Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: in New Hampshire, dying without a will does not mean the state keeps the estate; it means New Hampshire’s intestacy statute (N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. (RSA) 561:1 (Distribution Upon Intestacy)) decides who gets it, and the surviving spouse usually does not take everything. The single most common misunderstanding on this page: a stepchild or a child from an earlier relationship can cut the spouse’s share sharply below what most people assume.
What this guide covers
Who inherits from New Hampshire residents who die without a will is set by statute, not custom: N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. (RSA) 561:1 (Distribution Upon Intestacy) and the sections around it. It governs only the probate estate: what is left after retirement accounts and life insurance with a living named beneficiary, payable-on-death accounts, property in joint tenancy with survivorship, and anything already in a funded trust have already passed outside it. This page covers the spouse’s share, who inherits if there is no spouse, and the rules that can change the answer: half-blood relatives.
The spouse’s share
When the spouse takes everything: Spouse takes the entire intestate estate only if there is no surviving issue or parent of the decedent. RSA 561:1, I(a).
When it is less than everything: RSA 561:1, I: (a) entire estate if no surviving issue or parent; (b) first $250,000 plus 1/2 of the balance if the decedent’s surviving issue are ALL also the spouse’s issue and the spouse has no OTHER surviving issue; (c) first $250,000 plus 3/4 of the balance if no surviving issue but a parent or parents survive; (d) first $150,000 plus 1/2 of the balance if the decedent’s surviving issue are all also the spouse’s issue, BUT the spouse has one or more OTHER surviving issue not the decedent’s (blended family via the spouse’s side); (e) first $100,000 plus 1/2 of the balance if one or more of the decedent’s surviving issue are NOT issue of the surviving spouse (blended family via the decedent’s side). This is a full four-tier UPC-style dollar-plus-fraction blended-family reduction, structurally like Montana’s but with different dollar thresholds.
I. If the deceased is survived by a spouse, the spouse shall receive: (a) If there is no surviving issue or parent of the decedent, the entire intestate estate; (b) If there are surviving issue of the decedent all of whom are issue of the surviving spouse also, and there are no other issue of the surviving spouse who survive the decedent, the first $250,000, plus 1/2 of the balance; (c) If there are no surviving issue of the decedent but the decedent is survived by a parent or parents, the first $250,000, plus 3/4 of the balance of the intestate estate; (d) If there are surviving issue of the decedent all of whom are issue of the surviving spouse also, and the surviving spouse has one or more surviving issue who are not the issue of the decedent, the first $150,000, plus 1/2 of the balance of the intestate estate; (e) If there are surviving issue of the decedent one or more of whom are not issue of the surviving spouse, the first $100,000, plus 1/2 of the balance of the intestate estate.
Source: N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. (RSA) 561:1 (Distribution Upon Intestacy)
If a DIY will fits your situation in New Hampshire
In New Hampshire, a surviving spouse can end up sharing the estate with a stepchild or a child from an earlier relationship under the default rules above; a will is what lets you decide that instead of the statute. LawDepot builds a state-specific last will and testament.
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Who inherits if there is no spouse
RSA 561:1, II: (a) to the decedent’s issue equally (by representation if of unequal degree); (b) if none, to the parent(s) equally; (c) if none, to brothers and sisters and the issue of each deceased brother/sister by representation; (d) if none, half to the paternal grandparents (or survivor, who then takes the whole half) and half to maternal grandparents in the same manner; (e) if no grandparent survives but there is issue of a grandparent, half to paternal-line issue not beyond the 4th degree of kinship and half to maternal-line issue not beyond the 4th degree (all to one side if the other side has none within the 4th degree); (f) no portion passes to any person of the fifth or greater degree of kinship; (g) if no taker, the estate escheats to the State of New Hampshire.
Rules that change the outcome
Half-blood relatives: No explicit half-blood statute was found within RSA Chapter 561 (sections 561:1 through 561:4 reviewed directly); the statute refers simply to ‘the brothers and sisters and the issue of each deceased brother or sister’ with no whole/half-blood distinction drawn in the operative text. Secondary sources indicate half-blood kindred take a full, undiminished share identical to whole-blood kindred of the same degree, but because no direct statutory half-blood clause was located, this rests on statutory silence plus secondary confirmation rather than a verbatim provision.
What a will changes
A will does not just skip the statute above; it lets you choose who gets New Hampshire property that the intestacy rules would send somewhere else: a spouse who would otherwise share the estate with a stepchild, a partner who is not married and inherits nothing under intestacy at all, or specific people the statute’s ladder never reaches. It also lets you name an executor rather than leaving the court to appoint one. What it does not change: assets that already pass outside probate: a will has no effect on a beneficiary designation, a payable-on-death account, or property held in joint tenancy.
General information drawn from state intestate-succession statutes, not legal advice. Who inherits without a will is STATE law and differs in every state; the spouse’s share, the order of inheritance, and how half-blood and community-property rules apply all change, and every figure here is sourced and dated. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice.