
New Mexico requires 2 witnesses: Signed by the testator (or in the testator's name by another in the testator's conscious presence and at the testator's direction) and signed by at least two individuals, each of whom signed as a witness in the conscious presence of the testator after witnessing the signing of the will or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature or of the will (N.M.S.A. 45-2-502). New Mexico requires both witnesses to sign in the testator's conscious presence.. Your will does not need to be notarized to be valid.
Choose witnesses who are adults and who do not inherit under your will. A beneficiary should never witness your will. Then sign the self-proving affidavit (N.M.S.A. § 45-2-504) in front of a notary. That sworn statement lets the court accept your will without tracking down your witnesses later, which speeds up probate.
New Mexico is one of the few states with an official statutory will form in its code. This generator builds a standard attested will, which is more flexible than the fill-in statutory form.
Can You Use a Handwritten (Holographic) Will in New Mexico?
No. New Mexico does not recognize holographic (handwritten, unwitnessed) wills — a handwritten note will not work. Your will must be typed and signed in front of 2 witnesses, which is exactly what this generator produces.
Spousal and Family Protections in New Mexico
Can you disinherit your spouse? New Mexico is a COMMUNITY PROPERTY state with NO elective/forced share. On death, one-half of the community property already belongs to the surviving spouse; the decedent may will away only the other half of community property plus all separate property. The surviving spouse has no right of election against the will — protection beyond the community-property half is limited to family allowance ($30,000) and personal-property allowance. You CAN disinherit a spouse from separate property and from your half of community property.
Children born after your will: BROADER THAN UPC DEFAULT: NMSA 45-2-302 protects omitted children and applies such that even children living when the will was executed may be entitled to a share unless the will shows intent to omit or the testator provided for the child outside the will. The testator must affirmatively satisfy a statutory requirement to disinherit a child. After-born/after-adopted children take an intestate-type share unless intentionally omitted or otherwise provided for. This is why the generator has you name your children and states that any omission is intentional.
If a beneficiary dies before you: If a devisee who is a grandparent, a descendant of a grandparent, or a stepchild of the testator predeceases leaving surviving descendants, the gift passes to those descendants by representation, unless the will provides otherwise. NMSA 45-2-603. The generator's "per stirpes" option and survivorship clause work alongside this rule.
Survivorship, No-Contest, and Digital Assets
Survivorship: 120-hour survival rule adopted (UPC 2-702 / Uniform Simultaneous Death Act). A beneficiary who does not survive by 120 hours is treated as predeceased unless the will states otherwise. NMSA 45-2-702 / 45-2-104. The generator builds in a 30-to-60-day survivorship period regardless.
No-contest clauses: A no-contest/penalty clause is unenforceable if probable cause exists for instituting the proceeding (UPC rule). Otherwise enforced.
Digital assets: New Mexico has adopted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, so your executor can manage your online accounts and digital property — the generator includes a clause granting that authority.
Personal-property list: New Mexico lets you leave a separate signed list (a "memorandum") giving away specific personal items, so you can update who gets what without rewriting your will.
What Happens If You Die Without a Will in New Mexico?
New Mexico is a community-property state, so a surviving spouse keeps all community property when there is no will. The decedent's separate property goes entirely to the spouse if there are no children; if there are children, the spouse gets only one-fourth of the separate property and the children take three-fourths. New Mexico does not reduce the spouse's share for stepchildren and gives parents nothing when a spouse survives.
- Spouse, no children: Entire estate. As to SEPARATE property, if there is no surviving issue (child or descendant) of the decedent, the surviving spouse takes the entire separate estate — parents and siblings take nothing (45-2-102(A)(1)).
- Spouse and shared children: New Mexico does NOT distinguish joint vs. step children. As to SEPARATE property, if any issue survives: one-fourth to the surviving spouse and three-fourths to the issue by representation (45-2-102(A)(2), 45-2-103). All community property passes to the spouse.
- Spouse and a child from another relationship: Same as joint children — as to SEPARATE property the spouse takes one-fourth and the decedent's issue (including children from another relationship) take three-fourths by representation (45-2-102(A)(2)).
- Children, no spouse: If no spouse, the entire estate passes to the decedent's descendants by representation (45-2-103(A)(1)).
- No spouse or children: Parents equally (or surviving parent); then descendants of parents (siblings/their issue) by representation; then split between paternal and maternal grandparents and their descendants; ultimately escheat to the state (45-2-103, 45-2-105).
Community property: New Mexico is a community-property state. The surviving spouse already owns one-half of the community property; the decedent's one-half of the community property passes entirely to the surviving spouse on intestacy (45-2-102(B)). Result: the spouse keeps ALL community property. The one-fourth/three-fourths split applies only to the decedent's SEPARATE property when there are surviving children.
Unmarried partners, friends, and stepchildren you have not adopted generally receive nothing under intestacy. A will is how you override these defaults. Source: N.M. Stat. Ann. §§ 45-2-102 to 45-2-103.
Updating, Revoking, and Storing Your Will
Review your will after any big life change — marriage, divorce, a birth, a death, or a move to a new state. To change it, either sign a new will that revokes the old one (the cleanest option, and what this generator produces) or add a witnessed "codicil." Do not cross things out on a signed will — handwritten edits can invalidate it. Store the signed original somewhere safe and tell your executor where it is; a will that cannot be found is presumed revoked.
Common mistakes to avoid: using a beneficiary as a witness; forgetting a residuary clause (so part of the estate passes by intestacy); leaving a young child a lump sum outright at 18 instead of in trust; not naming a backup executor or guardian; and never actually signing the document. The generator above is built to avoid each of these.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a will made online valid in New Mexico?
Yes, if you sign it correctly. New Mexico requires 2 witnesses. The document this tool creates is a standard typed will; it becomes legally valid when you sign it following the steps above.
Does my New Mexico will need to be notarized?
No. New Mexico does not require your will to be notarized to be valid. Notarizing the separate self-proving affidavit is optional but makes probate easier.
How many witnesses does a New Mexico will need?
2 witnesses. Signed by the testator (or in the testator's name by another in the testator's conscious presence and at the testator's direction) and signed by at least two individuals, each of whom signed as a witness in the conscious presence of the testator after witnessing the signing of the will or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature or of the will (N.M.S.A. 45-2-502). New Mexico requires both witnesses to sign in the testator's conscious presence. They should be adults who do not inherit under the will.
Can I leave my spouse out of my New Mexico will?
New Mexico is a COMMUNITY PROPERTY state with NO elective/forced share. On death, one-half of the community property already belongs to the surviving spouse; the decedent may will away only the other half of community property plus all separate property. The surviving spouse has no right of election against the will — protection beyond the community-property half is limited to family allowance ($30,000) and personal-property allowance. You CAN disinherit a spouse from separate property and from your half of community property.
What happens if I die without a will in New Mexico?
New Mexico is a community-property state, so a surviving spouse keeps all community property when there is no will. The decedent's separate property goes entirely to the spouse if there are no children; if there are children, the spouse gets only one-fourth of the separate property and the children take three-fourths. New Mexico does not reduce the spouse's share for stepchildren and gives parents nothing when a spouse survives.
Does a New Mexico will avoid probate?
No. A will still goes through probate — it directs how your estate is distributed and names your executor, but the court still supervises (often a simplified, independent administration). To avoid probate entirely, people use living trusts and beneficiary designations in addition to a will.
How old do I have to be to make a will in New Mexico?
Generally 18. An individual 18 or more years of age who is of sound mind, OR an emancipated minor who is of sound mind, may make a will (N.M.S.A. 45-2-501). You must also be of sound mind.
Can I write my will by hand in New Mexico?
No. New Mexico does not recognize handwritten, unwitnessed wills. Your will must be typed and properly witnessed.
Do I need a lawyer to make a will in New Mexico?
Not for a straightforward estate — a properly signed will is valid whether or not a lawyer drafts it. See an attorney if you have a large or blended estate, business interests, tax concerns, a special-needs beneficiary, or want to disinherit close family.
Is this really free?
Yes. The generator is free, requires no account, and runs entirely in your browser — your answers are not sent to a server. It is not legal advice and RecordingLaw.com is not a law firm.
Disclaimer
This generator produces a general-purpose will for a straightforward estate and is not legal advice or a substitute for an attorney. Will and probate law changes; the New Mexico requirements here are current as of 2026-06-03. A will is only valid if signed and witnessed correctly. For a large, blended, or complex estate, tax planning, a special-needs beneficiary, or to disinherit close family, consult a New Mexico estate-planning attorney. RecordingLaw.com is not a law firm.
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