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New Hampshire timeline

New Hampshire probate timeline and creditor deadlines

The waiting-period requirement has not been verified, so no number is published below.

That clock is one condition among several, and it is not the whole estate timeline. The deadlines that carry the most risk are creditor deadlines, and in New Hampshire they are set out below against the event each one runs from.

Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.

The one date this page can source

The waiting-period requirement for this route has not been verified, so no number is published. Read the statute below before assuming any waiting period applies.

Creditor deadlines

New Hampshire does not run one creditor clock. Separate periods start from separate events, and the date that actually bars a claim is the one the applicable period produces. They are listed here against the event that starts each, because a period attached to the wrong starting event is how a deadline gets missed by weeks.

From publication of notice to creditors
RSA 553:16 requires publication of appointment within 15 days unless the gross estate is $10,000 or less; chapter 556 does not run the claim deadline from publication.
From actual notice to a known creditor
A claim must be exhibited and payment demanded within six months after the original grant; registered-mail notice is sufficient.
From appointment of the representative
No action during the first six months; exhibition within six months; suit generally within one year after original grant.
Outer limit, running from death
One year after original grant for suit, exclusive of suspension and subject to §§ 556:5, 556:7 and 556:28 exceptions.

How these combine. 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.

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.N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 556:1-:7 — New Hampshire Legislature; 1959, 114:3, eff. Jan. 1, 1960..

Publishing notice starts a period after which most claims are barred. Missing a required notice can extend the estate’s exposure and, in some circumstances, the personal exposure of the person administering it. Confirm the dates that apply to this estate with the Circuit Court, Probate Division before relying on them, because a specific case can carry deadlines these general provisions do not reach.

New Hampshire timeline decision map

What must be established before the New Hampshire clock matters

The New Hampshire waiting period is only one condition. Use this map to separate the route clock from creditor deadlines, asset scope, court costs, and the documents needed to move from screening to filing.

QuestionRecorded New Hampshire answerCarry 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 verifiedUse 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.

Clock ledger

Do not compress the New Hampshire deadlines into one date

The New Hampshire record names separate triggers. The description beside each trigger is the source-bound statement to carry into the estate calendar; the interaction rule explains which period controls when more than one applies.

Clock starts withRecorded periodSource
Publication of noticeRSA 553:16 requires publication of appointment within 15 days unless the gross estate is $10,000 or less; chapter 556 does not run the claim deadline from publication.N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 556:1-:7
Actual notice to a known creditorA claim must be exhibited and payment demanded within six months after the original grant; registered-mail notice is sufficient.N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 556:1-:7
Appointment of the representativeNo action during the first six months; exhibition within six months; suit generally within one year after original grant.N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 556:1-:7
Outer limit from deathOne year after original grant for suit, exclusive of suspension and subject to §§ 556:5, 556:7 and 556:28 exceptions.N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 556:1-:7

How the periods combine: 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.

Case-file context

Keep the New Hampshire answer with its neighboring conditions

A route answer is easier to use when the facts that can change it stay in the same record. These are the reviewed New Hampshire descriptions adjacent to this page\'s main question; they are not a substitute for the source quotations or the receiving court\'s instructions.

Route context

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.

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.

Cost context

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.

1 published schedule; the proceeding and value basis control the total.

Compensation context

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.

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.

Court-material note: 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.

No numeric shortcut is available for New Hampshire

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

Calendar the verified gate, preserve the unresolved questions, and confirm the county filing path before distributing property.

  1. Record the date of death, the county, and the exact proceeding or affidavit being considered.
  2. Classify each asset by title, beneficiary, trust, real-property status, and the value basis shown above.
  3. Open the official court material below and keep its form or schedule with the estate record.
  4. Do not distribute property until the route, creditor position, and required approvals are resolved.

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

Records used by this New Hampshire map

The general sequence

The order in which an estate is actually worked — secure property, confirm title and beneficiary designations, identify the court route, notify and account, then close — is the same everywhere and carries no citation, so it is set out once rather than repeated on each state’s page. Read it inthe executor’s first week, and seehow long probate takes for how the phases stretch in practice.

What is jurisdiction-specific is above: the New Hampshire periods, the event each one runs from, and the source each was read in.

Use this as a starting point.

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.

Continue in New Hampshire