I. Assistance liens arising under this chapter or N.H. Rev. Stat. Chapter 161 may be enforced by a bill in equity, or, in the case of liens against real estate which have been duly filed under N.H. Rev. Stat. § 167:14, by filing a timely and verified notice of lien with the probate court with jurisdiction over the estate of the recipient and mailing a copy of said notice and a verified claim for recovery of assistance payments to the administrator of the estate.
II. The commissioner may enforce the liquidated amount of an assistance lien against real estate by filing a timely and verified notice with the probate court and submitting a timely and verified claim against the estate of the recipient which sets forth the dates and amounts of assistance paid. Such claims shall be timely if filed within 6 months from the initial grant of administration for the estate in question.

Terms Used In New Hampshire Revised Statutes 167:16

  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • Probate: Proving a will
  • real estate: shall include lands, tenements, and hereditaments, and all rights thereto and interests therein. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:21

III. Notwithstanding N.H. Rev. Stat. § 556:5 and any other provision of law to the contrary, the administrator of a recipient’s estate shall be conclusively presumed to have accepted a claim for recovery of assistance which is subject to the jurisdiction of the probate court unless, within 12 months from the initial grant of administration, the administrator commences an equitable action in the superior court challenging the validity or amount of the commissioner’s claim and lien.
IV. When a timely notice of lien has been filed with a probate court pursuant to this section, approval of a request to sell real estate or to distribute probate assets shall not occur until and unless the court enters a finding that the assistance claim has been satisfied or the commissioner’s lien is otherwise protected.