There are a few standard requirements that a New Mexico will must follow:

• Age: You must be at least 18 years of age or an emancipated minor.
• Mental capacity: You must be of sound mind when you sign your will.
• Writing: Your will must be in writing.
• Signature: You must sign your will or direct someone to sign it for you.
• Witnesses: There must be at least two credible witnesses to your signature. After witnessing your signature, they must sign the will in front of you and each other.

Note that New Mexico law does not invalidate any portion of your will if your witnesses are also beneficiaries to the will. But it is best to have witnesses who do not stand to gain anything from your will (disinterested witnesses). This will help to avoid any future accusations of undue influence among loved ones.

No, you do not have to notarize your will in New Mexico to make it legally valid. But it’s a good idea to make your will self-proving. To do so, you will need the services of a notary public.

A self-proving will contains proof of its own authenticity. To make your will self-proving, you and your witnesses need to swear to an affidavit in front of a notary public. The New Mexico statutes provide a blank self-proving affidavit that you and your witnesses can bring to a notary.

If you get divorced after writing your will, any gifts you left to your former spouse will be voided in New Mexico. Whenever you go through significant life changes like divorce, you should review and revise your will.

For example, although you are getting divorced, you might still like to leave an inheritance to your former spouse. In that case, you should create an updated will that states that you would like to leave something to your former spouse. Further, if your former spouse was your executor, you might want to choose a new executor. These changes will require you to modify your will.

If you choose to cut your former spouse out of your will, it is still a good idea to revise your will to reflect your new preferences and avoid any confusion. If you purchase a will through FindLaw, you can update it as frequently as you need to for a full year after purchase.

You can change your will in two ways. To make small changes, you can create an amendment to the will known as a “codicil.” You must sign a codicil in front of two witnesses just as you did with your original will.

If you have to make major changes to your will, you can do so through a new will. Creating a new will is the best option if you have gone through major life events that require you to significantly modify your distributions. With FindLaw, you can change your will as much as you need to within a year of purchase.

To entirely revoke your will, you can create a new will. Just make sure that the new will explicitly revokes all prior wills to avoid confusion. Another way to revoke your will is to physically destroy it. Physical acts that revoke your will include burning, tearing, or canceling with the intention to revoke.

Whenever you create codicils or new wills, you should let your loved ones and executor know about them. To assure that a probate court honors your wishes, you should make sure that your executor has a copy of your most recent will and codicils.