Probate in Rhode Island: do you need a lawyer, and what it costs

Settling an estate in Rhode Island

What an executor deals with after the funeral: the will, the court, creditors, tax and closing the estate. Each fact links to the statute it comes from and shows the date we last read it.

Filing the original will

In Rhode Island, if you hold the original will of the person who died, you must deliver it to the probate court of the city or town that handles the estate, or to the executor named in the will, within 30 days after you learn of the death. An executor who receives it must deliver it to the court within 30 days.

R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-7-5Read the statute · webserver.rilegislature.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Which court handles probate

In Rhode Island, probate is handled by the probate court of the city or town where the person who died lived, not by a county court. If they lived out of state, it can be opened in the probate court of a Rhode Island city or town where they left property.

R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 8-9-9, 8-9-11Read the statute · webserver.rilegislature.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Creditors' deadline to make claims

In Rhode Island, when the executor or administrator is qualified, the probate clerk publishes a notice telling creditors to file claims. Creditors have six months from the first publication to file their claims with the probate court, and the executor or administrator must also send notice to creditors they know of.

R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 33-18-1, 33-11-5, 33-11-5.1, 33-11-50Read the statute · webserver.rilegislature.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Estate inventory

In Rhode Island, the executor or administrator must file a sworn inventory with the probate court within 90 days after appointment, unless the court allows more time. It lists the personal property and other assets of the person who died, not real estate, valued as of the date of death.

R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-9-1Read the statute · webserver.rilegislature.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

The order estate debts are paid

In Rhode Island, if the estate cannot pay every debt, the executor or administrator first takes out administration costs and the allowances set aside for the family, then pays funeral costs, then last illness expenses, then debts owed to the United States, then debts and taxes owed to the state and town, then child support, then recent unpaid wages, then amounts owed to the state lottery, then other debts filed within six months of the first notice, then everything else.

R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-12-11Read the statute · webserver.rilegislature.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

State estate and inheritance tax

Rhode Island has an estate tax but no inheritance tax. For deaths in 2026, an estate with a net taxable value of $1,838,056 or less owes no Rhode Island estate tax; the figure is adjusted for inflation every January 1.

R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-22-1.1(a)(4)Read the statute · tax.ri.govchecked Oct 5, 2026effective Jan 1, 2026

Closing an estate

In Rhode Island, the executor or administrator closes the estate by filing a final account with the probate court when administration is finished, and the court's approval of that account is final. If the executor or administrator is the only beneficiary, or has a signed release from every beneficiary, they can file an affidavit of completed administration instead.

R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 33-14-1, 33-14-11, 33-13-12Read the statute · webserver.rilegislature.govchecked Oct 5, 2026