New Hampshire
New Hampshire Probate and Intestate Succession: What Happens Without a Will (2026)
Independently fact-checked against primary sources (last audited August 20, 2026). · Reviewed by the RecordingLaw editorial team. · Law checked current as of August 20, 2026. · 6 primary sources cited on this page. How we verify our legal content
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 New Hampshire has no state estate tax and no inheritance tax, having repealed its last state death taxes for deaths on or after January 1, 2005.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 one simplified alternative. The Waiver of Administration, under , 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. New Hampshire's earlier Voluntary Administration track, formerly at RSA 553:31-a, was repealed effective January 1, 1997, and is not a live option today.
Intestate Succession in New Hampshire: Who Inherits Without a Will
When a New Hampshire resident dies without a valid will, 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 leaves no surviving descendant but is survived by a parent or parents, the spouse takes the first $250,000 plus three-quarters of the balance.
- 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 but a grandparent does, one-half of the estate passes to the surviving paternal grandparent or grandparents and the other half passes to the surviving maternal grandparent or grandparents; if only one grandparent survives, that grandparent takes the entire estate. If no grandparent survives either, 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 does not have a dollar-capped small estate affidavit the way many other states do. Its earlier Voluntary Administration track for estates of $10,000 or less, formerly codified at RSA 553:31-a, was repealed effective January 1, 1997, and is no longer available at any estate size. Two unrelated dollar breakpoints in the same statutory chapter still matter for smaller estates: no published notice to creditors is required when the estate's gross value is $10,000 or less (RSA 553:16), 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 (RSA 553:13).
New Hampshire's only current simplified alternative to standard Administration, at any estate size, is the Waiver of Administration under , 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 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.
Last updated: 2026-07-16. Figures and statutes cited reflect their in-force version as of 2026-07-16.
More New Hampshire Laws
Frequently Asked Questions
What court handles probate in New Hampshire?
The Probate Division of the Circuit Court, in the county where the decedent lived, handles New Hampshire probate matters under RSA Title LVI.
Does New Hampshire use formal and informal probate?
No. New Hampshire has not adopted the Uniform Probate Code. It uses a standard Administration process plus a single simplified alternative, the consent-based Waiver of Administration, available regardless of estate size.
What is New Hampshire's small estate threshold?
New Hampshire does not have a dollar-capped small estate affidavit; its former Voluntary Administration track for estates under $10,000 was repealed in 1997. Estates of any size use the Waiver of Administration instead, which depends on consent rather than a dollar cap. Separately, estates worth $10,000 or less skip the published notice to creditors, and estates worth $25,000 or less need only a personal bond without sureties.
What does a surviving spouse inherit in New Hampshire if there's no will?
Under RSA 561:1, a spouse with no surviving children or parents inherits everything. If there are no surviving children but a parent survives, the spouse takes the first $250,000 plus three-quarters of the balance, the largest partial share. Otherwise the spouse's share ranges from the first $250,000 plus half the balance down to the first $100,000 plus half the balance, depending on whose children survive.
Is New Hampshire a community property state?
No. New Hampshire is a common-law, separate-property state, so a surviving spouse's intestate share comes entirely from the statutory formula in RSA 561:1.
Does New Hampshire have an estate or inheritance tax?
No. New Hampshire repealed its last state death taxes for deaths on or after January 1, 2005, and levies neither a state estate tax nor a state inheritance tax today.
How far can inheritance extend under New Hampshire's intestate succession law?
Only to the fourth degree of kinship. A relative more distant than that, such as a first cousin once removed, cannot inherit under RSA 561:1, and the estate would escheat to the state if no closer heir is found.
Updates
Corrected the page's description of New Hampshire's small-estate probate options: the 'Voluntary Administration under RSA 553:31-a' track for estates under $10,000 was repealed in 1997 and no longer exists; the Waiver of Administration under RSA 553:32 is New Hampshire's only current simplified alternative to full Administration, and it is available at any estate size.
Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources; governing law re-checked for recent changes
Restored two missing tiers of New Hampshire's intestate succession order under RSA 561:1: the surviving spouse's share when there are no descendants but a surviving parent, and living grandparents' priority ahead of a grandparent's other descendants.
Governing law re-checked for recent changes
Reviewed and approved by an editor
The Law Behind This Article
This article rests on the statutory provisions below, held in our own legal record and retrieved from the official source. Tap a section to read the operative text.
New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated, TITLE LVI PROBATE COURTS AND DECEDENTS' ESTATES, CHAPTER 553 ADMINISTRATORS AND THEIR APPOINTMENT
§ 553:32Waiver of Administration.In force
I. (a) Notwithstanding any provision of law, there shall be no requirement for an inventory of the estate, no requirement for a bond, and no requirement for an accounting for assets in any of the following circumstances: (1) Whenever a decedent dies testate and an individual is named in the will as the sole beneficiary of the decedent's estate and is appointed to serve as administrator. (2) Whenever a decedent dies testate and all individuals named in the will as beneficiaries of the decedent's estate are appointed to serve as co-administrators or any appropriate person is appointed to serve as administrator with the assent of all such beneficiaries. (3) Whenever a decedent dies testate, a trust is named in the will as the sole beneficiary of the estate, and any appropriate person, including one or more trustees of such trust, is appointed to serve as administrator with the assent of all such trustees. (4) Whenever a decedent dies intestate and an individual, including a surviving spouse, is the sole heir of the decedent's estate and is appointed to serve as administrator.
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-29 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at gc.nh.gov
New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated, TITLE LVI PROBATE COURTS AND DECEDENTS' ESTATES, CHAPTER 561 DESCENT, DISTRIBUTION, AND ADVANCEMENTS
§ 561:1Distribution Upon Intestacy.In force
The real estate and personal estate of every person deceased, not devised or bequeathed, subject to any homestead right, and liable to be sold by license from the court of probate in cases provided by law, and personally remaining in the hands of the administrator on settlement of his or her account, shall descend or be distributed by decree of the probate court: I. If the deceased is survived by a spouse, the spouse shall receive: (a) If there is no surviving issue or parent of the decedent, the entire intestate estate; (b) If there are surviving issue of the decedent all of whom are issue of the surviving spouse also, and there are no other issue of the surviving spouse who survive the decedent, the first $250,000, plus 1/2 of the balance; (c) If there are no surviving issue of the decedent but the decedent is survived by a parent or parents, the first $250,000, plus 3/4 of the balance of the intestate estate; (d) If there are surviving issue of the decedent all of whom are issue of the surviving spouse also, and the surviving spouse has one or more surviving issue who are not the issue of the decedent, the first $150,000, plus 1/2 of the balance of the intestate…
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-29 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at gc.nh.gov
Cited in 29 court opinionsMost recently applied by a court: 2024
Leading cases:
- In Re Guardianship of Williams (Supreme Court of New Hampshire 2009, 159 N.H. 318)“…ho would take the estate under the statute of distribution. RSA 561:1, which provides for intestate distribut…”
- Eng Khabbaz Ex Rel. Eng v. Commissioner, Social Security Administration (Supreme Court of New Hampshire 2007, 155 N.H. 798)“…ion for survivor's benefits based upon an interpretation of RSA 561:1, our state's intestacy distribution sta…”
- In re Estate of Locke (Supreme Court of New Hampshire 2002, 148 N.H. 754)“…rmining the heirs of the estate of Geraldine M. Locke under RSA 561:1,11(d) (1997). We affirm. The relevant…”
Identified automatically from the court opinions citing this section — not a ranking of which case controls.
Explore the law
This article also draws on these acts and chapters (opening at their first section): New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated, TITLE LVI PROBATE COURTS AND DECEDENTS' ESTATES, CHAPTER 553 ADMINISTRATORS AND THEIR APPOINTMENT § 553:1 (Administrator Defined.)
Related law for further reading — not part of this article’s citations.
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Sources and References
- New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated, RSA 561:1 (Distribution Upon Intestacy)(gc.nh.gov).gov
- New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated, RSA Chapter 553 (Administration of Estates)(gc.nh.gov).gov
- New Hampshire Circuit Court, "Waiver of Administration" self-help pamphlet(courts.nh.gov).gov
- New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration, "Inheritance and Estate Tax"(revenue.nh.gov).gov
- New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration, FAQ: Inheritance and Estate Taxes(revenue.nh.gov).gov
- New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated, RSA 553:32 (Waiver of Administration)(gc.nh.gov).gov