Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Hampshire
if a person dies with no will and has a surviving spouse and children with that spouse and children from a previous spouse how does the estate get divided?
1 Answer from Attorneys
There is a New Hampshire statute that covers this situation. The key portions of the text are set out below. The information below directly addresses the limited fact pattern you presented. This is general information. Any change in the facts or family structure and the result may vary.
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 intestate estate.
II. The part of the intestate estate not passing to the surviving spouse under paragraph I, or the entire intestate estate if there is no surviving spouse, passes as follows: (a) To the issue of the decedent equally if they are all of the same degree of kinship to the decedent, but if of unequal degree, then those of more remote degree take by representation.