Circuit Court Probate Division Rules Table of Contents
Any party may appear before the court in person, or by any
citizen of good character, or by an attorney authorized to practice in the
courts of this state; provided, however, that no person who is not a lawyer will
be permitted to appear, plead, prosecute or defend any action for any party,
other than himself or herself until there is on file with the Register: (1) a
power of attorney signed by the party for whom he or she seeks to appear and
witnessed and acknowledged before a Justice of the Peace or Notary Public,
constituting said person his or her attorney to appear in the particular action;
and (2) an affidavit under oath in which said person discloses (a)
all of said person's misdemeanor and felony convictions (other than those in
which a record of the conviction has been annulled by statute), (b) all
instances in which said person has been found by any court to have violated a
court order or any provision of the rules of professional conduct applicable to
nonlawyer representatives, (c) all prior proceedings in which said person
has been permitted to appear, plead, prosecute or defend any action for any
party, other than himself or herself, in any court, (d) all prior proceedings in
which said person has not been permitted to appear, plead, prosecute or
defend any action for any party, other than himself or herself, in any court,
and (e) all prior proceedings in which said person’s permission to appear,
plead, prosecute or defend any action for any party, other than himself or
herself, in any court has been revoked. The person so
appearing shall file with the Register a written appearance notice giving his
name, his residence, the matter in which he appears, the name of the person or
persons for whom he appears and their respective mailing addresses, and the
Register shall enter the appearance on the docket. In contested matters,
the notice of appearance shall be forwarded to the adverse party by the party so
appearing and certification of such shall be made to the court. Any person
who is not a lawyer who is permitted to represent any other person before any
court of this State must comply with the Rules of Professional Conduct as set
forth in Professional Conduct Rule 8.5, and shall be subject to the jurisdiction
of the committee on professional conduct.
Any Party may appear Pro Se, or be represented by an
Attorney. Attorneys and Pro Se Parties shall enter an Appearance Form
before filing Pleadings or personally appearing before the Court. An
attorney-in-fact shall attach a copy of the Power of Attorney and affidavit to
the Appearance Form. No Appearance Form shall be required to be filed by
the Petitioner, or if represented, by the Petitioner's Attorney or by a guardian
ad litem, except as required by the previous paragraph of this rule.
Limited Appearance of Attorneys. To the extent permitted by Rule
1.2 of the New Hampshire Rules of Professional Conduct, an attorney providing
limited representation to an otherwise unrepresented litigant may file a limited
appearance on behalf of such unrepresented party. The limited
appearance shall state precisely the scope of the limited representation, and
the attorney’s involvement in the matter shall be limited only to what is
specifically stated. The requirements of Probate Court Rule 15 shall apply to
every pleading and motion signed by the limited representation attorney.
An attorney who has filed a limited appearance, and who later files a pleading
or motion outside the scope of the limited representation, shall be deemed to
have amended the limited appearance to extend to such filing.
The Appearance Form shall identify the Attorney, or Pro Se
Party's name, address and telephone number, the matter in which the Person
appears and the name and address of the Party or Parties for whom the Person
appears. In addition, the Appearance Form shall identify the Attorney's
New Hampshire Bar identification number.
Copies of the Appearance Form shall be forwarded to all
Parties, or if represented, to their Attorneys by the Party so appearing.
A statement of compliance shall accompany all Appearance Forms.
The filing of an Appearance shall not constitute a general
objection or denial. Any objections or denials must be raised in a
separate Pleading. A Special Appearance shall be deemed a General
Appearance thirty (30) days after the Return Day of the action, unless a motion
to dismiss on jurisdictional grounds is filed within that time.