New Hampshire: Probate Notice to Creditors and Claim Deadlines

Requirements one by one

The clerk publishes appointment notice

RSA § 553:16 directs the clerk to cause publication within 15 days after the
administrator is appointed. RSA § 553:1 uses “administrator” broadly enough to
include a person granted administration of an estate or execution of a will.
Publication is not required when the estate's gross value is $10,000 or less.

Under RSA § 550:10, the register publishes for two successive weeks in a
newspaper circulating in the town or city where the decedent last lived or in
the county whose court has jurisdiction, unless the judge orders otherwise.
The appointment must be specifically designated in the notice. The fiduciary
advances the publication cost and register's fee.

The creditor exhibits a demand to the fiduciary

RSA §§ 556:1 and 556:2 require exhibition of the demand to the administrator and a
demand for payment. Registered mail to the administrator or agent is expressly
sufficient when it states the nature and amount of the claim and demands
payment. If the administrator requires it, RSA § 554:24 makes the creditor
exhibit the claim under the statutory oath addressing accuracy, credits, and
offsets.

A nonresident administrator must appoint a New Hampshire resident agent for
claims and process under RSA § 553:25. RSA § 553:26 requires the appointment
notice to identify the agent and mailing address. Presentation to that agent has
the same effect as presentation to the administrator under RSA § 553:29. Probate
Division Rule 102-A confirms that a creditor using RSA § 556:2 need not file a
copy with the court merely to give notice of the claim.

Appointment, not publication, starts the creditor clocks

The published appointment notice does not supply the deadline trigger in RSA
chapter 556. RSA § 556:3 requires exhibition within six months after the
original grant of administration, excluding time during which the
administration was suspended. RSA § 556:1 also prevents an action against the
administrator during those first six months.

RSA § 556:5 ordinarily requires suit within one year after the original grant,
again excluding suspension time. RSA § 556:7 separately gives the same one-year
period for a surviving action that existed for or against the decedent at death.
Thus, timely exhibition during month six does not eliminate the separate need
to protect the one-year litigation deadline.

Late-claim relief depends on equity and lack of culpable neglect

RSA § 556:28 permits a claimant who missed a time limited by law to petition
the court that has subject-matter jurisdiction over the claim. The court may
set a certain later date for filing and prosecution if justice and equity
require relief and the claimant was not culpably neglectful. The extension and
any resulting judgment cannot disturb payments or compromises made before the
extension proceeding began.

RSA § 556:29 adds a narrower death-based limit. If no administration is granted
within two years after death, a creditor can no longer bring an action or
proceeding to appropriate the decedent's real estate or interests in it. The
section does not state a universal two-year bar against every kind of recovery.

Insolvency, contingent claims, and pending actions use special routes

If the estate is represented insolvent within the first six months, RSA
§ 556:4 excuses exhibition of the demand as a condition to allowance by the
commissioner. Under RSA § 556:6, a not-yet-due or contingent demand may be filed
in probate so the judge can require retention of funds, unless the widow, heirs,
or legatees provide a payment bond.

RSA § 556:10 supplies a separate second-term procedure for an action pending at
death, including written registered-mail notice when the decedent was the
defendant and a good-cause relief power in the superior court. In an estate
judicially determined insolvent, RSA § 554:19-b stays actions but preserves an
insurance-covered action to the limits of the policy and permits the estate
court to lift the stay.

What trips people up

The two published notices and the six-month demand period are related to the
same estate opening, but the statute does not calculate the demand deadline
from either publication. Use the date of the original grant of administration.

Sending the demand is not the same as filing suit. The ordinary scheme has a
six-month exhibition deadline and a separate one-year suit deadline.

Court filing is not required merely to present an ordinary RSA § 556:2 demand,
but contingent or not-yet-due claims have a separate probate-filing route.

Common questions

Must every New Hampshire estate publish appointment notice?

No. The clerk ordinarily causes publication, but RSA § 553:16 exempts an estate
with a gross value of $10,000 or less.

Does the creditor have to use registered mail?

RSA § 556:2 says qualifying registered mail is sufficient. It does not say in
that sentence that registered mail is the only possible way to exhibit a
demand, but a creditor relying on another method should obtain prompt advice
about proof and compliance.

Can a court allow a late creditor claim?

Yes, potentially. RSA § 556:28 requires both justice-and-equity grounds and an
absence of culpable neglect, and earlier payments and compromises remain
protected.

Is every claim barred two years after death?

No. RSA § 556:29 applies when no administration was granted during those two
years and limits later proceedings to reach the decedent's real estate.

Statutes and sources

• RSA §§ 550:10 and 553:16 — clerk or register publication, timing, newspaper, successive weeks, designation, cost, and small-estate exemption. https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LVI/550/550-mrg.htm (accessed 2026-08-12)
• RSA §§ 553:1, 553:25, 553:26, and 553:29 — administrator definition and resident-agent presentation route. https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LVI/553/553-mrg.htm (accessed 2026-08-12)
• RSA §§ 554:19-b and :24 — claim oath and insolvent-estate insurance route. https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LVI/554/554-mrg.htm (accessed 2026-08-12)
• RSA §§ 556:1 through 556:7, 556:10, 556:28, and 556:29 — exhibition, registered-mail safe harbor, six-month and one-year periods, contingent claims, pending actions, extension, and real-estate limit. https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LVI/556/556-mrg.htm (accessed 2026-08-12)
• Probate Division Rule 102-A — no required court copy for an RSA § 556:2 creditor notice. https://www.courts.nh.gov/rules-circuit-court-state-new-hampshire-probate-division/rule-102-creditors-claim (accessed 2026-08-12)