Wolfeboro firm focused on elder law and estate planning for older residents of Carroll and Belknap Counties in the Lakes Region. Centers on Medicaid eligibility and long-term-care planning, trust administration, and special-needs planning, building trust-based plans that avoid probate.
Probate in Belknap County
Probate Court Record
Belknap County 4th Circuit - Probate Division
Belknap County · 4th Circuit
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-4:00 PM
Office
26 Academy Street, Laconia, NH 03246
Website
E-filing
Self-represented filing
Allowed
Self-help forms
How to file probate in Belknap County →
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Belknap County? →Settling an estate in Belknap County →
Trust Administration Firms Serving Belknap County
Plymouth practice serving Grafton, Coos, Carroll, and Belknap County families since 1985. Attorneys Ora Schwartzberg and Christopher M. West build trust-based plans that keep a home out of probate and out of a court-supervised guardianship, plus durable powers of attorney and health care proxies. Meets by video conference for clients across northern New Hampshire.
Committed to excellence with offices in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Helps clients identify and understand estate planning options and implement comprehensive plans to preserve and protect wealth. Tier 1 recognition in 2025 Best Law Firms for tax law and trusts and estates.
Concord firm handling trusts and estates for individuals and fiduciaries across New Hampshire, in practice since 1946. Work spans estate and trust administration, administration of irrevocable trusts, and probate litigation, including disputes among beneficiaries and fiduciaries.
Concord firm, with a Rochester office, advising executors, trustees, families, and institutions on trust and estate administration and related estate-tax issues. Represents fiduciaries in probate and trust disputes, including litigation and mediation. In estate practice since 1979.
Amherst firm serving Hillsborough County families, with a second office in Concord. Handles estate planning, probate and trust administration, and elder-law and Medicaid planning. Peter Moustakis has served on the board of the New Hampshire chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Offers a free initial consultation for estate planning.
All 16 New Hampshire trust administration firms serving Belknap 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.
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Revocable Living Trust
Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.
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Pour-Over Will
In New Hampshire, a pour-over will is signed before 2NH RSA 551:2Verified Oct 19, 2026View source witnesses and moves anything left outside the trust into it through probate.
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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.
How Do I Settle a Trust?
Settling a trust in New Hampshire happens outside court: the trustee acts under the state's Uniform Trust CodeRSA 564-B:1-101 et seq.Verified Oct 17, 2026View source, notifies the beneficiaries within 60 daysRSA 564-B:8-813, RSA 564-B:10-1005Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, then pays the debts and distributes under the trust's terms.
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What's Fair Trustee Compensation?
In New Hampshire, trustee compensation follows "reasonable compensation" (UTC § 708 or equivalent)RSA 564-B:7-708; RSA 564-B:7-709; RSA 564-B:7-710; RSA 564:21; NH Prob. Div. R. 88Verified Sep 18, 2026View source unless the trust instrument sets a different amount.
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How Do I Settle an Estate?
Settling an estate in New Hampshire: the personal representative files the estate inventory within 90 daysRSA 554:1, 554:26-aVerified Sep 15, 2026View source of appointment; creditors have 6 monthsRSA §§ 553:16, 554:19, 556:1, 556:2, 556:3, 556:5, 556:29Verified Oct 18, 2026View source to present claims; a simple estate closes in 6 months to 9 months.
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Do I Have to File Tax Returns for Someone Who Died?
New Hampshire has no state income tax, so only the federal final Form 1040 is due for the decedentN.H. RSA Ch. 77 (Taxation of Incomes) — "[Repealed by 2021, 91:99, II, eff. Jan. 1, 2025.]"Verified Sep 20, 2026View source; a federal estate tax return (Form 706) is required only for estates above $15,000,00026 USC 2001(c), 2010; P.L. 119-21 §70106Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
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How Does Step-Up in Basis Work?
Inherited assets in New Hampshire take a basis reset to fair market value on the date of death26 USC § 1014Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, and the gain on a later sale faces no state capital gains taxNH RSA ch. 77 (Taxation of Incomes — Interest & Dividends Tax) — "Chapter 77 Repealed – Entire Chapter was repealed [Repealed by 2021, 91:99, II, eff. Jan. 1, 2025.]"Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
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