## Facts

- Geraldine M. Locke died intestate on September 23, 1999.
- She left no spouse, children, siblings, parents, or living grandparents.
- The surviving maternal-side relatives were two first cousins (fourth degree of kinship).
- The surviving paternal-side relatives were four first cousins once removed (fifth degree of kinship).
- The administratrix petitioned the probate court to determine heirs under New Hampshire’s intestacy statutes.
- The probate court ordered the estate divided into equal paternal and maternal halves, with each half distributed to the surviving relatives on that side.
- The maternal first cousins appealed, arguing they were closer in kinship and therefore entitled to the entire estate.

## Issues

1. Under RSA 561:1, II(d), when there are surviving descendants of both paternal and maternal grandparents, must the estate be divided into equal halves by parental line before any kinship-degree comparison?
2. Does RSA 561:3’s limitation on taking “by representation” beyond the fourth degree prevent first cousins once removed (fifth degree) from inheriting on the paternal side?

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of New Hampshire affirmed the probate court.
- The court held RSA 561:1, II(d) requires a mandatory initial division of the estate into equal paternal and maternal halves when both lines have surviving issue of grandparents.
- The court held each half is then distributed independently to the surviving issue on that side.
- The court concluded RSA 561:3 did not bar the paternal first cousins once removed because they took directly under RSA 561:1, II(d), not by representation.
- Result: the maternal first cousins shared equally in the maternal half, and the paternal first cousins once removed shared equally in the paternal half.

## Legal Principles

- When an intestate decedent leaves no issue, parent, or issue of a parent, and there are survivors in both the paternal and maternal grandparent lines, the estate must be divided into equal halves between those lines under RSA 561:1, II(d).
- After the split, distribution within each half depends on the degrees of kinship among survivors within that line; cross-line kinship comparisons do not control the initial division.
- RSA 561:3 limits representation among collateral heirs to those within the fourth degree, but it does not bar more remote collaterals from inheriting directly when they are the nearest living relatives in their line and are not taking by representation.
- Where all surviving issue within a line are of the same degree of kinship, that line’s half is shared equally among them.

## Conclusion

The court required a two-step intestacy distribution: divide the estate into equal paternal and maternal halves when both lines have surviving issue of grandparents, then distribute each half independently; fifth-degree collaterals may inherit directly if representation is not used.


In re Estate of Locke, 148 N.H. 754, 813 A.2d 1172 (N.H. 2002)