Title LVI, Probate Courts and Decedents' Estates

Every person of the age of eighteen years and married persons under that age, of sane mind, may devise and dispose of their property, real and personal, and of any right or interest they may have in any property, by their last will in writing.

In this chapter: I. "International will" means a will executed in conformity with RSA 551-A:2 through RSA 551-A:5. II. "Authorized person" and "person authorized to act in connection with international wills" mean a person who by RSA 551-A:9, or by the laws of the United States i…

I. In this section: (a) "Estate" means all property of the testator subject to probate administration and disposition under the testator's will. (b) "Devise" means any testamentary disposition of real or personal property made under the testator's will. II. Except as provided in …

Any will meeting the requirements of this chapter is self-proved and shall be allowed as such by the probate court.

The heirs in the descending line of a legatee or devisee, deceased before the testator, shall take the estate bequeathed or devised, in the same manner the legatee or devisee would have taken it if he had survived.

I. Except as provided in paragraph II, no will or clause thereof shall be revoked unless by some other valid will or codicil, or by some writing executed in the same manner, or by canceling, tearing, obliterating or otherwise destroying the same by the testator, or by some person…

The preceding section shall not control or affect any revocation of a will, implied by law, from any change in the circumstances of the testator, or his family, devisees, legatees or estate, occurring between the time of making the will and the death of the testator.

A soldier in actual military service, or a mariner or seaman when at sea, may dispose of his movables and personal estate as he might heretofore have done.

No nuncupative will shall be valid where the personal estate bequeathed exceeds in value one hundred dollars, unless declared in the presence of three witnesses who were requested by the testator to bear witness thereto, in his last sickness and in his usual dwelling, except when…

No gift in expectation of death, often called donatio causa mortis, shall be valid, unless the actual delivery of the property to the donee shall be proved by two indifferent witnesses, upon petition of the donee to the judge to establish such gift, filed within sixty days after …

I. A will shall be valid as regards form, irrespective particularly of the place where it is made, of the location of the assets and of the nationality, domicile, or residence of the testator, if it is made in the form of an international will complying with the requirements of t…

I. To be valid, a will or codicil to a will shall: (a) Be made by a testator qualifying under RSA 551:1; and (b) Be in writing; and (c) Be signed by the testator, or by some person at his or her express direction in his or her presence; and (d) Be signed by 2 or more credible wit…

I. To qualify as self-proved, the signatures of the testator and witnesses shall be followed by a sworn acknowledgment made before a notary public or justice of the peace or other official authorized to administer oaths in the place of execution, as follows: The foregoing instrum…

I. For the purposes of this section, a "no-contest provision" means a provision of a will that, if given effect, would reduce or eliminate the interest of any beneficiary of such will who, directly or indirectly, initiates or otherwise pursues: (a) Any action to contest the admis…

I. The will shall be made in writing. It need not be written by a testator. It may be written in any language, by hand or by any other means. II. The testator shall declare in the presence of 2 witnesses and of a person authorized to act in connection with international wills tha…

Any beneficial device or legacy made or given in a will to a subscribing witness thereto or to the wife or husband of such a witness shall be void unless there be 2 other subscribing witnesses, and such subscribing witness shall be a competent witness thereto; but a provision the…

I. The signatures shall be placed at the end of the will. If the will consists of several sheets, each sheet will be signed by the testator or, if he or she is unable to sign, by the person signing on his or her behalf or, if there is no such person, by the authorized person. In …

No will nor any part thereof shall be holden invalid, nor any witness thereto incompetent, by reason of any or all of the witnesses being, at the time of the execution or of the probate thereof, members of a corporation to which a devise or legacy is therein given.

The authorized person shall attach to the will a certificate to be signed by such authorized person establishing that the requirements of this chapter for valid execution of an international will have been complied with. The authorized person shall keep a copy of the certificate …

I. A will made out of this state, and valid according to the laws of the state or country where it was executed, may be proved and allowed in this state, and shall thereupon be as effective as it would have been if executed according to the laws of this state. II. A will made out…

In the absence of evidence to the contrary, the certificate of the authorized person shall be conclusive of the formal validity of the instrument as a will under this chapter. The absence or irregularity of a certificate shall not affect validity of a will under this chapter.

Every devise of real estate shall be holden to pass all the estate of the devisor therein, unless it shall appear that it was his intention to pass a less estate.

Any estate, right or interest in real property acquired by the testator after making his will, shall pass thereby, if such shall appear to have been his intention.

The international will shall be subject to the ordinary rules of revocation of wills.

No express devise of an estate for life or other limited estate shall be enlarged or construed to pass any greater estate, by reason of any devise to the heirs or issue of such person.

RSA 551-A:1 through RSA 551-A:7 derive from Annex to Convention of October 26, 1973, Providing a Uniform Law on the Form of an International Will. In interpreting and applying this chapter, regard shall be had to its international origin and to the need for uniformity in its inte…

No devise or bequest of any property shall be defeated by a disseizin or wrongful dispossession thereof by any other person.

Individuals who have been admitted to practice law before the courts of this state and who are in good standing as active law practitioners in this state, are hereby declared to be authorized persons in relation to international wills.

No will shall be effectual to pass either real or personal estate unless duly proved and allowed in the court of probate; and the probate of a will devising real estate shall be conclusive as to its due execution, as in case of a will of personal estate.

If a will filed in the probate office shall not be presented for probate by the executor, or by a person interested therein, the judge, on application of the widow or an heir of the deceased, and due notice, may approve and allow or disallow it; and the decree so made shall be of…

No decree approving and allowing or disallowing a will shall be made in solemn form until guardians have been appointed for all minors and others interested therein who are incapacitated to take care of their estates, and until agents have been appointed by the judge for all pers…

If the attesting witnesses, after the execution of a will, become incompetent from any cause, or if the court determines that the testimony of such witnesses is unavailable under the circumstances, the will may be proved and allowed upon other satisfactory evidence.

A duly authenticated copy of a will made out of this state, which has been proved and allowed by a court of probate or by a court of similar powers in one of the United States, or in a foreign country, and a duly authenticated copy of the probate of such will, upon the written ap…

The executor, or any person interested, may produce such copies to the judge of any county in which there is estate on which the same may operate, and may in writing request the same to be filed and recorded; and if, upon due notice, no sufficient objection is made such copies sh…

Every executor shall, within sixty days after his appointment, notify each legatee specifically named in the will of the fact that such legatee appears to be interested therein, and shall notify the surviving spouse and heirs at law, if known, that the will has been proved, and s…

The notice shall be in form prescribed by the probate court, and shall be delivered by such executor to such legatee, surviving spouse and heirs at law in person or by sending the same by mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the last known place of residence or place of business o…

If such legatee shall not be living, or such corporation, association or institution shall have discontinued business, notice by mail as herein required shall be sufficient.

I. During his or her life, an individual may commence a judicial proceeding to determine the validity of his or her will, subject only to the will's subsequent modification or revocation. For purposes of commencing the proceeding under this section, the individual must be domicil…

Every person having the custody of a will shall, within 30 days after he has knowledge of the decease of the testator, deliver it to the court of probate, or to the person named therein as executor.

The person named as executor of a will shall, within 30 days after the decease of the testator, or within 30 days after the person has knowledge of being so named, whichever is later, file the will in the probate court. If the estate contains any assets, the named executor shall …

Any person who shall neglect any duty required by RSA 552:2 and 552:3 shall, unless he gives an excuse satisfactory to the court of probate, forfeit the sum of twenty dollars for each month he shall so neglect after said thirty days, to be recovered by any person having an intere…

If a person having in his custody a will neglects to deliver it to the court of probate, after being duly cited for that purpose, he may be imprisoned by warrant issued by the court until he shall deliver it.

The executor named in the will or any person presenting the will for probate shall, with his petition for appointment, file a list of the names of the surviving spouse and known heirs at law of the testator, their relationships, and their addresses, if known.

Any will meeting the requirements of RSA 551:2-a, RSA 551:5, II, or RSA 551-A:10 is self-proved and shall be allowed as such by the probate court.

If the probate of a will is not contested the judge may allow and approve it in common form, upon the testimony of one of the subscribing witnesses, though the others are living and within process of the court, or upon the assent of the surviving spouse, legatees, devisees, heirs…

Any party interested may have the probate of a will which has been proved without notice re-examined, and the will proved in solemn form before the court of probate at any time within 6 months of such probate. Any issue related to the execution of a will, testamentary capacity, o…