Yeah, I’m confused, too - his widow showing up with a will after five years does sound suspicious. This all sounds suspicious, frankly.
What was going on with his estate for the last 5 years?
New Mexico is a community property state, so if there were no will then everything acquired since their marriage (which I’m guessing is 99.99% of what he had) would have been her’s anyway, wouldn’t it?
Not necessarily. If everything was jointly owned, there may not have been a point to probate. I’m more surprised that everything wasn’t already in a Trust considering he left an estate worth $40 million.
He owned property in New Mexico, but wasn’t the primary residence in California? Wouldn’t the law of that state apply?