Disposition of Remains Decision Authority in New Hampshire
At a glance
| Decedent's own directions | Written wishes are a factor in court's disputed-arrangement decision; the statute separately recognizes a signed designation of controller (§§ 290:19(IV)(e), 290:17(I)). |
|---|---|
| Appointed decision maker | Person named in decedent's written signed document controls first; covered military DD Form 93 designee has a separate route (§ 290:17(I), (I-a)). |
| Agent document formalities | Written document signed by the decedent designating a controller; § 290:17(I) specifies no further execution form. |
| Family and other priority order | Designee → spouse → adult child → parent → adult sibling → adult grandchild → adult niece/nephew → maternal grandparent → paternal grandparent → adult aunt/uncle → adult cousin → other adult relative; funeral director fallback (§§ 290:17(II), (VII), 290:16(IV)). |
| Equal-priority tie rule | Majority of two or more next of kin with same relationship; probate court decides on petition if majority cannot agree (§ 290:17(III)). |
| Failure to act or waiver | Designee refusal passes control to kin; missing person loses it after reasonable search; next of kin's three-day noncooperation passes control onward (§ 290:17(II), (IV)–(V)). |
| Persons barred from control | Estranged spouse lacks control; an individual holding control who is arrested for criminally causing death loses it (§§ 290:18, 290:17(VI)). |
| Resolving a contested claim | Probate court for decedent's residence may choose most fit person; relatives, specified closer companions, and equal-rank claimants/funeral director may petition (§ 290:19(I)–(IV)). |
| Funeral-provider reliance | Funeral director acting in good faith may rely on representations by people claiming custody and control (§ 290:17(VIII)). |
Requirements one by one
Designation and next of kin
N.H. Rev. Stat. § 290:17(I) assigns custody and control to the person named in the decedent's written signed document. If there is no designation or the person refuses, subsection (II) sends control to next of kin. Section 290:16(IV) lists spouse, adult children, parents, adult siblings and more remote relatives, with maternal grandparents listed before paternal grandparents. Custody and control includes final disposition and other handling decisions under subsection (II).
Equal rank and loss of control
Under § 290:17(III), a majority of next of kin of the same relationship controls. A missing designee or relative loses control after reasonable locating efforts, and next of kin lose it after three days of noncooperation with the funeral director. Arrest for criminally causing the death also passes control to the next person (§ 290:17(IV)–(VI)).
What trips people up
An estranged spouse is skipped under § 290:18, using the statutory estrangement definition in § 290:16(III). The probate court may award custody and control to the person it finds most fit under § 290:19; the decedent's expressed written wishes are one factor in an equal-rank impasse.
Common questions
What if equal-rank relatives cannot reach a majority decision? The court of probate for the decedent's residence decides on a petition under § 290:19(IV).
May a funeral director trust a claimant's assertion? Section 290:17(VIII) permits good-faith reliance on representations from someone claiming custody and control.
Statutes and sources
- N.H. Rev. Stat. §§ 290:16–19: definitions, designation, next of kin, estrangement and court process, quoted with official URLs above.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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