New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated Chapter 458 - Divorce

Lists the fault-based grounds for divorce in New Hampshire: impotency, adultery, extreme cruelty, conviction of a crime punishable by more than one year imprisonment, treatment seriously injuring health or endangering reason, absence for 2 years without being heard of, habitual drunkenness or drug abuse for 2 or more years, or joining a religious sect that considers marriage unlawful and refusing to cohabit for 6 months.

Effective: 2024

Allows either spouse to obtain a no-fault divorce by showing that irreconcilable differences have caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage. This is the most commonly used ground for divorce in New Hampshire, requiring no proof of fault by either spouse.

Effective: 2024

Establishes three pathways to file for divorce. If both spouses are domiciled in New Hampshire, either may file immediately. If only the filing spouse lives in NH and the other is personally served within the state, jurisdiction exists immediately. If the filing spouse is the sole NH resident and the other cannot be served in-state, the filer must have been domiciled in NH for at least one year before filing.

Effective: 2024

If the court determines there is a likelihood for rehabilitation of the marriage, it shall refer the parties to counseling. If a reasonable possibility of reconciliation exists, the court shall continue proceedings and require both parties to attend marriage counseling, giving preference to counselors who accept the parties' health insurance.

Effective: 2024

New Hampshire is an equitable distribution state. All tangible and intangible property belonging to either or both spouses — including employment benefits, vested and non-vested pension or retirement benefits, and military retirement benefits — is subject to division. The court presumes an equal (50/50) split is equitable unless 15 statutory factors indicate otherwise, including marriage duration, each party's contribution, and fault that caused the breakdown.

Effective: 2024

The court considers 15 factors when deviating from equal division: duration of marriage, age/health/social status of each party, occupation and income sources, vocational skills and employability, each party's liabilities and needs, opportunity for future income, fault causing the marriage breakdown (if it caused substantial harm or economic loss), value of property acquired before marriage, value of gifts or inheritances, and any other relevant factor the court deems important.

Effective: 2024

Tangible property includes animals. When dividing property, the court must address the care and ownership of the parties' animals, taking the animals' wellbeing into consideration. New Hampshire was among the first states to require courts to consider pet welfare in divorce proceedings.

Effective: 2024

If either or both parties hold an education savings account (including a 529 plan) for a child of the marriage, the court may preserve the account for its original educational purpose or treat it as marital property subject to equitable division.

Effective: 2024

New Hampshire's stated policy is to support both parents having stable and meaningful involvement in their children's lives. The state encourages approximately equal parenting time if it serves the child's best interest, encourages parents to share rights and responsibilities after separation, and promotes parents developing their own parenting plan with professional assistance unless domestic violence, child abuse, or neglect is present.

Effective: 2025

Courts determine parenting arrangements based on the child's best interests, considering: each parent's relationship with the child and ability to provide nurture and guidance; ability to provide food, shelter, medical care, and safety; the child's developmental needs; stability of the child's home, school, and community; each parent's willingness to foster the other parent's relationship; ability to cooperate and communicate; evidence of abuse and its impact; incarceration of a parent; and any other relevant factor.

Effective: 2025

Parents must develop and file a parenting plan with the court. If parents cannot agree, the court will create the plan. Plans must include the legal residence of each parent (unless domestic violence is found), and parents must promptly notify the court and the other parent of any address change. Failure to provide address information may result in contempt of court.

Effective: 2025

A parent seeking to change an existing parenting plan must prove a substantial change in circumstances since the original order was established. The burden of proof is on the parent requesting the modification. The court evaluates whether the proposed change serves the child's best interests under the same factors used in the original determination.

Effective: 2025

A parent may not relocate a child without a court order unless safety requires it. The relocating parent must give at least 60 days notice. The relocating parent bears the initial burden of proving a legitimate purpose and that the proposed location is reasonable. If that burden is met, it shifts to the other parent to prove the move is not in the child's best interest. Legitimate purposes include employment, self-sufficiency, proximity to a support network, or educational opportunities.

Effective: 2025

New Hampshire uses an income shares model for child support. Both parents' net incomes are combined, multiplied by a percentage based on the number of children, and divided proportionally between the parents. The model presumes a child should receive the same share of parental income as if the parents lived together. The NH Department of Health and Human Services publishes a schedule of amounts in $1,000 income increments.

Effective: 2025

The court may adjust the guideline child support amount for special circumstances including: extraordinary medical, dental, or education expenses; significantly high or low income; stepchildren or other dependents; reasonable expenses for exercising parenting time; disposition of the marital home for the child's benefit; tax optimization; and parenting schedule. An approximately equal parenting schedule alone does not eliminate child support, but support should not result in the lower-earning parent having higher adjusted income than the higher earner.

Effective: 2025

The court may order alimony if the requesting spouse lacks sufficient income or property to meet reasonable needs (considering the marital lifestyle), the paying spouse can meet their own needs while paying, and the requesting spouse cannot become self-supporting at a reasonable standard of living. Alimony must be requested within 5 years of the divorce decree. New Hampshire recognizes three types: temporary (during proceedings), term (post-decree periodic payments), and reimbursement (compensating contributions to the other spouse's finances).

Effective: 2024

Term alimony is calculated as the lesser of the payee's reasonable need or 23% of the difference between the parties' gross incomes (30% if alimony is tax-deductible). Maximum duration is 50% of the length of the marriage. The court may adjust both amount and duration for special circumstances including health, financial dependency, vocational skills, underemployment, or special needs of a child. Reimbursement alimony separately compensates a spouse for economic or non-economic contributions (such as supporting the other's education).

Effective: 2024

Alimony may be modified upon a showing of a substantial and unforeseeable change in circumstances, proven by clear and convincing evidence. Alimony terminates upon the payee's remarriage or cohabitation with an unrelated adult in a marriage-like relationship, or upon the payor's retirement at full retirement age. If terminated for cohabitation, the original award may be reinstated within 5 years if the cohabitation ends.

Effective: 2024

All divorce petitions must be filed in the county where either party lives, before the Circuit Court — Family Division. If the parties file jointly, no further service or notice is required. New Hampshire has no mandatory waiting period between filing and finalization — uncontested divorces can be completed in as little as 2-3 months, limited only by court scheduling.

Effective: 2024

Before any hearing on child support, property settlement, or alimony, both parties must submit sworn financial affidavits. These affidavits are accepted as prima facie evidence of each party's finances. A party who makes a knowingly false statement may face a civil action for treble damages and attorney's fees.

Effective: 2024

The court may order mediation on any issue including property settlement and alimony, either upon request or at its own discretion. Mediation may not be ordered if there is a finding of domestic violence (unless all parties agree), allegations of serious psychological or emotional abuse, or substance abuse issues. All communications during mediation are privileged and confidential and cannot be used as evidence in court.

Effective: 2024

The court may issue temporary orders for support, custody, and other relief while the divorce is pending. No ex parte temporary order may be granted without an affidavit verifying that notice was given to the other party. If an ex parte order is issued, the opposing party may request a hearing within 5 days. The court may also issue permanent restraining orders as part of the final decree.

Effective: 2024

All parents of minor children in divorce or parenting proceedings must attend a mandatory 4-hour Child Impact Program. The seminar covers how children react to divorce, communication strategies, co-parenting techniques, and new family structures. It must be completed within 45 days of service of the petition. Parents involved in domestic violence cases must attend separate sessions. Failure to attend may result in contempt of court.

Effective: 2024

Provides protective orders for victims of domestic violence by a family or household member, spouse, ex-spouse, dating partner, or co-parent. A petitioner must prove abuse by a preponderance of the evidence. Protective orders last one year, require surrender of all firearms, and may include child custody and support provisions. Unlike divorce restraining orders, mutual protective orders are prohibited. Emergency orders are available through police when courts are closed.

Effective: 2024

In any case where a divorce could be granted, the court may instead decree a legal separation. A legal separation has the same effect as a divorce — including property division, alimony, and parenting orders — except the parties remain legally married and cannot remarry. Either party may later petition to convert the legal separation into a divorce. Parties may resume marital relations at any time by filing a written declaration with the court.

Effective: 2024

New Hampshire does not follow the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act but has its own enforcement standard. A prenuptial agreement must be in writing, signed by both parties, and entered into voluntarily with full understanding of its terms. An agreement is presumed valid unless the challenging party proves it was obtained through fraud, duress, or mistake; is unconscionable; or that circumstances have changed so significantly since execution that enforcement would be unfair. Prenuptial agreements cannot address child custody or support.

Effective: 2024

In any divorce or annulment proceeding (but not legal separation), the court may restore a spouse's former name when the decree is issued. The name restoration can be granted regardless of whether it was requested in the original petition. No separate name change petition is required — it is handled as part of the divorce decree.

Effective: 2024

The court may revise and modify any existing divorce order, make new orders as the circumstances of the parties require, and award costs to either party. This general modification authority applies to property, support, and custody orders, except where specific modification standards are prescribed by other sections (such as alimony modification under RSA 458:19-aa).

Effective: 2024