New Hampshire life estate deed

What a life estate deed does in New Hampshire

A traditional life estate deed splits ownership across time. You, the life tenant, keep the right to live in and use the property for the rest of your life. The remaindermen you name own everything after that, and their interest vests the moment the deed is delivered; recording protects it against later buyers and creditors. Because their interest is real and present, you can't sell, refinance, or undo the deed without their signatures. That permanence is the whole difference between this and a lady bird deed.

The New Hampshire law behind this deed

New Hampshire has no section written specifically for life estate deeds. The instrument runs on the general conveyancing and recording statutes below, which is why the requirements here look like those for any other deed in the state.

When New Hampshire property owners use a life estate deed

• Pass a home to children while reserving the right to live there for life
• Start the Medicaid look-back clock on a transfer (state rules vary)
• Avoid probate on the property with a simple, long-established instrument
• Provide for a surviving spouse or partner with the remainder going to your own children

What New Hampshire requires on the deed

These are the execution and formatting rules registers of deeds enforce. Getting any of them wrong is the usual reason a deed comes back in the mail.

How to complete and record it in New Hampshire

1. 1Find your current deedYou need the legal description from it, word for word. If you can't find your copy, the Register of Deeds can provide one, usually for a few dollars.
2. 2Identify everyone by full legal nameNames must match the current deed and government ID exactly, middle names included. A mismatch creates a gap in the chain of title that shows up years later at closing.
3. 3Complete the deedDeedly builds it with the wording, notary certificate, and 3-inch first-page margin used for New Hampshire deeds.
4. 4Sign in front of a notaryBring photo ID. Wait to sign until you are in front of the notary: you have to appear before the notary anyway, and signing there leaves no question about who signed.
5. 5Record it with the Register of DeedsFile in the county where the property is located and pay the recording fee. Many offices in this state also accept e-recording, but usually only from approved submitters such as title companies. Keep the stamped receipt. It fixes your priority date.
6. 6File the transfer tax forms after recordingWithin 30 days after the deed is recorded, the grantee files Form CD-57-P and the grantor files Form CD-57-S with the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration, online through Granite Tax Connect or by mail. They are required for every taxable transfer and every gift; most other exempt transfers need no declaration (RSA 78-B:10). The grantee also files Form PA-34 with the Department and gives a copy to the town or city assessor. None of these forms goes to the Register of Deeds, and a late form does not affect your title.
7. 7Tell the people you named where it isAt your death they record a certified death certificate, and in some states an affidavit, to show that your life estate has ended. Ask your insurer whether they should be added to the policy now.

What it costs in New Hampshire

New Hampshire charges a real estate transfer tax of $0.75 per $100 (or part of $100) of the price from EACH party, buyer and seller, for a combined 1.5%. By law the buyer and the seller each pay at that rate (RSA 78-B:4). You pay by buying tax stamps from the Register of Deeds when you record, and the Register collects both halves before recording the deed.

Exemptions that commonly apply to a transfer like this: gifts in which the recipient takes over no mortgage (RSA 78-B:2, IX), transfers between spouses under a final divorce or annulment decree (RSA 78-B:2, XIII), deeds that only correct an earlier deed (RSA 78-B:2, V), and transfer on death deeds made for no consideration (RSA 78-B:2, XXV). The Register of Deeds charges transfer tax on every deed unless the deed itself states why it is exempt (RSA 78-B:6); the forms are not enough. Deedly prints that statement when your answers show the exemption.

Where to record it in New Hampshire

New Hampshire deeds are recorded with the Register of Deeds in the county where the property sits, not where you live. There are 10 counties in New Hampshire.

Many New Hampshire recording offices accept e-recording through vendors such as Simplifile, CSC, or ePN. E-recording is generally open only to approved submitters such as title companies, attorneys, and lenders, so if you prepared the deed yourself, plan to record in person or by mail. Some offices accept filings from the public through those vendors; your county's website will say.

Recording offices we cover in New Hampshire: Hillsborough, Rockingham, Merrimack, Strafford, Grafton, Cheshire. See all New Hampshire recording offices.

What a life estate deed does NOT do

Being honest about the limits is more useful than a sales pitch. Every one of these catches somebody out.

• It is not revocable. Once recorded, you can't sell or mortgage the property without every remainderman signing.
• A remainderman's divorce, bankruptcy, or judgment creditor can attach their interest in your home while you're still living in it.
• Because you keep the right to live there for life, the full value is still counted in your estate for federal tax purposes (26 U.S.C. § 2036). That generally gives the remaindermen a stepped-up basis at your death, but it also means the deed does not shrink a taxable estate.
• It is usually treated as a divestment for Medicaid purposes. Get advice before using it for that purpose.

Quirks of New Hampshire law that catch people out

• New Hampshire charges its transfer tax to BOTH parties (0.75% each, 1.5% total) which is unusual and catches people out.
• The Register of Deeds charges transfer tax on every deed unless the deed itself states why it is exempt (RSA 78-B:6). The form is not enough.
• Forms CD-57-P, CD-57-S and PA-34 must be filed with the Department of Revenue Administration within 30 days after recording, in addition to recording the deed.
• The register must refuse a deed whose property description does not name, in its first sentence, every town or city the land lies in (RSA 478:4-a). Use the town or city, not the post office name.
• A married owner's spouse must sign the deed of the home to release the homestead right, even if the spouse is not on title (RSA 480:5-a).
• New Hampshire has recognized transfer on death deeds since July 1, 2024 (RSA 563-D). One is void unless it is recorded within 60 days after it is signed and before the owner's death.
• New Hampshire does not recognize tenancy by the entirety. A deed to spouses "as tenants by the entirety" creates a joint tenancy with right of survivorship (RSA 477:18).