New Hampshire inheritance laws let heirs off the hook at the state level: there is no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax. What actually determines who receives a deceased person’s property is whether there is a valid will, who the surviving family members are, and how each asset is titled. Assets held solely in the deceased’s name generally go through probate in the Circuit Court. Assets with a named beneficiary or a surviving joint owner usually do not.
Who Inherits When There Is No Will
If a New Hampshire resident dies without a valid will, RSA 561:1 controls. The statute favors the surviving spouse, but the spouse’s share depends on who else survives and, importantly, on whether the deceased’s children are also children of that spouse.
- No surviving children or parents: the spouse takes the entire estate.
- All children are shared with the surviving spouse, and the spouse has no children from another relationship: the spouse receives the first $250,000 plus half the remainder, and the children split the rest.
- All children are shared with the surviving spouse, but the spouse has other children from a prior relationship: the spouse receives the first $150,000 plus half the remainder.
- One or more of the deceased’s children are not children of the surviving spouse: the spouse receives the first $100,000 plus half the remainder, and the children split the rest.
- No children, but a surviving parent or parents: the spouse receives the first $250,000 plus three-quarters of the remainder, and the parents take the rest.
The gap between a first-marriage family and a blended family is the trap. A surviving spouse whose stepchildren belong to the deceased alone starts $150,000 lower than a spouse whose children are all mutual.1New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 561:1 – Distribution Upon Intestacy
Without a surviving spouse, the estate passes to the deceased’s children in equal shares. If there are no children, it flows to parents, then siblings, then more distant relatives. Intestacy recognizes only legal family ties. Unmarried partners, close friends, and charities inherit nothing under this statute; they must be named in a valid will to receive anything.
Spousal Rights That Override a Will
A will cannot fully disinherit a spouse in New Hampshire. Under RSA 560:10, a surviving spouse who was cut out or left an unreasonably small share can waive the will and claim one-third of the real estate and one-third of the personal property in the probate estate.2New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Revised Statutes Section 560:10 – Distribution When Surviving Spouse Waives Testate Distribution The waiver must be filed in writing at the probate office within six months after the executor or administrator is appointed. Miss that window and the right is generally lost, though a judge may extend the deadline for good cause.
The homestead right is separate. Under RSA 480:1, effective January 1, 2026, the homestead exemption protects up to $400,000 of equity per person in the family home, capped at $550,000 total across all owners of the property, up from the prior $120,000 limit.3New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 480:1 – Amount That equity is shielded from creditors and forced sale, which matters when the estate carries debt.
Children, Stepchildren, and Disinheritance
Children have no automatic right to inherit if a will deliberately excludes them. A parent may disinherit a child, and a valid will saying so will be enforced. The narrow protection under RSA 551:10 covers the child who was accidentally left out: a child born or adopted after the will was signed, and not mentioned in it, receives whatever they would have taken under intestate succession, unless the will shows the omission was intentional.4New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Revised Statutes Section 551:10 – Child Not Named
Under intestacy, biological and legally adopted children inherit equally. Stepchildren have no inheritance rights unless they were formally adopted. A child born outside of marriage must have legally established paternity to inherit, provable through a court order, an acknowledgment of paternity, or DNA evidence. When a minor inherits, a court-appointed guardian manages the assets until the child reaches adulthood.
Assets That Skip Probate Entirely
Not everything a person owns passes through probate. Several common asset types transfer directly to a named beneficiary or surviving owner by operation of law:
- Transfer-on-death deeds. Under RSA 563-D, a property owner can record a deed that automatically transfers real estate to a named beneficiary at death, subject to any mortgages or liens. Property passed this way is not part of the probate estate for the spousal elective share or a pretermitted heir’s claim.5New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Revised Statutes Section 563-D:13 – Effect of Transfer on Death Deed at Transferor’s Death
- Payable-on-death bank accounts and certificates of deposit go directly to the named POD beneficiary.
- Retirement accounts and life insurance pass to whoever appears on the beneficiary designation, regardless of what the will says.
- Property held as joint tenants with right of survivorship transfers automatically to the surviving owner.
- Assets held in a revocable living trust are distributed by the trustee under the trust terms, governed by the Uniform Trust Code, RSA 564-B.6New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Revised Statutes Section 564-B:5-508 – Disposition of Claims Against the Settlor
Beneficiary forms beat the will. If your will leaves an IRA to your daughter but the account still lists an ex-spouse, the ex-spouse receives it. Reviewing beneficiary designations after divorce, remarriage, births, and deaths is the single most neglected step in estate planning.
How Probate Works in New Hampshire
Probate is required when the deceased held assets solely in their own name without a designated beneficiary. It begins with a petition filed in the probate division of the New Hampshire Circuit Court in the county where the deceased lived, along with the death certificate and, if one exists, the original will. The court validates the will and appoints the executor named in it, or an administrator when there is no will.
Anyone holding a will must file it with the Estates Electronic Filing Center within 30 days of learning of the death, even if the estate has no assets requiring administration.7NH Judicial Branch Circuit Court. Administering an Estate Booklet for Court Once appointed, the executor has 90 days to file an inventory of all real and personal property.8NH Judicial Branch. Filing an Inventory The executor then notifies creditors and heirs, pays valid debts and taxes, and distributes what remains under court oversight. A straightforward estate often closes within a year; contested estates take considerably longer.
Simplified Administration
RSA 553:32 provides a streamlined “waiver of administration” for estates that qualify. Common qualifying situations include a trust as the sole beneficiary, a single heir who also serves as administrator, or all heirs agreeing to serve as co-administrators. The court can also grant simplified administration at its discretion. Under this process, no formal inventory, bond, or detailed accounting is required, and the administrator files an affidavit of administration between six months and one year after appointment to close the estate. The tradeoff: no executor fee is available under the waiver process.9New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Revised Statutes Section 553:32 – Waiver of Administration
Filing Fees
Probate filing fees are tiered by the gross value of the estate:10NH Judicial Branch. Rule 169. FEES.
- $10,000 or less: $150
- $10,001 to $25,000: $205
- Over $25,000: $305
Certified copies, creditor notices, and any required surety bonds cost extra.
Debts, Creditors, and Whether Heirs Are on the Hook
Debts get paid before heirs receive anything. RSA 556:1 bars any action against the administrator for the first six months after the original grant of administration, giving the executor a protected window to gather assets and evaluate claims.11New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Revised Statutes Section 556:1 – No Action Within Six Months Creditors who do not present claims during this period are generally barred from collecting later.
When the estate cannot pay every debt, RSA 554:19 sets a strict priority order:12New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Revised Statutes Section 554:19 – Priority of Charges
- Administration costs, including court fees and attorney fees.
- Reasonable funeral and burial expenses.
- Debts and taxes with preference under federal law, including unpaid federal income taxes.
- Reimbursement owed to the Department of Health and Human Services for medical or financial assistance provided to the deceased.
- All other general debts.
- Bequests and distributions to heirs.
No lower class is paid until every higher class is paid in full. In an insolvent estate, general creditors and heirs may receive little or nothing. The point that matters to family members: you are not personally responsible for a deceased relative’s debts unless you co-signed a loan or held a joint account. Creditors can reach estate assets; they cannot reach your own money.
Taxes on an Inheritance
New Hampshire repealed its legacy and succession taxes for deaths on or after January 1, 2003, and no state estate tax return has been required since January 1, 2005.13NH Department of Revenue Administration. Inheritance and Estate Taxes Heirs owe nothing to the state on inherited assets.
Federal estate tax applies to very few estates. For deaths in 2026, the federal exemption is $15 million per individual, and married couples can combine exemptions through portability to shelter up to $30 million. Only value above the exemption is taxed.14Internal Revenue Service. What’s New – Estate and Gift Tax To elect portability, the surviving spouse must file a timely Form 706 for the first spouse’s estate even if no tax is owed.
Federal income tax can still touch heirs in specific situations. Distributions from traditional IRAs and 401(k)s are taxed as ordinary income when the heir receives them. Roth distributions are generally tax-free. On inherited real estate or other appreciated property, capital gains tax applies only to appreciation above the stepped-up basis, which is the fair market value on the date of death. An heir who sells shortly after death often owes little or no capital gains tax because the property has not had time to appreciate above that basis.
What Makes a New Hampshire Will Valid
A will that fails the formalities under RSA 551 sends the estate into intestacy, so it is worth knowing what the statute requires. The person making the will must be at least 18 and mentally competent, meaning they understand what they own, who would naturally inherit, and what signing the document does. The will must be written and signed by the testator, or by someone else at the testator’s explicit direction and in their physical presence. Two credible witnesses must sign at the testator’s request and in the testator’s presence.15New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Revised Statutes Section 551:2 – Requirements
New Hampshire does not recognize handwritten (holographic) wills that lack witnesses, unless the will was executed in a state that does. Oral wills are unenforceable. A self-proving will, executed under RSA 551:2-a before a notary or justice of the peace, is optional but eliminates the need to track down witnesses at probate years later.16New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Revised Statutes Section 551:2-a – Self-Proved Wills