Portsmouth boutique firm on the Seacoast working exclusively in estate planning, trusts, probate, and elder law. Handles probate and trust administration, uncontested guardianships, and long-term-care planning, with tax-driven planning for simple and complex estates.
Probate in Strafford County
Probate Court Record
Strafford County 7th Circuit - Probate Division
Strafford County · 7th Circuit
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-4:00 PM
Office
259 County Farm Road, Suite 203, Dover, NH 03820
Website
E-filing
Self-represented filing
Allowed
Self-help forms
How to file probate in Strafford County →
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Strafford County? →Settling an estate in Strafford County →
Elder Law Firms Serving Strafford County
Portsmouth boutique firm concentrating on probate and trust administration for New Hampshire estates. Handles probate and trust administration, special-needs trusts, estate and gift tax planning, guardianship, and probate litigation, coordinating with clients' financial advisors and accountants.
Provides professional legal services to individuals and businesses in Carroll, Belknap, and Strafford Counties. Phillip Marbury's practice focus has been in tax law, business planning, real estate, and estate planning.
New Hampshire's largest firm, anchored in Manchester with Concord and Portsmouth offices, serving estates and trusts statewide. The Trusts and Estates group handles probate of estates, trust administration, will and trust contests, guardianships and conservatorships, and fiduciary-duty claims, alongside estate and gift tax planning.
Solo practice in Franklin, in central New Hampshire near the Merrimack County probate court, working statewide from that one office. Handles estate planning and probate administration, and travels to the county registries of deeds and probate for clients elsewhere in the state. Attorney James N. Sessler has practiced since 1977.
Concord firm in practice since 1908, with offices in Peterborough, Portsmouth, Laconia, and Lancaster reaching families across the state. Handles probate and trust administration alongside wills, trusts, and elder-law and business-succession planning. Took in Martin, Lord & Osman, P.A. in 2025, adding its Laconia and Lancaster estate and probate attorneys.
All 7 New Hampshire elder law firms serving Strafford County →
Forms for Planning and Settling an Estate in New Hampshire
Free New Hampshire forms to plan or settle an estate: a will, trust, powers of attorney, TOD deed and the probate forms. Prepare each form for New Hampshire.
$12/month
Revocable Living Trust
Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.
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Free
Healthcare Power of Attorney
New Hampshire allows a choice for a healthcare power of attorney: 2RSA 137-J:20Verified Oct 15, 2026View source witnesses or a notary.
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Free
Financial Power of Attorney
New Hampshire treats a power of attorney as durable by defaultRSA 564-E:104, 564-E:105, 564-E:106, 564-E:107, 564-E:109, 564-E:113, 564-E:114, 564-E:119, 564-E:120, 564-E:201, 564-E:217, 564-E:301; RSA 477:9Verified Oct 21, 2026View source, and it is signed before a notaryRSA 564-E:104, 564-E:105, 564-E:106, 564-E:107, 564-E:109, 564-E:113, 564-E:114, 564-E:119, 564-E:120, 564-E:201, 564-E:217, 564-E:301; RSA 477:9Verified Oct 21, 2026View source.
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Last Will and Testament
In New Hampshire, a will is signed before 2NH RSA 551:2Verified Oct 19, 2026View source witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimonyNH RSA 551:2Verified Oct 19, 2026View source.
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Tools for Planning and Settling an Estate in New Hampshire
Free calculators and checklists to plan or settle an estate in New Hampshire: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay and taxes. Run each tool.
What Does Estate Planning Actually Cost?
An attorney-prepared revocable trust in New Hampshire runs $3,360Estimate: 10 hours at $336, Clio's New Hampshire Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $5,040Estimate: 15 hours at $336, Clio's New Hampshire Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source and a simple will $1,080Estimate: 3 hours at $360, Clio's New Hampshire Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $2,160Estimate: 6 hours at $360, Clio's New Hampshire Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
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How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?
In New Hampshire, four years at a public university cost about $120,152NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 330.20, public 4-year in-state tuition, fees, room and board, academic year 2022-23Verified Oct 17, 2026View source and the cost of living is near the U.S. averageBEA Regional Price Parities, all items, by state, 2024Verified Oct 17, 2026View source; no state estate or inheritance tax appliesNo state estate or inheritance tax. The inheritance tax (RSA Ch. 86, Legacy & Succession Tax) was repealed outright for deaths on or after 1/1/2003 ("Repealed 2002, 232:14, II, eff. Jan. 1, 2003."). The estate tax (RSA Ch. 87) remains codified but is void by its own terms: RSA 87:9 ("Chapter Void, When.") provides that "[t]his chapter shall become void and of no effect in respect to the estates of persons who die subsequent to the effective date of the repeal of ... that portion of such provisions that allow a credit for state death taxes against the decedent’s federal estate tax." The IRC § 2011 credit was terminated for decedents dying after 12/31/2004 (replaced by the § 2058 deduction, Pub. L. 107-16 § 532(d)) and § 2011 was formally repealed by Pub. L. 113-295 (Dec. 19, 2014), so no New Hampshire estate tax is due for deaths on or after 1/1/2005.Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
Calculate the Amount
What Are the Estate Laws in My State?
Probate on a $500,000 estate in New Hampshire costs an estimated $26,585NH Circuit Court Probate Division Rule 88 (reasonable compensation for work, responsibility, and risk; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source and takes 6 months to 9 months for a simple estate, with attorney fees of typically 2%Modeled estimate under NH Circuit Court Probate Division Rule 88 (reasonable compensation for work, responsibility, and risk; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3.2%Modeled estimate under NH Circuit Court Probate Division Rule 88 (reasonable compensation for work, responsibility, and risk; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate.
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Do I Need a Revocable Trust?
Probate in New Hampshire takes 6 months to 9 months for a simple estate and charges attorney fees of typically 2%Modeled estimate under NH Circuit Court Probate Division Rule 88 (reasonable compensation for work, responsibility, and risk; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3.2%Modeled estimate under NH Circuit Court Probate Division Rule 88 (reasonable compensation for work, responsibility, and risk; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate; assets held in a revocable trust skip both.
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Are My Beneficiary Designations Protected?
New Hampshire does not revoke an ex-spouse as beneficiary at divorceRSA 551:13; RSA 563-D:14Verified Sep 15, 2026View source; employer plans under ERISA follow federal rules either way, so a 401(k) beneficiary changes only by a new designation.
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