EFFECTIVE AUG. 1, a new set of procedural rules for the probate court will be in place. Probate Court Administrative Judge John R. Maher said the rules were adopted by the Supreme Court on a temporary basis, with the expectation that problems or improvements will be identified and incorporated before the rules are made permanent. The rules are contained in Appendix O of the rules order at:

http://www.state.nh.us/courts/supreme/orders/ordr0516.htm.

The order sets a target date of Feb. 2003 for a review to be completed to make the rules permanent.

The new rules do not represent drastic changes, Maher said, but he expects they will be easier to use. "It was important for the probate court to have its own set of rules," Maher said, "but we made sure that they remained similar to the Superior Court rules in many aspects. We did not want to go out of our way to make our rules different from other courts." For example, the new rules use the same numbering system as the Superior Court rules.

The new rules are the culmination of work that began in 1994 to produce a complete overhaul of rules. Work began on the new rules shortly after the Supreme Court declined to accept proposed rules of civil procedure. The late Franklin Pierce Law Center professor Dane Buck early on assisted with research and, during the course of the project, about a dozen FPLC students worked on it.

Serving on an ad hoc drafting committee were attorneys Nicholas Aeschilman, Kathleen Robinson, Ruth Ansell, George Walker, along with Merrimack County Probate Judge Richard Hampe, Strafford County Register of Probate Kimberly Quint and Rockingham County Deputy Register of Probate Irene Ray.

"The committee had at least 60 to 70 meetings," said Maher. "These people have made an enormous contribution to assist the probate court in this important project."

Maher said that it was the first systematic compilation of rules for the probate court in at least 50 years. Over the years, the court has made numerous additions to the rules to account for changes in jurisdiction or practices, or to incorporate new technologies. In many aspects, the court has operated by adopting the rules of the Superior Court. The new rules continue to follow Superior Court procedures and standards, and deviations usually occur when the specific nature of the probate court’s work requires them.

Maher said, however, that the probate court rules include definitions, something that the other courts’ rules don’t have.

According to Maher, the Supreme Court chose to have these rules issued on a temporary basis to allow practicing lawyers to find any inconsistencies or problems that remain. "In effect, we will let the profession decide," he said.

Maher added that he may ask his advisory group, which has assisted the probate court in developing or reviewing relevant legislative proposals, to assist in evaluating the new rules. "It may be helpful to have an independent group of experienced professionals who were not involved in the ongoing drafting process looking at the new rules more dispassionately," he said.

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