Rockingham County Circuit Court probate division Guide

Available to all estates other than those governed by RSA 553:32. It eliminates the final account and the receipts for the balance of the estate; every other required filing still happens. On granting the motion the court closes the estate and releases the bond and the administrator finishes without further court supervision. This is a route for a clean, debt-free estate, NOT a route for a small one: New Hampshire attaches no dollar limit to it. The motion carries a $105.00 statewide filing fee under Rule 169, charged on top of the entry fee already paid to open the estate.

• The estate has been open at least 6 months
• No outstanding debts, obligations or unpaid or unresolved claims
• No New Hampshire estate tax due, or paid with an RSA 87:26 certificate filed
• No federal estate tax due, or the return filed and the tax paid
• Receipts or assents from all specific legatees and assents from everyone else beneficially interested

Qualifies:

No dollar threshold. The estate must have been open at least 6 months, have no outstanding debts, obligations or unresolved claims, owe no New Hampshire or federal estate tax, and no longer need court supervision, with receipts or assents from all specific legatees and assents from everyone else beneficially interested.

Filing fee:

$105

source

Typical duration:

7-12 months

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

The default New Hampshire route. An administrator is appointed on a Petition for Estate Administration (NHJB-2145-Pe), gives bond unless it is waived, files an itemized inventory with date-of-death values within 90 days of appointment (RSA 554:1), publishes notice of appointment unless the gross value is $10,000 or less (RSA 553:16), files an account within one year of appointment and annually after that (RSA 554:26-a), and closes on an allowed final account. New Hampshire's statutory term for the person in charge is ADMINISTRATOR (RSA 553:1), which covers executors too; New Hampshire is not a Uniform Probate Code state and "personal representative" is not a New Hampshire term.

• File the will with the Circuit Court, Probate Division within 30 days if there is one (RSA 552:2, RSA 552:3)
• File a Petition for Estate Administration (NHJB-2145-Pe, e-file only) with a certified death record
• Give bond, unless the judge waives it or the gross estate is $25,000 or less and a personal bond without sureties suffices (RSA 553:13, II)
• File an itemized inventory with date-of-death values within 90 days of appointment (RSA 554:1)
• File an account of administration within one year of appointment and annually after that (RSA 554:26-a)

Qualifies:

No dollar threshold. This is the default route for any New Hampshire estate that does not qualify for waiver of administration under RSA 553:32.

Filing fee:

$305

source

Typical duration:

12-24 months

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

The administrator is appointed, files an inventory within 90 days, publishes notice, pays claims in the RSA 554:19 order, files an account within one year and annually after that, and closes on an allowed final account. New Hampshire calls the person in charge the ADMINISTRATOR (RSA 553:1); executor is used for the person named in a will. There is no 'personal representative' in New Hampshire practice.

• File the will within 30 days if there is one (RSA 552:2, RSA 552:3)
• File a Petition for Estate Administration with a certified death record (RSA 553:1-a)
• Give bond, unless the judge waives it or the estate is $25,000 or less and a personal bond without sureties is enough (RSA 553:13)
• Notify legatees, the surviving spouse and heirs within 60 days and certify to the judge within 90 days (RSA 552:15)
• File an itemized inventory with date-of-death values within 90 days of appointment (RSA 554:1)
• File an account of administration within one year of appointment and annually after that (RSA 554:26-a)

Qualifies:

No threshold. This is the default route for any estate that does not qualify for waiver of administration.

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

New Hampshire's real shortcut, and it is not a small-estate route. Waiver of administration removes the inventory, the bond and the accounting entirely. It is available where a sole beneficiary under a will is appointed administrator; where all will beneficiaries are appointed co-administrators or an appropriate person is appointed with all their assent; where a trust is sole beneficiary and an appropriate person is appointed with all trustees' assent; where a sole intestate heir, which may be the surviving spouse, is appointed; where all intestate heirs are appointed co-administrators or an appropriate person is appointed with all their assent; or where the court in its discretion determines it appropriate. The administrator closes by filing an affidavit of administration not less than 6 months and not more than one year after appointment. Any interested person may petition for full administration before the affidavit is filed.

• Fall within one of the six situations in RSA 553:32, I(a)
• File the assents the situation requires (NHJB-3233-Pe, Assent to Waiver of Full Administration)
• File an affidavit of administration between 6 and 12 months after appointment, stating there are no outstanding debts or obligations and listing every parcel of real estate the decedent owned with its location, book and page

Qualifies:

No dollar threshold. Qualification turns on RELATIONSHIP AND CONSENT, in one of six situations listed in RSA 553:32, I(a).

Typical duration:

7-12 months

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

No separate filing fee. The estate still opens on a Petition for Estate Administration priced on the three gross-value tiers, and Rule 169 adds no line item for this route.

New Hampshire enacted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act as RSA 563-D, effective July 1, 2024. An owner may record a transfer on death deed during life naming one or more beneficiaries who take the described real property at the owner's death, outside probate. The deed is revocable, has no effect during the owner's life, and a statutory form is supplied at RSA 563-D:19.

• Meets the RSA 477:3 deed formalities: signed by the grantor, acknowledged before a justice, notary public or commissioner, and showing the grantee's mailing address
• Bears the title 'Transfer on Death Deed'
• States that the transfer to the designated beneficiary occurs at the transferor's death
• Recorded BEFORE the transferor's death, AND within 60 days following the date of execution, at length in the registry of deeds for each county where the real estate lies

Qualifies:

Not applicable. It avoids probate for the described real property.

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one

The administrator may petition for an initial determination that the estate is insolvent. Granting the petition stays actions and suits against the deceased or the administrator, with exceptions for insured matters and where the court lifts the stay, and the order may waive the inventory or any accounts. No sooner than 6 months after the grant of administration the administrator petitions for an order distributing assets in the RSA 554:19 priority order; beneficially interested persons get 30 days to object, and the administrator distributes no sooner than 30 days after the order and is then discharged from all creditor claims.

Qualifies:

Known claims and expenses of administration exceed the value of the assets.

Attorney:

not required by law, though many families use one