Probate in New Hampshire: do you need a lawyer, and what it costs

Settling an estate in New Hampshire

What an executor deals with after the funeral: the will, the court, creditors, tax and closing the estate. Each fact links to the statute it comes from and shows the date we last read it.

Filing the original will

In New Hampshire, whoever holds the original will must deliver it to the probate court, or to the executor named in it, within 30 days after learning of the death. The named executor must then file it with the probate court within 30 days, even if there is nothing to probate. Anyone who neglects this without a good excuse can be charged $20 for each month of delay.

N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 552:2, 552:3, 552:4Read the statute · gc.nh.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Which court handles probate

In New Hampshire, probate is handled by the probate division of the Circuit Court for the county where the person who died last lived. If they lived out of state, it can be opened in any county where they had property.

N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 547:8; RSA 490-F:3, 490-F:4Read the statute · gc.nh.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Creditors' deadline to make claims

In New Hampshire, the court clerk publishes notice of the administrator's appointment within 15 days (skipped if the estate is worth $10,000 or less). Creditors must present their claim to the executor or administrator within 6 months after the appointment, and must file any lawsuit on it within one year after the appointment.

N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 553:16, 556:1, 556:3, 556:5Read the statute · gc.nh.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Estate inventory

In New Hampshire, the executor or administrator must file an itemized inventory with the probate court within 90 days after being appointed, listing all real estate and personal property at fair market value on the date of death and how each value was found. The inventory is not required when administration is waived for a sole or agreeing set of heirs.

N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 554:1, 554:26-aRead the statute · gc.nh.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

The order estate debts are paid

In New Hampshire, the executor or administrator pays claims in a set order: the costs of running the estate first, then reasonable funeral, burial and cremation costs, then debts and taxes the federal government puts first, then state claims for medical or financial assistance given to the person who died, then their other debts, and only then gifts under the will or shares to heirs.

N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 554:19Read the statute · gc.nh.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

State estate and inheritance tax

New Hampshire has no inheritance tax, and its estate tax no longer collects anything because it equals a federal credit that has ended. Only the federal estate tax can apply, and only to very large estates.

N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 87:1; RSA 86 repealed by 2002, 232:14, IIRead the statute · gc.nh.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Closing an estate

In New Hampshire, the executor or administrator files an account of what came in and went out within one year after appointment, and the estate closes when the court allows the final account. After 6 months, if no debts or claims remain and all beneficiaries agree, you can instead ask the court for summary administration, which skips the final account. Estates under waiver of administration close by filing a sworn affidavit 6 months to one year after appointment.

N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 554:26, 554:26-a, 553:33, 553:32Read the statute · gc.nh.govchecked Oct 5, 2026