Transfer on death deed in New Mexico

New Mexico at a glance

TOD deed for real estate

Yes

Name in New Mexico law

Transfer on death deed

Law

NMSA 1978 §§ 45-6-401 to 45-6-417 (Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act)

Notary

Required

Witnesses

None

When to record

Before the death

Where to record

County clerk of the county where the property is located

After-death document

Certified copy of the owner's death certificate (recorded with the county clerk)

Notice to heirs

Not required

Official form

Yes

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Making a valid TOD deed in New Mexico

• What the law does. An individual can transfer New Mexico real property to beneficiaries effective at death by a transfer on death deed recorded before death.
• Signing. The owner signs, and the deed must have the essential elements of a recordable deed, including acknowledgment before a notary public or other person authorized to take acknowledgments. No witnesses. It must state the transfer occurs at death. Capacity is the same as for a will.
• Recording. Must be recorded with the county clerk before the owner's death; there is no deadline counted from signing. An unrecorded deed has no effect.
• Payment, delivery, acceptance. No notice, delivery, acceptance, or consideration required.
• Form. Optional statutory forms in NMSA §§ 45-6-416 (deed) and 45-6-417 (revocation); NM Aging & Long-Term Services Dept. publishes an accessible TOD deed form.

Changing it, and who you can name

• Revoking or changing. Revoke with a later TOD deed, a revocation instrument, or an inter vivos deed expressly revoking it, acknowledged after the original and recorded with the county clerk before death. Not by an act on the deed. The statutory form says it cannot be revoked by will.
• Beneficiaries. Any person (individuals, trusts, entities). Alternate beneficiaries may be named. A beneficiary who does not survive the owner lapses, subject to listed probate-code rules (including anti-lapse § 45-2-706); co-beneficiaries take equal shares without survivorship and a failed share passes to the others.

After the owner dies

• Document. Certified copy of the owner's death certificate (recorded with the county clerk)
• Where. County clerk of the county where the property is located
• Steps. The statute is silent on a post-death filing. The state-funded Legal Resources for the Elderly Program FAQ (dated January 2013, before the current act took effect on 2014-01-01) says the beneficiary takes a certified copy of the death certificate to the county clerk to be recorded; confirm with the county clerk.

Debts, Medicaid and the spouse

• Creditors and Medicaid. If the probate estate is insufficient, the beneficiary is liable for allowed claims and statutory allowances to the spouse and children, up to the value received. A proceeding needs a written demand to the personal representative and must start within one year after death. The NM Health Care Authority's estate recovery brochure (MAD 237, revised 6/26) says that if the estate cannot cover the Medicaid claim, HCA does not waive its right to recover the value of non-probate transfers such as property transferred on death by deed.
• Surviving spouse. Statutory allowances to the surviving spouse and children can be enforced against the beneficiary if the estate is insufficient.

Good to know in New Mexico

• NM first enacted a TOD deed law in 2001 (Laws 2001, ch. 236); it was repealed and reenacted as the uniform act effective 2014-01-01 (Laws 2013, ch. 38).
• Beneficiary takes subject to recorded mortgages, liens and other recorded interests; no warranty of title.
• Joint owners: survivor takes; deed works only if the transferor is the last surviving joint owner.

Official pages

• New Mexico TOD deed form
• New Mexico statute
• New Mexico self-help page
• No TOD deed or other plan? How New Mexico handles a small estate without probate →

Sources

• NMSA 1978 Chapter 45, Article 6, Part 4 (NMOneSource) (read October 28, 2026)
• NMSA § 45-6-102 nonprobate transferee liability (NMOneSource) (read October 28, 2026)
• NM Aging & Long-Term Services Dept. TOD deed form (read October 28, 2026)
• LREP TODD FAQ (NM ALTSD + State Bar Foundation) (read October 28, 2026)
• new-mexico creditors (verifier B) (read October 28, 2026)

Legal information from the official sources above, not legal advice. A TOD deed can affect Medicaid, taxes, creditors and co-owners; for a decision about your own property, ask the county recorder, a legal aid office or a lawyer. How we check: methodology.