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New Hampshire Small Estate Rules
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New Hampshire Small Estate Rules

New Hampshire has no small estate affidavit and no dollar cutoff. Waiver of administration and summary administration turn on relationship and consent.

By Settled Editorial

New Hampshire has no small estate affidavit and no dollar cutoff that lets a family collect a decedent's property without going to court. The state runs two simplified routes instead, and both stay inside the Circuit Court, Probate Division: waiver of administration under RSA 553:32 and summary administration under RSA 553:33. Each one turns on who inherits and who consents, never on what the estate is worth.

Most people reach this page after reading about a neighboring state, so that correction matters more than any detail below it. This guide covers what each route removes, who qualifies, the six-month clock the two share, and the four New Hampshire dollar figures that look like small estate limits and are not. Read it next to the full New Hampshire probate process and what the administrator still has to do. It is general information, not legal advice. Confirm any deadline with the circuit court clerk handling your case or a licensed New Hampshire attorney.

New Hampshire Has No Small Estate Affidavit

RSA 553, the chapter titled "Administrators and Their Appointment", ends at RSA 553:33. Nothing in it lets an heir sign a sworn form and collect a bank account or a car without a court appointment, and nothing in it sets a value below which probate gets skipped. Sites that sell a "New Hampshire Small Estate Affidavit" are selling a document this state does not use.

New Hampshire has no voluntary administration either. That is a Massachusetts and Maine term. The phrase does survive in one leftover spot, and anyone who searches the statutes will find it: RSA 554:26-a lists a "statement of voluntary administration" among the filings a defaulting fiduciary must produce, right beside the "waiver of administration affidavit" that RSA 553:32 does use. The leftover creates no route, no form, and no fee.

Here is what New Hampshire actually offers. Both routes still open with a court appointment, still put an administrator in charge, and still leave the estate's debts to be paid. What changes is how much paperwork the court asks for on the way out.

Four Dollar Figures That Are Not Thresholds

Readers usually arrive having already found one of these numbers somewhere and assumed it was a cutoff. None of them changes the procedure.

FigureWhat it actually doesSource
Gross value of $10,000 or lessThe clerk skips publishing the notice of appointmentRSA 553:16
Gross value of $25,000 or lessOnly a personal bond without sureties is requiredRSA 553:13, II
$10,000 and $25,000Breakpoints in the filing fee to open an estate: $150.00, $205.00, then $305.00Circuit Court filing fee schedule, Probate Division Rule 169
Gross value of $25,000The accounting filing fee is $0.00 at or below, $105.00 aboveCircuit Court filing fee schedule

Two of those are publication and bond rules, and two are prices. None of them opens a shortcut.

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Waiver of Administration (RSA 553:32)

Waiver of administration pulls three requirements out of an ordinary New Hampshire estate. There is no inventory, no bond, and no accounting for assets (RSA 553:32, I(a)). RSA 553:13, I carries the matching exception on the bond side, opening with the words "Except as provided in RSA 553:32".

You qualify by landing in one of six situations. Estate value is not one of them:

  1. The decedent left a will, one individual is named in it as sole beneficiary of the estate, and that person is appointed to serve as administrator.
  2. The decedent left a will and every individual named in it as a beneficiary is appointed to serve as co-administrator, or an appropriate person is appointed with the assent of all of those beneficiaries.
  3. The decedent left a will naming a trust as sole beneficiary, and an appropriate person, who may be one of the trustees, is appointed with the assent of all the trustees.
  4. The decedent left no will and one individual, who may be the surviving spouse, is the sole heir and is appointed to serve as administrator.
  5. The decedent left no will and all heirs, including a surviving spouse, are appointed to serve as co-administrators, or an appropriate person is appointed with the assent of all the heirs.
  6. The court, in its discretion, determines that waiver is appropriate under the circumstances.

Situation 4 is the one that sends families to the intestacy rules first, because "sole heir" is a legal answer rather than a family opinion. Check who counts as the sole heir before you assume a surviving spouse or an only child stands alone.

Closing a Waiver Estate

A waiver estate closes when the administrator files an affidavit of administration and the probate court approves it. The window opens 6 months after the date of appointment and shuts one year after it (RSA 553:32, I(b)). The affidavit states that, to the best of the administrator's knowledge and belief, no outstanding debts or obligations remain against the estate, and it lists every piece of real estate the decedent owned at death with the location, book, and page.

Miss that window and the court picks a remedy: a notice of default, a show cause order, or an order that the estate go through full administration (RSA 553:32, I(c)). The administrator can move for more time, and the court may extend the one-year deadline for good cause shown.

The door stays open for objectors the whole time. Any interested person may petition for full administration at any point from the original grant of administration to the filing of the affidavit, and a judge may grant that petition for good cause (RSA 553:32, II(a)).

Three Details People Miss

A family can shape an estate to fit. RSA 553:32, III says a disclaimer, an ademption of legacies, or a declination to serve as executor may be used to bring an estate inside paragraph I. That turns waiver from a lottery into a decision. It also has permanent consequences for whoever gives something up, so talk to a licensed New Hampshire attorney before anyone signs a disclaimer.

Waiver never cancels the debts. RSA 553:32, VI keeps the administrator responsible for paying administration expenses and the decedent's debts out of estate assets under RSA 554 and RSA 556. Skipping the inventory does not shrink what the estate owes, which is the part of the job waiver leaves untouched.

Substitutes are allowed. A guardian may be appointed administrator when the ward qualifies under the section (RSA 553:32, IV), and if the administrator cannot finish, a successor may complete the administration the same way (RSA 553:32, V).

Summary Administration (RSA 553:33)

Summary administration is the other route, and the two never overlap. RSA 553:33, I applies the section to all estates, testate and intestate, other than those governed by RSA 553:32. So the six waiver situations decide which section you are reading; everything else lands here.

What summary administration removes is narrower. Court approval of the motion eliminates the final account and the receipts for the balance of the estate. Every other document a statute requires still gets filed. Where the estate carries federal estate tax liability, the court will not ask the administrator for an IRS closing letter (RSA 553:33, II). An administrator may file the motion no sooner than 6 months after the date of appointment.

The motion carries the administrator's sworn statement on six points (RSA 553:33, III(a)):

  1. The estate has been open at least 6 months.
  2. To the best of the administrator's knowledge and belief, no outstanding debts, obligations, or unpaid or unresolved claims remain against the estate.
  3. No New Hampshire estate taxes are due, or all applicable ones are paid and a certificate from the Department of Revenue Administration under RSA 87:26 is filed with the court.
  4. No federal estate tax is due, or the federal return is filed and the tax reported on it is paid.
  5. Court supervision of the administration is no longer necessary.
  6. The administration will be completed without further court supervision, in line with the will and applicable law.

Then come the signatures. The administrator attaches receipts or assents from all specific legatees, and assents from every other person beneficially interested, as RSA 550:12 defines that group (RSA 553:33, III(b)). Each assent says three things: further court supervision is no longer necessary, the signer does not request a final accounting, and the signer asks the court to grant the motion.

When paragraphs II and III are both satisfied, the court may grant the motion, close the estate, and release the bond. The administrator finishes the remaining work without further supervision (RSA 553:33, IV).

Forms and Fees

New Hampshire publishes one statewide form set through the Judicial Branch, numbered in the NHJB series. On the summary side, use Motion for Summary Administration and Assent, NHJB-2149-P, or NHJB-2149-Pe to e-file, with the standalone Assent for Summary Administration at NHJB-2122-P and NHJB-2122-Pe. On the waiver side the published forms are Waiver of Full Administration Statement, NHJB-2144-Pe, and Assent to Waiver of Full Administration, NHJB-3233-Pe, both e-file only. The alphabetical index carries no separately numbered "Affidavit of Administration" form, so ask the circuit court clerk which document the court wants when a waiver estate is ready to close.

Fees are statewide, set by Probate Division Rule 169 and printed on one Circuit Court filing fee schedule dated 07/01/2025. A Motion for Summary Administration costs $105.00. Opening the estate in the first place costs $150.00 when the value is $10,000 or less, $205.00 from $10,001 to $25,000, and $305.00 above $25,000. There is no per-county fee schedule in New Hampshire; one judicial branch sets one price.

Waiver and Summary Administration Side by Side

Waiver of administration (RSA 553:32)Summary administration (RSA 553:33)
Who it coversSix relationship-and-consent situations in RSA 553:32, I(a)Every estate not governed by RSA 553:32
What it removesInventory, bond, and accounting for assetsFinal account and receipts for the balance
Earliest close6 months after appointment6 months after appointment
Outside deadlineOne year after appointment, extendable for good causeNone stated in the section
Consent requiredAssents in situations 2, 3, and 5Receipts or assents from everyone beneficially interested
Closing documentAffidavit of administrationMotion for summary administration
Estate valueIrrelevantIrrelevant

Why Both Routes Wait Six Months

The six-month floor tracks New Hampshire's creditor clock, which runs from the original grant of administration rather than from the date of death or from the date notice gets published. That single fact reshapes the whole calendar:

  • A creditor must exhibit a demand to the administrator within 6 months after the original grant (RSA 556:3).
  • No action against an administrator survives if it starts inside those first 6 months, and none survives at all unless the demand was exhibited and payment demanded (RSA 556:1).
  • A suit has to begin within one year after the original grant (RSA 556:5).

Both simplified routes ask the administrator to swear that no debts remain outstanding. That statement only becomes safe once the presentation window has closed, which is why neither route lets an estate close in month three. Work through the 6-month creditor window before you sign either document.

RSA 553:32, II(b) makes the same point from the other direction. When a court later orders full administration of an estate that started under waiver, the inventory and account deadlines restart from the new order, but the RSA 556 suit deadlines still run from the original grant.

What Neither Route Changes

  • A court still appoints someone. Both routes open with a Petition for Estate Administration, NHJB-2145-Pe, an e-file form. Find the right courthouse in the New Hampshire probate court directory.
  • The title is administrator. RSA 553:1 says the word administrator may include every person to whom the administration of an estate or the execution of a will may be granted. New Hampshire has not adopted the Uniform Probate Code, so "personal representative" is not the local term and it will not appear on the forms.
  • Someone still has to be eligible to serve. RSA 553:2 lists who administration is granted to: the executor named in the will; the widow, husband, or any of the next of kin, or a suitable person they nominate; one of the devisees or creditors; or such other person as the judge may think proper.
  • Debts still get paid. RSA 553:32, VI keeps the payment duty alive under RSA 554 and RSA 556 on the waiver route, and summary administration requires a sworn statement that nothing is outstanding.
  • The notice of appointment still publishes. The clerk causes notice to be published within 15 days of appointment, unless the estate's gross value is $10,000 or less (RSA 553:16).
  • The clerk is the circuit court clerk. RSA 554:26-a names the clerk of the applicable circuit court established in RSA 490-F as the officer who handles a fiduciary default, sends the notice, and issues the citation.

One filing marks the sharpest split between the two routes. In a full administration the administrator files an itemized inventory within 90 days of appointment (RSA 554:1). Waiver removes that filing. Summary administration leaves it in place.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does New Hampshire have a small estate affidavit?

No. RSA 553 ends at RSA 553:33 and creates no affidavit that lets an heir collect property without a court appointment. The two simplified routes, waiver of administration (RSA 553:32) and summary administration (RSA 553:33), both start with a court-appointed administrator.

What is the New Hampshire small estate dollar limit?

There is none. Neither RSA 553:32 nor RSA 553:33 mentions estate value. Four New Hampshire figures look like limits and are not: $10,000 waives publication of the notice of appointment (RSA 553:16), $25,000 or less means a personal bond without sureties (RSA 553:13, II), and $10,000 and $25,000 are filing fee breakpoints.

Who qualifies for waiver of administration in New Hampshire?

Six situations qualify under RSA 553:32, I(a), and estate value is not one of them. They cover a sole beneficiary named in the will who serves as administrator, all will beneficiaries serving or assenting, a trust named as sole beneficiary with trustee assent, an intestate sole heir who serves, all heirs serving or assenting, and any case the court finds appropriate in its discretion.

How soon can a New Hampshire estate close under these routes?

Six months after the date of appointment at the earliest, on both routes. The affidavit of administration that closes a waiver estate is filed not less than 6 months and no more than one year after appointment (RSA 553:32, I(b)), and a motion for summary administration may be filed not less than 6 months after appointment (RSA 553:33, II).

What is the difference between waiver and summary administration?

They do not overlap. RSA 553:33, I covers every estate other than those governed by RSA 553:32. Waiver removes the inventory, the bond, and the accounting. Summary administration removes the final account and the receipts for the balance of the estate.

Does New Hampshire have voluntary administration?

No. That term belongs to Massachusetts and Maine. RSA 554:26-a still lists a statement of voluntary administration among the filings a defaulting fiduciary must answer for, but the phrase is a leftover and builds no route, form, or fee in New Hampshire today.

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Sources:

It is not legal advice.

Information current as of August 3, 2026

Settled Estate is not a law firm, and this content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Probate laws and procedures in New Hampshire can change. Consult with a qualified attorney for advice specific to your situation. Full disclaimer.

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