Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: in New Mexico, dying without a will does not mean the state keeps the estate; it means New Mexico’s intestacy statute (NMSA 1978 §§ 45-2-102 (share of the spouse), 45-2-103 (share of heirs other than surviving spouse), 45-2-107 (kindred of half blood); community-property mechanism at NMSA 1978 §§ 40-3-8 (classes of property) and 45-2-807 (death of spouse; community property)) decides who gets it, and the surviving spouse usually does not take everything. The single most common misunderstanding on this page: a stepchild or a child from an earlier relationship can cut the spouse’s share sharply below what most people assume.
What this guide covers
Who inherits from New Mexico residents who die without a will is set by statute, not custom: NMSA 1978 §§ 45-2-102 (share of the spouse), 45-2-103 (share of heirs other than surviving spouse), 45-2-107 (kindred of half blood); community-property mechanism at NMSA 1978 §§ 40-3-8 (classes of property) and 45-2-807 (death of spouse; community property) and the sections around it. It governs only the probate estate: what is left after retirement accounts and life insurance with a living named beneficiary, payable-on-death accounts, property in joint tenancy with survivorship, and anything already in a funded trust have already passed outside it. This page covers the spouse’s share, who inherits if there is no spouse, and the rules that can change the answer: half-blood relatives, community property.
The spouse’s share
When the spouse takes everything: As to SEPARATE property only: the surviving spouse takes the entire intestate estate if there is no surviving issue of the decedent (section 45-2-102). As to COMMUNITY property, the spouse effectively ends up owning the whole of it regardless of issue, because the spouse already owns an undivided one-half outright and section 45-2-102 sends the decedent’s other one-half (the half the decedent could have willed away) to the spouse as well.
When it is less than everything: Separate property: entire estate if no surviving issue of the decedent; one-fourth (1/4) of the estate if there IS surviving issue of the decedent. Community property: the surviving spouse receives the one-half of the community property as to which the decedent could have exercised the power of testamentary disposition (the decedent’s half), in addition to the half the spouse already owned by operation of community-property law. BLENDED-FAMILY REDUCTION: New Mexico’s separate-property formula does NOT distinguish whether the decedent’s surviving issue are also the spouse’s issue; the flat 1/4 share applies identically whether all children are shared with the spouse or whether some are from a prior relationship. New Mexico has not adopted the 1990/2008 UPC’s dollar-bracket blended-family mechanism used by North Dakota and South Dakota.
if there is no surviving issue of the decedent, the entire intestate estate; or … if there is surviving issue of the decedent, one-fourth of the intestate estate … the one-half of the community property as to which the decedent could have exercised the power of testamentary disposition [passes to the surviving spouse]
Source: NMSA 1978 §§ 45-2-102 (share of the spouse), 45-2-103 (share of heirs other than surviving spouse), 45-2-107 (kindred of half blood); community-property mechanism at NMSA 1978 §§ 40-3-8 (classes of property) and 45-2-807 (death of spouse; community property)
If a DIY will fits your situation in New Mexico
In New Mexico, a surviving spouse can end up sharing the estate with a stepchild or a child from an earlier relationship under the default rules above; a will is what lets you decide that instead of the statute. LawDepot builds a state-specific last will and testament.
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Who inherits if there is no spouse
Section 45-2-103(A): (1) to the decedent’s descendants by representation; (2) if none, to parents equally or the surviving parent; (3) if none, to descendants of the decedent’s parents by representation; (4) if none, half to paternal grandparents/their descendants and half to maternal grandparents/their descendants; (5) if survivors exist on only one side, all to that side. Section 45-2-103(B): if none of the above, to the descendants of the decedent’s deceased spouse(s) by representation.
Rules that change the outcome
Half-blood relatives: Full share; no reduction. NMSA 1978 section 45-2-107: ‘Relatives of the half blood inherit the same share they would inherit if they were of the whole blood.’
Community property: New Mexico is a community-property state. The surviving spouse already owns an outright one-half of community property; the decedent’s other half (the half the decedent could have willed away) also passes to the surviving spouse on intestacy, so the spouse ends up with all of the community estate regardless of who else survives. Only the decedent’s separate property is divided under the flat one-fourth/entire-estate rule above, and that rule does not distinguish shared from non-shared descendants.
Sourcing note: New Mexico’s official statute host could not be reached this session; this row is sourced to independent verbatim-text mirrors instead of the state’s own site; see https://codes.findlaw.com/nm/chapter-45-uniform-probate-code/nm-st-sect-45-2-102/.
What a will changes
A will does not just skip the statute above; it lets you choose who gets New Mexico property that the intestacy rules would send somewhere else: a spouse who would otherwise share the estate with a stepchild, a partner who is not married and inherits nothing under intestacy at all, or specific people the statute’s ladder never reaches. It also lets you name an executor rather than leaving the court to appoint one. What it does not change: assets that already pass outside probate: a will has no effect on a beneficiary designation, a payable-on-death account, or property held in joint tenancy.
General information drawn from state intestate-succession statutes, not legal advice. Who inherits without a will is STATE law and differs in every state; the spouse’s share, the order of inheritance, and how half-blood and community-property rules apply all change, and every figure here is sourced and dated. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice.