Personal Representative / Estate Administration Services
Areas of Service
This service is provided only for primary or ancillary estates to be opened in the northern half of the State of New
Mexico, including Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Taos and Farmington.
Personal Representative / Estate Administration Services
When an individual dies, certain non-probate assets of the decedent may be transferred by trust or contract. Examples of the latter
include joint and survivorship property, "payable on death" accounts,
"transfer on death" property, and most life insurance and retirement
benefits. Assets that are not classified as non-probate assets remain in the decedent’s estate and are called probate assets. Probate
assets are transferred through proceedings in the Probate Court having jurisdiction or pursuant to applicable unsupervised administration
statutes. Most persons die owning both probate and non-probate assets, all of which generally require some type of documentation to
complete the transfer to heirs. Probate Courts have the responsibility of ensuring that any probate assets are collected, maintained, and
distributed among the decedent's heirs, beneficiaries, and/or creditors according to the direction of the decedent as expressed through
a will and the applicable state law. This process is known as the administration of a decedent's estate.
After an individual’s death, an estate may be opened by any interested person filing an application to administer the estate. The application
is filed in the county of the State in which the decedent resided. The Probate Court will appoint an estate representative, called a
fiduciary, and issue the appropriate letters of authority. The fiduciary is appointed by the Court according to the decedent's will or
statutory guidelines. If nominated by will, the fiduciary (or "personal representative") is typically called an Executor. If there is
no will, the fiduciary is typically called an Administrator. It is the responsibility of the fiduciary to administer the decedent's estate
and to account to the Court for that administration. A bond may be required of the fiduciary to protect the beneficiaries and creditors of
the estate and to insure proper administration.
Santa Fe Trust may serve either as an Executor if so designated in the decedent’s will, or as an Administrator, if so appointed by the
Probate Court in intestacy situations.
Service Limitations
Santa Fe Trust reserves the right to decline to serve, with or without cause, as the Executor or Administrator of an estate. However, every
attempt will be made to accept such appointments within the geographical limitations set forth above. Situations in which a declination may
be made include the existence of problematic estate assets: e.g. contaminated real estate; the existence of will or intestacy provisions or
other applicable laws that Santa Fe Trust is unable or unwilling to administer; an estate size that is too small to be administered
economically; or an estate that will not result in the creation of any on-going trusts, the trustee of which would be Santa Fe Trust.
Costs associated with these services
SFT charges a minimal fee for initial account set up and a minimum asset-based fee for the type of trust to be administrated. With estate
administration services, an hourly rate is assessed for performing estate settlement related duties and functions beyond standard living trust
administrative services. After the decedent's estate is settled, SFT’s charges revert to our standard asset-based fees for the type of
trust to be administered thereafter.
Please call for the current fee schedule and a personalized fee quote.