§ 9-22-18 NMSA 1978

The department shall post with the secretary of state a corporate surety bond in the amount of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000). The bond shall be conditioned upon the faithful discharge of the duties of the department as personal representative or conservator and shall inure to the use and benefit of each person or estate for whom the department is appointed to act. In a case or proceeding in which the department is appointed as a personal representative of the estate of a veteran or as a conservator of the estate of an incompetent veteran or as a conservator of the estate of a minor child of a veteran, the department shall act without additional bond and the court or official having jurisdiction shall so order in its order of appointment.