Settling an estate in New Hampshire
An executor in New Hampshire has to work through the Circuit Court (Probate Division) and a long list of tasks that have nothing to do with the court. This page sets out what New Hampshire law actually requires at each step, with the section it comes from and the date we last read it.
- Probate court
- Circuit Court (Probate Division)
- Small-estate shortcut
- No flat dollar cap — whether the simplified route applies depends on conditions rather than a single number.
- Creditor claim period
- 6 months
- Typical timeline
- 6–18 months
- State death tax
- None — no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax
Immediate
Obtain certified death certificates
New Hampshire turns on a direct and tangible interest, and it tells you who already has one. Under RSA 5-C:9 the registrar or the custodian of permanent local records may not permit inspection or issue a copy unless satisfied of that interest. Paragraph I-e deems the applicant, a member of their immediate family, their guardian and their respective legal representatives to have it. Anyone else may demonstrate one where the information is needed for the determination or protection of a personal or property right. The definition that saves time is in paragraph II: legal representative expressly includes an attorney, a physician, a funeral director, or any other authorized agent acting on behalf of the applicant or the family. So the funeral home ordering copies for you is not a favour, it is a statutory route. Commercial firms asking for name and address listings are excluded outright. Two practical notes. The funeral director usually orders the first batch as part of their service, so ask them how many they have already requested before you order more — families routinely pay twice. And order more than you think: banks, insurers and transfer agents often keep the copy you give them rather than returning it. Confirm the current fee on the state’s own page at the moment you order, because fees change without notice.
RSA 5-C:9·last read 2026-08-25
Locate the will (or confirm there is none)
New Hampshire splits the duty in two and prices the delay by the month. Under RSA 552:2 every person having custody of a will must deliver it to the probate court, or to the person named in it as executor, within 30 days of learning of the death. RSA 552:3 then gives the named executor 30 days from the death, or from learning they were named, whichever is later, to file the will — and where the estate has assets, either to prove it or to file a written refusal to accept the trust. The part worth knowing is the rest of 552:3: where the estate contains no assets, the named executor files the will with a death certificate and no administration at all. Neglect of either duty forfeits twenty dollars for each month of delay under RSA 552:4, recoverable by any person interested in the will, unless the court accepts the excuse. Under RSA 552:5 a custodian who ignores a citation may be imprisoned by warrant until the will is delivered. The clock started with their knowledge of the death, not with anything you do — but put your request in writing and keep a dated copy.
RSA 552:2, 552:3, 552:4, 552:5·last read 2026-08-25
Short-term
Claim the family allowances you are entitled to
New Hampshire’s allowance comes out of the inheritance rather than on top of it, which sets it apart from most states. Under RSA 560:1 the judge may make a reasonable allowance out of the personal estate for present support, whether the person died testate or intestate. But the same section provides that in the decree of distribution the whole of it, or such part as the judge deems reasonable, is accounted as part of the recipient’s distributive share, and is accounted that way where they elect to take one third or one half of the real estate under RSA 560:10. So treat it as early access to an inheritance rather than an addition to it. RSA 560:2 adds a separate right: the surviving spouse may remain in the house for forty days after the death without being chargeable with rent, and is to have reasonable sustenance out of the estate meanwhile, which the judge takes into account when fixing the allowance. One caution: both sections are written in terms of a widow and New Hampshire has not modernised the wording, so a surviving husband should ask the probate division how they are applied.
RSA 560:1, 560:2·last read 2026-08-21
Notify beneficiaries and keep them informed
New Hampshire runs two clocks, and the second one is the one executors forget. Under RSA 552:15 every executor must, within sixty days after appointment, notify each legatee specifically named in the will that they appear to be interested in it, and notify the surviving spouse and the heirs at law, if known, that the will has been proved. Then within ninety days after appointment the executor must certify to the judge that the notice was given, stating in what manner and to whom. That certificate is a separate filing, not something the notices take care of by themselves. RSA 552:16 sets the form of service: in person, or by mail to the last known residence or place of business, and for a corporate legatee to its president or treasurer. Getting this wrong rarely costs money directly — it stalls the case. An estate that cannot show notice was properly given can be held open, and the appointment itself can be reopened, so keep proof of what you sent, to whom, and on what date.
RSA 552:15, 552:16·last read 2026-08-25
Determine if probate is required
New Hampshire has no dollar figure for its shortcut, which is why a number cannot be quoted. It uses Waiver of Full Administration, available where the person entitled to the estate is also the one administering it — a sole beneficiary named in the will who is appointed administrator, or a sole heir serving as administrator. Where a dollar test does appear, it is relative rather than fixed: the estate less liens must not exceed the combined homestead allowance, exempt property, family allowance, administration costs and reasonable funeral and medical expenses. So eligibility turns on who is inheriting and what the estate owes, not on a threshold you can look up.
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 553:32 (waiver of administration)·last read 2026-08-18
Legal Process
File a petition with the probate court
New Hampshire splits the path by whether the estate has assets. Under RSA 552:3 the person named as executor must file the will in the probate court within thirty days after the death, or within thirty days after learning they were named, whichever is later. Where the estate contains assets, the named executor must then either cause the will to be proved or file a written refusal to accept the trust — so declining is a positive act with a filing of its own, not simply doing nothing. Where the estate contains no assets, the executor provides a certificate of death for the deceased and files the will with no administration. That last route puts the will on record without an estate being opened, which is the right outcome where everything passed outside probate. Vermont has the same idea at 14 V.S.A. § 104(b). One practical point: the word your state uses for this office is not decoration — asking for the wrong one wastes a trip and a phone call. And where a registrar or clerk can grant it, no judge is involved and no hearing is set, so nothing in the system will prompt you: the case moves only when you file.
RSA 552:3·last read 2026-08-25
Inventory all assets and debts
New Hampshire wants to know how you arrived at each number, and it leaves the family photographs alone. Under RSA 554:1 the administrator must file a full, true and itemized inventory within ninety days of appointment, listing all real and personal property with fair market values as of the date of death — and stating how each value was determined, whether by appraisal, tax information, bank statement or another source. No appraiser is required, though the judge may appoint one on an interested person’s motion or on the court’s own. A false statement on the inventory is an unsworn falsification punishable under RSA 641:3, and an administrator thirty days late is in default, with the clerk giving notice and issuing a citation. RSA 554:5 is the humane part: wearing apparel, Bibles, family pictures, photographs, albums and other personal trinkets of sentimental rather than intrinsic value are not inventoried or accounted for at all. Two things that apply everywhere. Values are as of the date of death, not today — a house that has risen since is still listed at what it was worth then. And the inventory is the document everything else is measured against: fees, bond, and every later distribution. It is also what beneficiaries most often challenge, so take the time to get it right rather than filing a rough figure you intend to fix later.
RSA 554:1, 554:5·last read 2026-08-25
Publish notice to creditors
New Hampshire gives the executor six months in which nobody can sue, which is unusual and worth planning around. Under RSA 556:1 no action may be sustained against an administrator if it is begun within six months after the original grant of administration, and not unless the demand has first been exhibited to the administrator and payment demanded. Under RSA 556:3 the creditor must have exhibited that demand within six months of the grant, or the action fails. RSA 556:2 makes exhibition easy for them: a notice sent by registered mail setting out the nature and amount of the claim, with a demand for payment, is a sufficient exhibition and demand. RSA 556:5 closes the outer door — no suit may be maintained unless begun within one year after the original grant, subject to narrow exceptions. So the shape is: exhibit within six months, sue between six months and a year. Two things to hold on to. Publication is what starts the clock in most states, so an estate where nobody published can stay exposed to claims far longer than the family expects. And a known creditor usually has to be told directly — publication alone does not bind someone whose name and address you could reasonably have found.
RSA 556:1, 556:2, 556:3, 556:5·last read 2026-08-25
Administration
Identify and close digital accounts
New Hampshire’s list is shorter than its neighbours’, and the gap matters if you avoided probate. Under RSA 554-A:7 the content of electronic communications is disclosed only where the deceased person consented or a court directs it, and the personal representative must give the custodian a written request, a certified copy of the death certificate, and a certified copy of the letter of appointment or court order. Unlike Washington, Nebraska and Minnesota, the section names no small-estate affidavit — so where no personal representative was appointed, the realistic routes are the provider’s online tool or a court order. The court-order route is broader than it first looks. Under subparagraph (e)(3) a court may find that disclosure is reasonably necessary for administration of the estate, which is the answer where the person never recorded consent anywhere. The act as a whole is RSA chapter 554-A, enacted in 2019. The rule to hold on to everywhere: without consent you generally get only the catalogue — who was contacted, when, and at what address — not what was actually said. “The executor can get into the accounts” is not what these laws do. And if you are advising someone still living, the provider’s own online tool is where this should be set, because it beats the will.
RSA 554-A:7·last read 2026-08-25
Financial Settlement
Pay valid debts and expenses
New Hampshire ranks state assistance recovery unusually high — above ordinary debts — and it is the class most families do not see coming. Under RSA 554:19 the administrator pays in this order. (a) Costs and expenses of administration. (b) Reasonable and necessary funeral, burial and cremation expenses. (c) Debts and taxes with preference under federal law. (d) Claims for financial and/or medical assistance provided to the deceased by the Department of Health and Human Services, debts collected under RSA 126-A:34 and charges under RSA 166:19. (e) The just debts of the deceased; and (f) legacies under the will or distribution to heirs. Two rules make that hard-edged: there is no preference within a class, and no creditor of a lower class receives any payment until every claim in the class above is paid in full. Note where the beneficiaries sit — class (f), last. Cremation is named expressly, which not every state does. Paying a lower-ranked debt before a higher-ranked one can leave you personally liable for the difference. So where the estate may not cover everything, stop before paying anything beyond the funeral and administration costs, and take advice.
RSA 554:19·last read 2026-08-27
File required tax returns
New Hampshire is the rare state where all three answers are now no, and the last one changed recently. Its legacy and succession tax is gone outright: RSA chapter 86, Taxation of Legacies and Successions, was repealed in its entirety by 2002, 232:14, II, effective 1 January 2003. Its estate tax survives on paper only. RSA 87:1 imposes an estate tax on the transfer of the estate of a person leaving an estate subject to federal estate tax who has property in New Hampshire. But it sets the amount equal to the maximum federal estate tax credit allowable for state death taxes, and provides that the tax is imposed in every case in which that credit is available on the federal return. The credit is gone, so the tax is zero. And RSA chapter 77, Taxation of Incomes — the interest and dividends tax — was itself repealed by 2021, 91:189, II, effective 1 January 2025, so there is no longer a New Hampshire return on estate income either. None of that removes the federal returns: the deceased’s final income tax return, and Form 1041 for income the estate itself earns during administration. And it does not help with property in another state, which may carry that state’s own death tax and its own filing.
RSA 87:1; RSA ch. 86 (repealed); RSA ch. 77 (repealed)·last read 2026-08-25
Distribution
Distribute assets to heirs
New Hampshire gives a surviving spouse one of the largest first slices we cover — up to $250,000 off the top before anything is divided, second to Hawaii, whose top tier under HRS § 560:2-102 is $400,000. Under RSA 561:1, and subject to any Homestead Right, there are five shares. With no issue and no parent, the spouse takes the entire estate. With issue who are all also the spouse’s and no other children of the spouse, they take the first $250,000 plus half the balance. With no issue but a surviving parent, they take the first $250,000 plus three quarters. Where all the issue are shared but the spouse has children of their own, they take the first $150,000 plus half. And where one or more of the deceased’s children are not the spouse’s, they take the first $100,000 plus half. So the cushion shrinks in steps as the family gets more blended, from $250,000 down to $100,000, rather than vanishing altogether as it does in several states. Whatever does not pass to the spouse goes to the issue, then to parents, then to brothers and sisters. On disqualification New Hampshire is the odd one out: there is no statute. Chapter 561, which sets out the shares above, contains nothing barring anyone, and neither does chapter 551 on wills — no killer provision, no desertion or abandonment bar on a spouse, and no bar on an absent parent. That does not mean a person who killed the deceased simply inherits; it means the question is worked out through the courts rather than by reading a section, so it is one to put to an attorney rather than to settle from the code. For everything else, the shares above stand as the family legally is. These shares apply only where there is no valid will — a will overrides all of it. And do not distribute anything until the creditor period has run and the debts are settled: a representative who pays the family early can be personally liable for what is still owing. New Hampshire keeps this in the adoption chapter, at RSA 170-B:25, and everything there turns on the FINAL decree rather than on the filing. Until that decree issues the adoptee is still the child of the birth parents for inheritance, and paragraph IV keeps all reciprocal rights between the adoptee and the birth parents “and their respective collateral or lineal relatives” alive in the meantime. Paragraph V starts the reciprocal rights with the adoptive family “contemporaneously” with the decree, so there is no gap and no overlap. The stepparent rule, in paragraph II, is drawn more broadly than most. Where a child is adopted “by an individual who intends to share parenting responsibilities with one of the adoptee’s parents”, that parent’s relationship to the child “shall in no way be altered” — the test is shared parenting rather than marriage, so an unmarried co-parent is inside it. Paragraph III handles adult adoption on its own terms. Where only one spouse petitions and the adoptee is over eighteen, the adoptee becomes the child of the adopting spouse and is no longer the child of the other birth or legal parent, and keeps the relationship with the assenting parent only “if the child and the parent so agree”. Paragraph VI treats a child adopted after a will was made the same as an after-born child.
RSA 561:1; RSA 170-B:25 (and chs. 551, 561 generally)·last read 2026-09-09
Close Estate
File a final accounting and close the estate
New Hampshire expects an account every year, not just one at the end. Under RSA 554:26 every administrator and executor must file an annual account of administration in the probate office, unless the judge of probate excuses them on petition — and the section caps that excuse: in no event may it run longer than three years. Before giving notice to settle the final account you file it in the probate office of the county where it is to be settled, and state the fact of that filing in the notice. At the same time you file a statement of the names and residences of the heirs, legatees and beneficiaries so far as known to you. RSA 554:25 sets the content: an itemized account of every sum of money received and paid out, with the date of each and the source it came from or the consideration it was paid for. Closing is what ends your exposure, so do not simply stop when the money runs out — an estate left open leaves the representative personally on the hook. And filing a closing statement is not the same as being discharged. In several states the appointment only terminates some months later, if nobody objects. Keep the file, the receipts and the proof of what you sent until then.
RSA 554:25, 554:26·last read 2026-08-25
Work through this as a checklist
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EstateMate is not a law firm and this is not legal advice. Every note above cites the section it came from and the date it was last read, so you can check it yourself. Statutes change, and the right answer can turn on facts specific to your family — when something looks close to the line, talk to a New Hampshire probate attorney.