Insolvent Probate Estate Claim-Payment Priority in New Hampshire

Short answer New Hampshire pays administration costs first, then necessary funeral, burial, and cremation expenses, federal preferences, specified public assistance and state recovery claims, and other just debts. A lower class receives nothing until earlier classes are paid in full, and claims in the same class have equal rank. An insolvent estate also uses a court distribution order before payment.

State

New Hampshire

Statute checked

October 5, 2026

Sources

3 statutes

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At a glance

Statutory payment order	Statutory expense/debt classes precede legacies; insolvent estate seeks distribution order (§§ 554:19, 554:19-b).
Administration costs	First; includes costs of assigning homestead and certain property/guardian work (§§ 554:19(I)(a), 554:20).
Funeral and last illness	Necessary funeral, burial, and cremation second; no distinct last-illness class (§ 554:19(I)(b)–(e)).
Family and homestead allowances	No separate family-allowance class in the statutory payment list (§ 554:19(I)).
Taxes and public claims	Federal preferences third; specified DHHS assistance, RSA 126-A:34 debts, and RSA 166:19 charges fourth (§ 554:19(I)(c)–(d)).
Secured claims	No separate secured-claim class stated in the payment list; lien rights require separate analysis (§ 554:19(I)).
Support and special debts	No separate support or wage class; named public-assistance recovery is fourth (§ 554:19(I)(d)–(e)).
General claims	Other just debts follow specified public claims; legacies/distribution follow debts (§ 554:19(I)(e)–(f)).
Underfunded class	No claim preferred over another in its class; court approves insolvent distribution (§§ 554:19(II), 554:19-b(V)–(VIII)).

Requirements one by one

Expense and claim order

Under § 554:19(I), administration costs, funeral costs, and federal preferences come before specified public assistance recovery. Other just debts follow that recovery class; legacies and distributions to heirs follow debts. Under § 554:20, assigning the homestead right and specified property and guardianship work count as administration expenses.

Insolvent-estate distribution

Under § 554:19-b, an administrator who finds known claims and administration costs exceed assets may seek an initial insolvency determination. After an order, the administrator petitions for a distribution order no sooner than six months after the grant; beneficially interested persons have 30 days to object, and distribution waits at least 30 days after the order.

What trips people up

Section 554:19(II) forbids preference within a class but does not prescribe a numerical pro rata formula. The administrator's proposed amounts go into the § 554:19-b(VI) petition for the court's order. A secured creditor's property rights require separate analysis from the claim-class list.

Common questions

Are last-illness bills in a separate class? Section 554:19(I) has a separate funeral class, but no last-illness class; classification depends on the claim's actual legal basis.

Can ordinary creditors be paid before public assistance claims? No. Section 554:19(I)(d)–(e) puts the specified public claims ahead of other just debts.

Statutes and sources

N.H. Rev. Stat. §§ 554:19, 554:19-b, and 554:20. Verbatim official text, section URLs, and access dates appear in the source fields above.

Source links

Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.

N.H. Rev. Stat. § 554:19 · accessed 2026-10-05

N.H. Rev. Stat. § 554:19-b · accessed 2026-10-05

N.H. Rev. Stat. § 554:20 · accessed 2026-10-05

This page summarizes statutory probate payment priorities, not advice about a specific estate or claim. Claim validity, federal law, liens, and court orders can change the result. Check current official law and consult a licensed adviser before acting.

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