Title XLIV, Guardians and Conservators

For any guardianship granted to the department of health and human services for a minor in foster care, or for any minor in the legal custody of the department receiving foster care services, the department's authority to consent to medical treatment for the minor may be establis…

I. The appointment of a guardian over the person or over the estate of a minor shall not relieve the minor's parents or any other persons liable for the support of the minor from their obligation to provide for such support. The court, at the time of such appointment, or at any t…

I. Any person appointed as guardian over the person or of an estate or both shall serve until resignation accepted by the court, removal by the court for cause, death of the guardian, or termination of the guardianship pursuant to this section. II. A guardian desiring to resign s…

I. A guardianship of the person or of the estate of a minor shall terminate upon order of the court, the death of the minor, the minor's eighteenth birthday, a finding by the court that the minor has been emancipated under relevant state law, or upon the issuance of a final decre…

The court may from time to time, upon application of any person interested in the welfare of the minor, and notice to all parties, revise or alter any prior orders or make such new order or decree relative to the guardianship of the person or of the estate or both as the best int…

The status of all minors for whom guardianship or co-guardianship has been granted shall be reviewed by the court at 6, 12, and 24 months and annually thereafter, except that the court may waive (1) any or all reviews in cases in which a parent or the parents are co-guardians and…

By accepting appointment as guardian, a guardian submits personally to the jurisdiction of the court in any proceeding relating to the guardianship that may be instituted by any interested person.

I. Any member of the United States armed services, whether a member of an active component, reserve component, or national guard unit of the army, air force, navy, marines, or coast guard, who is ordered to active duty outside of the state of New Hampshire with the armed forces o…

I. Except as otherwise ordered by the court, the guardian of the estate shall take possession of all of the minor's real and personal property, and of all rents, incomes, and benefits from such property, whether accruing before or after appointment, and of the proceeds arising fr…

I. Whenever any guardian of the estate of a minor files an account in the probate court, the guardian of the estate shall contemporaneously forward the following to the minor, if the minor is 14 years of age or older; each parent of the minor, if the parent is not a guardian of t…

Settlements, judgments, or decrees, of any suit or claim brought on behalf of a minor by a parent or next friend shall be approved by the superior or district court in which the action is pending or to which a writ may be made returnable as follows: I. If the net amount, as defin…

In this chapter: I. "Authorized agency" means an agency licensed as a child-placing agency pursuant to RSA 170-E. II. "Court" means the probate court unless otherwise specified. III. "Department" means the department of health and human services. IV. "Guardian" means the individu…

I. The court, upon petition of the guardian of the estate or of any other person interested in the estate of the minor, may direct or license the guardian to sell, mortgage, pledge, lease or exchange any property of the guardianship estate, including goods and chattels, real esta…

Before a license for the sale of any property of the minor shall be granted, the guardian of the estate shall take the following oath and file a certificate of the oath with the court: "I, __________ , guardian of the estate of __________ , a minor, do solemnly swear that in disp…

Every guardian of the estate so licensed and sworn, having advertised and sold as may be required by the license, may execute a valid conveyance of the estate sold to the purchaser.

If a minor is seized of an undivided fractional part of real estate, the court may authorize the guardian of the estate to purchase any other fractional part of the real estate whenever it will be conducive to the minor's interests to do so; and when so licensed, the guardian of …

I. The court, on petition after notice, may authorize the guardian of the estate to purchase, with the minor's funds, real estate situated in the state as a home for the minor. II. The petition shall state the value of the minor's property and the license shall limit the sum to b…

Before making any purchase under any license or authorization, the guardian of the estate shall take the following oath and file a certificate of the oath with the court: "I, __________ , guardian of estate of __________ , swear that in purchasing a homestead for the minor, I am …

Every guardian of the estate shall invest, in the name of the minor, or in the guardian's own name as guardian of the minor, the money and the proceeds of all real and personal property of the minor not required for the minor's support in the following described classes of proper…

When a bond is ordered in conjunction with a guardianship of the estate of a minor, no appointment of the guardian shall issue until the bond is furnished to the probate court, with sufficient sureties, in such sum as the court shall approve. A bond without sureties may be ordere…

If a person absent from the state, for whose minor child a guardian has been appointed, neglects to make provision for the child, and leaves property within the state, the court, upon petition of the guardian and notice, may authorize the guardian to sell at auction or private sa…

The guardian of the estate of a minor shall have the right to waive provisions of a will in favor of the minor or the minor's distributive share in a decedent's estate and shall likewise have power to release any other property right of the minor subject to prior authorization of…

I. The father and mother of every minor are joint guardians of the person of such minor, and the powers, rights, and duties of the father and mother in regard to such minor shall be equal. Upon the death of either parent, the survivor shall be the sole guardian of the person of t…

Any person who has been appointed guardian of the estate of a minor by a court of competent jurisdiction in any other state shall, upon petition and filing of a certified copy of that appointment with the court, be appointed guardian of the estate of the minor situated in this st…

Nothing in this chapter shall preclude institution of proceedings relating to the minor under RSA 464-A.

Guardianships established prior to the effective date of this chapter shall be reviewed in the probate court in accordance with RSA 463:16.

Any person who has been appointed guardian of the person of a minor by a foreign court of competent jurisdiction, for a minor who is temporarily in this state, shall be accorded the powers of guardianship as reflected in the order appointing the guardian, with full faith and cred…

I. Any person who has been appointed guardian of the person or estate or both, by a foreign court of competent jurisdiction, for a minor who has become a resident of this state, or who intends to move to this state, shall be accorded the powers of guardianship as reflected in the…

I. (a) If a minor has moved permanently to a foreign jurisdiction, the guardian shall file a motion to transfer the guardianship to a foreign court of competent jurisdiction. (b) A minor shall be presumed to have moved permanently if he or she has resided in the foreign jurisdict…

I. The probate court shall have exclusive jurisdiction over the appointment of a guardian of the person or of the estate or of both of any minor. The jurisdiction of the court in this chapter shall be subject to the provisions of RSA 458-A. II. (a) Venue for guardianship proceedi…

I. Any person may nominate a guardian of the person or of the estate or of both of the person's minor child in a will, by petition, or by written consent to a petition by another. The judge of probate may, for cause, refuse to appoint a person so nominated. II. A minor 14 years o…

I. After the filing of a petition, the court shall set a date for a hearing, and issue orders of notice in reasonably understandable language. The orders of notice shall be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to both parents of the minor and to any person or persons…

I. Upon entry of a petition seeking guardianship of the person or of the estate or both of a minor, the court may issue orders for ex parte and temporary guardianship as follows: (a) Ex parte orders may issue at any time prior to notice to the persons required to receive notice u…

I. In any hearing under this chapter, the court shall not be bound by the technical rules of evidence and may admit evidence which it considers relevant and material. II. A minor 14 years of age or older shall attend the hearing unless attendance is excused by the court. All othe…

I. Proceedings to determine whether a guardian should be appointed for the proposed minor, and any subsequent proceedings relating to the personal history or circumstances of the minor and the minor's family, shall be held in a closed court. Only the parties, their witnesses, cou…