New Hampshire estate administration
Small-estate limit: procedure-specific
This guide explains probate in New Hampshire: New Hampshire probate is handled by the Circuit Court’s Probate Division, organized by county. Its summary-administration route is a post-appointment closing mechanism without a dollar cap, not a low-value affidavit procedure.
Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.
Summary administration is a closing procedure with no monetary cap. An administrator may move after the estate has been open at least six months, with no outstanding debts, obligations, unpaid or unresolved claims, taxes addressed, beneficiary assents, and no need for further court supervision. RSA 553:32 separately waives inventory, bond, and accounting in specified beneficiary/assent situations.
Summary administration (post-appointment closing)Simplified route
Summary administration is a closing procedure with no monetary cap. An administrator may move after the estate has been open at least six months, with no outstanding debts, obligations, unpaid or unresolved claims, taxes addressed, beneficiary assents, and no need for further court supervision. RSA 553:32 separately waives inventory, bond, and accounting in specified beneficiary/assent situations.
Eligibility and caveatsCourt cost
The New Hampshire Circuit Court Probate Division publishes a statewide estate-administration filing fee that steps with estate value: a Petition for Estate Administration is $150 for a value of $10,000 or less, $205 for $10,001 to $25,000, and $305 for more than $25,000 (schedule effective 07/01/2025, issued under Probate Division Rule 169 and RSA 490:26-a). The footnoted total is the base fee plus any Supreme-Court-authorized surcharges; certified-mail and later-accounting fees are separate.
Filing-cost detailExecutor compensation
No personal-representative compensation standard was found in the harvested probate-title statutes. RSA 554:26, suggested during discovery, only requires annual accounts and does not set compensation; the Judiciary rules/resources needed for a further check returned HTTP 403.
Compensation detailCreditor deadline
New Hampshire uses appointment-based stages: no action in the first six months, exhibition and demand within six months after the original grant, and suit within one year after that grant, with suspension and statutory exceptions. These are distinct procedural deadlines rather than one claim-bar number.
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 556:1-:7 (New Hampshire Legislature; reviewed August 9, 2026)
Timeline and creditor detailsNew Hampshire decision map
Use this map before opening a form or entering a number. It keeps the New Hampshire amount test, time gate, court cost, and creditor record separate so one easy figure does not stand in for the whole administration.
| Question | Recorded New Hampshire answer | Carry into the case |
|---|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Summary administration (post-appointment closing) | Confirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route. |
| What property and basis count? | probate property within the rule's stated scope; gross value for this route. | Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately. |
| What is the amount screen? | No numeric ceiling verified | Use the counted property, not a bank-balance shortcut. |
| What is the time or deadline record? | No waiting-period number verified; New Hampshire uses appointment-based stages: no action in the first six months, exhibition and demand within six months after the original grant, and suit within one year after that grant, with suspension and statutory exceptions. These are distinct procedural deadlines rather than one claim-bar number. | Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number. |
| What does the cost record establish? | 1 published schedule; the proceeding and value basis control the total. | Ask the Circuit Court, Probate Division about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings. |
| What does compensation use? | No compensation amount is recorded here: No personal-representative compensation standard was found in the harvested probate-title statutes. RSA 554:26, suggested during discovery, only requires annual accounts and does not set compensation; the Judiciary rules/resources needed for a further check returned HTTP 403. | Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate. |
This registry does not establish a numeric New Hampshire ceiling from an accepted primary source. The safe next step is to follow the reason and source lane on this page, then ask the Circuit Court, Probate Division for the current rule rather than importing a neighboring state\'s amount.
Next evidence to collect
Official material
The official Circuit Court Probate Division HTML and forms pages return HTTP 403 to a machine fetch, but the official Circuit Court Filing Fees PDF (effective 07/01/2025) is machine-fetchable and returns the estate-administration fee table verbatim; it is the pinned fee source.
RSA 490-F:3 creates the Probate Division, and RSA 490-F:4 makes each county a judicial district for that division.
Source trail
This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.
The statutes on this page state the rule. These are the documents the court itself publishes. Every link is probed before release, and any link that stops resolving fails the build rather than staying on the page.
Official statewide fee schedule (effective 07/01/2025) listing the tiered $150 / $205 / $305 estate-administration filing fees.
Each legal input links to the government source reviewed for this page. Source text can change; confirm the current rule before acting.
Reviewed source note: Section 553:33 553:33 Summary Administration. I. This section shall apply to all estates, testate and intestate, other than those estates governed by RSA 553:32. II. Summary administration is available to expedite the closing of an estate when further court supervision of the administration of the estate is no longer necessary. The approval of a motion for summary administration by the court will eliminate the requirement of filing a final account and receipts for the balance of the estate. All other documents required by statute shall be filed. In those estates in which there is federal estate tax liability, the court shall not require the administrator to file a closing letter from the Internal Revenue Service. An administrator may file a motion for summary administration to close an estate not less than 6 months after the date of appointment of the administrator.
Reviewed source note: Petition for Estate Administration with a value of $10,000 or less ..................... $150.00 Petition for Estate Administration with a value of $10,001 to $25,000 ............ $205.00 Petition for Estate Administration with a value more than $25,000 ................. $305.00
What this means: The statewide estate-administration filing fee is set by the New Hampshire Supreme Court's fee schedule (Probate Division Rule 169) under RSA 490:26-a, not by a dollar figure in the RSA text. The HTML fee pages return HTTP 403 to a machine fetch, but the official PDF schedule returns the fee table verbatim and is the pinned source. Fees are tiered by estate value: $150 / $205 / $305.
Reviewed source note: 556:1 No Action Within Six Months, Etc. No action shall be sustained against an administrator if begun within six months after the original grant of administration, nor unless the demand has been exhibited to the administrator and payment has been demanded. Source. RS 161:1. CS 170:1. GS 179:1. GL 198:1. PS 191:1. PL 302:1. RL 355:1. RSA 556:1. 1959, 114:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1960. Section 556:2 556:2 Notice of Claim. A notice sent to the administrator or his agent by registered mail, setting forth the nature and amount of the claim and a demand for payment, shall be deemed a sufficient exhibition and demand. Source. 1919, 69:1. PL 302:2. RL 355:2. Section 556:3 556:3 Exhibition of Demand; Time.
Reviewed source note: 490-F:3 490-F:3 Circuit Court Divisions. The circuit court shall consist of 3 divisions: a probate division, a district division, and a family division. The circuit court shall have the jurisdiction, powers, and duties conferred upon the former probate and district courts and upon the former judicial branch family division by RSA 547, RSA 502-A, and RSA 490-D. Source. 2011, 88:1, eff. July 1, 2011. Section 490-F:3-a 490-F:3-a District Division; Criminal Cases. Notwithstanding the jurisdictional provisions of RSA 592-B:1, the circuit court - district division shall have jurisdiction to arraign defendants charged with felony offenses and to hold a preliminary examination to determine whether probable cause exists to believe the offense was committed and the defendant committed the offense, and if so, to be bound over to the superior court for further proceedings.