If the estate is otherwise sufficient, property specifically devised may not be used to satisfy rights to family allowance or personal property allowance. Subject to this restriction, the surviving spouse, guardians of minor children or children who are adults may select property of the estate as family allowance and personal property allowance. The personal representative may make those selections if the surviving spouse, the children or the guardians of the minor children are unable or fail to do so within a reasonable time or there is no guardian of a minor child. The personal representative may execute an instrument or deed of distribution to establish the ownership of property taken as family allowance or personal property allowance. The personal representative or an interested person aggrieved by any selection, determination, payment, proposed payment or failure to act under this section may petition the court for appropriate relief, which may include a family allowance or personal property allowance other than that which the personal representative determined or could have determined.
History: 1953 Comp., § 32A-2-405, enacted by Laws 1975, ch. 257, § 2-405; repealed and reenacted by Laws 1993, ch. 174, § 23.
ANNOTATIONSRepeals and reenactments. — Laws 1993, ch. 174, § 23 repealed former 45-2-405 NMSA 1978, as enacted by Laws 1975, ch. 257, § 2-405, relating to the modification of exemptions, and enacted a new section, effective July 1, 1993.