New Hampshire Executor Bond Requirement

Updated September 7, 2026. Quick answer: In New Hampshire, new Hampshire requires bond by default for anyone administering a decedent’s estate; ‘no person shall administer the estate…until such person has given bond…with sufficient sureties’; though a small-estate carve-out allows a personal bond without sureties when the estate’s gross value is $25,000 or less, and RSA 553:32 provides a broader ‘waiver of administration’ procedure.

Does New Hampshire require an executor to post a bond?

New Hampshire requires bond by default for anyone administering a decedent’s estate; ‘no person shall administer the estate…until such person has given bond…with sufficient sureties’; though a small-estate carve-out allows a personal bond without sureties when the estate’s gross value is $25,000 or less, and RSA 553:32 provides a broader ‘waiver of administration’ procedure.

“no person shall administer the estate of a person deceased until such person has given bond to the judge, with sufficient sureties, in such reasonable sum as the judge shall approve”

Source: N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 553:13, 553:32

Can the will waive it in New Hampshire?

Sometimes. RSA 553:32 lets the probate court waive bond where, among other things, the will names a sole beneficiary who is also the appointed administrator, or the will waives bond and directs assets to a trust.

Can the heirs or beneficiaries waive it in New Hampshire?

Sometimes. Under RSA 553:32, waiver of administration (removing bond, inventory, and accounting) is available if all interested parties sign a written waiver, or if all heirs serve as co-administrators, subject to judicial approval.

If a bond is required, how much?

“in such reasonable sum as the judge shall approve”

Source: N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 553:13

What makes New Hampshire different

New Hampshire is notable for having an explicit sole-beneficiary-equals-administrator waiver rule (RSA 553:32) layered on top of a general default-bond-required rule and a dollar-threshold carve-out for small estates.

Every statute quoted on this page was read directly from the state’s own legislature/code site this session, or, where that site blocked automated access, from a reputable legal-citation mirror quoting the same official text with its official citation (disclosed below). General information, not legal advice; a probate court has final discretion over bond in every state; confirm your own case with the court or a local attorney before relying on the default described here.