Personal Property Memorandum Requirements in New Hampshire
At a glance
| Governing law and device recognized | No general separate-writing device in RSA title LVI or ch. 551; ordinary will and codicil law applies (RSA 551:2) |
|---|---|
| Will reference required | N/A RSA title LVI has no statute making a will's reference to an informal property list effective |
| Eligible property and exclusions | No memorandum-specific tangible-property definition, exclusion list, or value cap |
| Signature, handwriting, and date | No memorandum formality; a binding will or codicil must be written, signed, and attested by two credible witnesses (RSA 551:2) |
| Item and devisee identification | No memorandum-specific item-and-recipient identification rule |
| Timing before or after the will | No statutory before-or-after-will list route |
| Alteration, replacement, and conflict priority | No informal alteration or priority rule; later binding change or revocation must follow ordinary will/codicil law (RSA 551:13) |
| Probate use, effect, and failure consequence | No special memorandum admissibility, filing, delivery, lapse, or fallback rule; a dispositive writing must qualify under ordinary will/codicil law |
New Hampshire uses ordinary will formalities, not a list statute
The current N.H. Rev. Stat. tit. LVI chapter index and complete chapter 551 section index contain no provision authorizing a will-referenced, freely updatable writing for tangible personal property.
A separate paper therefore does not gain the special effect that a personal property memorandum statute gives it in some states. The ordinary statutory route is a valid will or codicil under N.H. Rev. Stat. § 551:2. It must be in writing and signed by the testator or by another person at the testator's express direction and in the testator's presence. Two or more credible witnesses must, at the testator's request and in the testator's presence, attest to the signature.
What trips people up
A will's reference to an informal list is not a substitute for a statute or ordinary testamentary execution. Chapter 551 contains no separate-list rule that relaxes the signature and witness requirements for a later property schedule.
New Hampshire also supplies no memorandum-specific property exclusions, value ceiling, date rule, item-and-recipient formula, alteration formality, competing- writing priority, or probate filing rule. Those features should not be borrowed from another state's statute.
For later binding changes, § 551:13(I) recognizes another valid will or codicil, a writing executed in the same manner, or specified physical acts of revocation. It does not create an informal cross-out, replacement-list, or newest- memorandum route.
Common questions
Can the will simply refer to a list created later?
Title LVI and chapter 551 contain no statute giving that arrangement special effect. A later paper intended to operate as a binding testamentary instrument must satisfy ordinary will or codicil requirements.
Does a handwritten paper avoid the witness requirement?
No exception for a wholly handwritten will appears in § 551:2. A valid will or codicil must be attested by two or more credible witnesses as the section directs.
Does the state set a property type or value limit for a memorandum?
No. Because there is no memorandum statute, chapter 551 has no memorandum- specific eligible-property list, exclusion, per-item limit, or aggregate cap.
Can an informal new list revoke an older testamentary gift?
Section 551:13(I) does not provide that route. It identifies another valid will or codicil, a writing executed in the same manner, or specified physical acts done by or with the testator.
Statutes and sources
- N.H. Rev. Stat. tit. LVI and ch. 551 — current probate-title chapter index and complete wills-chapter section index. New Hampshire General Court: https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/NHTOC/NHTOC-LVI.htm and https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LVI/551/551-mrg.htm (accessed 2026-08-11).
- N.H. Rev. Stat. § 551:2 — writing, signature, and witness requirements. New Hampshire General Court: https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LVI/551/551-mrg.htm (accessed 2026-08-11).
- N.H. Rev. Stat. § 551:13(I) — later will or codicil, formal revocation writing, and physical-act routes. New Hampshire General Court: https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LVI/551/551-mrg.htm (accessed 2026-08-11).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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