New Hampshire Probate and Intestate Succession: What Happens Without a Will (2026)

New Hampshire probate matters go before the Probate Division of the Circuit Court in the county where the decedent lived. New Hampshire has no state estate tax and no inheritance tax, having repealed its last state death taxes for deaths on or after January 1, 2005.

Information last verified on 2026-07-16. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

How Probate Works in New Hampshire

New Hampshire consolidated its former standalone Probate Court into the Circuit Court system, so probate matters are now heard in the Probate Division of the Circuit Court for the county where the decedent lived, one division in each of the state's 10 counties. New Hampshire has not adopted the national Uniform Probate Code and does not use "formal" or "informal" terminology.

Its probate statutes, RSA Title LVI, provide a standard Administration process for most estates, plus two simplified alternatives. The Waiver of Administration, under RSA 553:32, is available when a sole heir or beneficiary serves as administrator, when all heirs or beneficiaries serve together, when all of them consent to whoever is administering the estate, or when the court otherwise finds waiver appropriate; eligibility turns on who is involved and who consents, not a fixed estate value. The Voluntary Administration track, under RSA 553:31-a, is reserved for the smallest estates and is covered in detail below.

Intestate Succession in New Hampshire: Who Inherits Without a Will

When a New Hampshire resident dies without a valid will, RSA 561:1 sets the order of distribution. New Hampshire is not a community property state, so this statute, not a pre-existing ownership split, controls distribution of the entire estate.

A surviving spouse's share depends on who else survives:

• If the decedent leaves no surviving descendant and no surviving parent, the spouse inherits the entire estate.
• If the decedent's descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse, and the spouse has no descendants from outside the marriage, the spouse takes the first $250,000 plus one-half of the balance.
• If the surviving spouse has descendants of their own from outside the marriage, the spouse's share drops to the first $150,000 plus one-half of the balance.
• If one or more of the decedent's own children are not children of the surviving spouse, the spouse's share drops further still, to the first $100,000 plus one-half of the balance, with the remainder passing to the decedent's descendants equally, or by representation if they are not of the same degree.

If no spouse or descendant survives, the estate passes to the decedent's surviving parent or parents equally. If no parent survives, it passes to siblings and the descendants of any deceased sibling by representation. If no sibling survives, it passes to nieces and nephews equally, if they are of the same degree, or otherwise by representation. If none of those relatives survive, the estate passes to the descendants of the decedent's grandparents, split evenly between the paternal and maternal lines. New Hampshire law caps this chain at the fourth degree of kinship; a relative more distant than that, such as a first cousin once removed, cannot inherit under the statute. Only if no qualifying heir can be found within that limit does the estate escheat to the State of New Hampshire.

Watch out: New Hampshire's spouse share shrinks in stages depending on whose children survive, not just whether children exist at all. A remarried parent with children from an earlier relationship should not assume a surviving second spouse automatically inherits the whole estate.

One way to make sure your property goes to the people you actually choose, rather than following New Hampshire's intestate succession order, is to have a valid will in place. recordinglaw.com's free New Hampshire Last Will and Testament Generator can help you create one, with no account required.

Small Estate and Simplified Probate in New Hampshire

New Hampshire uses two different mechanisms for smaller estates, and they work differently, which matters for accuracy. Voluntary Administration, under RSA 553:31-a, is available only when the entire estate consists of personal property worth $10,000 or less; it is the closest thing New Hampshire has to a pure dollar-threshold small estate procedure. Related breakpoints in the same statutory chapter matter even for slightly larger estates: no published notice to creditors is required when the estate's gross value is $10,000 or less, and only a personal bond without sureties, rather than a bond backed by a surety company, is required when the gross value is $25,000 or less.

Above the Voluntary Administration threshold, New Hampshire does not have a separate, single dollar-capped small estate affidavit. Instead, larger estates use the Waiver of Administration under RSA 553:32, described above, which simplifies the process based on who is administering the estate and whether all heirs and beneficiaries consent, rather than on the estate's size.

Does New Hampshire Have an Estate or Inheritance Tax?

New Hampshire has no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax today. The state's historical death taxes, its Legacy and Succession Tax under RSA 86 and its transfer tax on a nonresident decedent's personal property under RSA 89, were both repealed for deaths occurring on or after January 1, 2003. The separate requirement to file a New Hampshire Estate Tax return ended for deaths on or after January 1, 2005, following the federal phase-out of the state death tax credit that New Hampshire's estate tax had piggybacked on. New Hampshire also has no state gift tax. The only death-related tax that can reach a New Hampshire estate today is the federal estate tax, which as of 2026 applies only above roughly $15 million per person.

Do You Need a Probate Attorney?

Estates that qualify for Voluntary Administration or an uncontested Waiver of Administration are designed to be manageable without a lawyer. A probate attorney is more valuable when a will is contested, heirs disagree about who should administer the estate, the family is blended in a way that affects the spouse's intestate share, the estate includes real estate or a business, or an heir search must reach toward New Hampshire's fourth-degree kinship limit. For a broader look at how other states compare, see Probate by State.

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about probate and intestate succession in New Hampshire as of the verification date above. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is not a substitute for advice from a probate attorney licensed in New Hampshire, particularly for a contested estate, a business interest, a blended family, or an heir search reaching New Hampshire's fourth-degree kinship limit. Figures and thresholds cited change over time; verify current details directly with the New Hampshire Circuit Court, Probate Division, or the Department of Revenue Administration before relying on any figure here.

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Last updated: 2026-07-16. Figures and statutes cited reflect their in-force version as of 2026-07-16.