New Hampshire Small Estates: the waiver of administration
The short answer
New Hampshire calls its simplified route the waiver of administration, and it is set out in RSA 553:32. There is no dollar limit. It is a lighter court process, with no inventory or accounting, used when the only heir or all the heirs take charge of the estate. New Hampshire sets no waiting period for it. It can also cover real estate, which is unusual and worth knowing before you assume a house means full probate. The current limit and the date we last read the statute are on the card below.
New Hampshire’s waiver of administration
New Hampshire sets this out in RSA 553:32. There is no dollar limit. It is a lighter court process, with no inventory or accounting, used when the only heir or all the heirs take charge of the estate. The figure itself, and the date we last read that statute, are on the card below.[1]
New Hampshire
- Procedure:
- waiver of administration
- Limit:
- no dollar cap stated
- Wait:
- none stated
- Real estate:
- covered
There is no dollar limit. It is a lighter court process, with no inventory or accounting, used when the only heir or all the heirs take charge of the estate.
RSA 553:32 — official page read September 18, 2026
It can also cover real estate, which is unusual and worth knowing before you assume a house means full probate.[1]
The waiver of administration is one piece of settling an estate in New Hampshire. Answer a few questions and Go Forward builds the rest of the list for your situation — the notifications, the accounts, the paperwork — in the order it needs doing.
Build my plan →Steps this page connects to: Check whether probate is required · Order certified death certificates · List what the estate holds
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Creditor claims under RSA 553:16, 556:1, 556:3
Above the limit it is a regular New Hampshire probate case, and whoever the court appoints has to publish a notice to creditors in a local newspaper. The window for claims is 6 months after the court appoints the estate's representative.. Paying anyone out before that window closes can leave the person who paid personally liable.[2]
New Hampshire
- Published notice:
- required
- Claim window:
- 6 months after the court appoints the estate's representative.
RSA 553:16, 556:1, 556:3 — official page read September 18, 2026
Sources
- RSA 553:32 (waiver of administration) — New Hampshire — official statute or court self-help page. Read September 18, 2026.
- RSA 553:16, 556:1, 556:3 (notice to creditors) — New Hampshire — official statute or court self-help page. Read September 18, 2026.
Each state above links to the statute or court page we read, with the date we read it.
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