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Rhode Island route screening

Rhode Island small-estate limit: $15,000

After 30 days, an eligible adult Rhode Island resident may file in the decedent’s city or town Probate Court if the estate consists entirely of personal property and the inventory-counted value, excluding the tangible-personal-property category identified by § 33-24-1, does not exceed $15,000. No petition for letters may already be filed. Where the decedent left a will naming an executor, R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-24-2 gives the named executor (or, if unable to serve, an alternate or listed relative) a parallel voluntary route on the same $15,000 personal-property test.

Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.

Threshold evidence and currency

What the reviewed source establishes

Currency: No later session-law supersession is recorded in the reviewed source set for this threshold. The edition/currentness label below is the basis for the published figure.

Controlling citation: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-24-1 — P.L. 2011, ch. 363, § 10..

Verbatim threshold text from that source:

(a) If a resident of Rhode Island dies leaving an estate consisting entirely of personal property the total value of which otherwise subject to being listed on a probate inventory pursuant to § 33-9-1, exclusive of tangible personal property of which the decedent was owner, does not exceed fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) in value, his or her surviving spouse, child, grandchild, parent, brother, sister, niece, nephew, aunt or uncle, or any interested party, if of full age and legal capacity and a resident of this state, may, after the expiration of thirty (30) days from the death of the decedent, provided no petition for letters testamentary or letters of administration has been filed with the probate court of the city or town in which the decedent resided, file with said probate court upon a form prescribed by the court a statement, verified by oath or affirmation containing: (1) The
1. Where and when
Private by design: entries stay in this browser.
2. What they left

Ownership determines whether an asset usually enters probate. Choose “Not sure” when title or beneficiary status has not been confirmed.

Asset 1

Asset 2

Your working estimate

Rhode Island estate snapshot

Route check

More information is needed

Counted probate estate: not yet counted

A valid date of death is required before any waiting period can be tested.

Gross probate propertyNot yet counted
Court chargeMore information neededPetition to appoint an administrator or to probate a will (statewide, R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-22-21)2 asset entries have no value entered. A blank amount is not treated as zero, so the charge cannot be computed.More information neededVoluntary informal administration under § 33-24-12 asset entries have no value entered. A blank amount is not treated as zero, so the charge cannot be computed.Court charges only, for the proceeding named beside each figure. That proceeding is not always the route screened above.
Scheduled executor compensationMore information needed2 asset entries have no value entered.Rhode Island states no percentage schedule: the Probate Court allows the executor or administrator compensation in the account in the amount the court considers just. The cited section does not specify a value base, will override, or separate extraordinary-services rate.

This route check is general information, not legal advice. It does not test every eligibility condition, creditor issue, will provision, local fee, or asset-title fact.

What the Rhode Island amount screen counts

The headline limit is not a count of everything the person owned. It is a test of the property and deductions named by this procedure. Classify title and beneficiary status first; property that transfers by a valid survivorship right, beneficiary designation, or funded trust follows its own transfer path.

This reviewed route is limited to personal probate property. A house or other real property is not transferred through this screen, even when the personal-property total is below $15,000. Open the deed and the receiving court’s real-property instructions before assuming the simplified procedure resolves the whole estate.

The statute excludes categories of exempt property that this worksheet cannot classify from a dollar entry alone. A result near the limit remains provisional until those exemptions are identified from the actual property and family facts.

Timing and facts the threshold cannot answer

The reviewed route requires 30 days after death before the affidavit or petition can be used. That is a minimum timing condition, not a promise that the institution or court completes the transfer on that day.

What does not qualify for this route

  • An estate above $15,000 does not qualify for this value-based route, unless the separately described alternate route applies.
  • Real property is outside this route’s scope; the affidavit or statement does not transfer a house or other real estate.
  • Filing before 30 days have elapsed from death fails the reviewed timing condition.
  • A pending or completed personal-representative appointment, a will condition, creditor issue, or family-rights condition can disqualify the route even when the amount appears within the reviewed rule.

Move from the screen to the official Rhode Island path

Assemble the death date, will status, asset titles, beneficiary confirmations, values, enforceable liens, family facts, and any prior court filing before signing anything. Then use the court publisher’s current artifact for the selected route.

Rhode Island probate is filed with the city or town Probate Court where the decedent resided, which supplies local filing instructions, but the opening fee is set statewide by statute: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-22-21 fixes 1% of personal property (min $30, max $1,500) for a formal appointment/probate petition, and § 33-24-1 fixes $30 + $5 for the voluntary small-estate route.

No statewide judiciary small-estate form returning HTTP 200 was found; the statutory fee itself is the pinned authority.

If the state publishes no statewide form, that is a finding—not a missing link. Contact the Probate Court (city or town) or clerk in the proper county for its packet and current filing instructions rather than borrowing an unofficial form from another county.

Questions to resolve before relying on “likely qualifies”

  • The code publisher exposes amendment history but no edition-level currentness marker.
  • The § 33-24-1 voluntary small-estate route is a separate flat charge ($30 filing plus $5 certification) and is not priced from the § 33-22-21(a) percentage.
  • Confirm deed, account title, beneficiary, and trust ownership from the actual records.
  • Confirm whether a will, prior appointment, creditor issue, or family allowance changes the route.
  • Confirm the official form, fee, copy count, and filing method with the receiving court or institution.
Use this as a starting point.

This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.

Rhode Island eligibility map

What the Rhode Island simplified route still requires

The Rhode Island threshold is one screen, not a complete legal conclusion. This map pairs the recorded ceiling with the property scope, deductions, date, and court artifact that have to be checked before relying on a likely-qualifies result.

QuestionRecorded Rhode Island answerCarry into the case
What route is being screened?Voluntary informal administration of small estatesConfirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route.
What property and basis count?personal probate property only; gross value with statutory exemptions not classified by this worksheet.Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately.
What is the amount screen?$15,000Use the counted property, not a bank-balance shortcut.
What is the time or deadline record?30 days after death; Claims generally run six months from first publication (§ 33-11-5(a)), but § 33-11-5(b) permits a creditor lacking adequate notice to petition before distribution to present a late claim, and § 33-11-5.1 imposes a duty on the personal representative to notify known or reasonably ascertainable creditors of the commencement of the estate. Notice sent at least 60 days before the six-month period expires is deemed adequate; that 60-day language defines adequate notice rather than a standalone claim period, so one days value would hide the extension mechanism.Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number.
What does the cost record establish?2 published schedules; the proceeding and value basis control the total.Ask the Probate Court (city or town) about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings.
What does compensation use?Rhode Island states no percentage schedule: the Probate Court allows the executor or administrator compensation in the account in the amount the court considers just. The cited section does not specify a value base, will override, or separate extraordinary-services rate. The relevant base is the estate accounting.Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate.

Eligibility inputs

The Rhode Island screen is made of these inputs

A threshold is useful only when the amount is measured the way the source describes. Keep this table with the asset worksheet so an empty or misclassified field cannot look like a confirmed qualification.

InputRegistry record
Threshold$15,000
Property scopepersonal probate property only
Value basisgross value with statutory exemptions not classified by this worksheet
Waiting period30 days after death
Required extra factsNone listed in the registry

Case-file context

Keep the Rhode Island answer with its neighboring conditions

A route answer is easier to use when the facts that can change it stay in the same record. These are the reviewed Rhode Island descriptions adjacent to this page\'s main question; they are not a substitute for the source quotations or the receiving court\'s instructions.

Cost context

Rhode Island sets a statewide statutory probate fee in R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-22-21(a): for every petition to appoint an administrator (or custodian, guardian, or conservator) or to probate a will, one percent (1.0%) of the decedent's personal property over which the court has jurisdiction, subject to a $30 minimum and a $1,500 maximum, paid before filing on the petitioner's estimate and revisable. The narrower § 33-24-1 voluntary informal small-estate route instead charges a flat $30 filing fee plus $5 for the certification of appointment. Municipalities may charge separately for copies and certification.

2 published schedules; the proceeding and value basis control the total.

Compensation context

Rhode Island states no percentage schedule: the Probate Court allows the executor or administrator compensation in the account in the amount the court considers just. The cited section does not specify a value base, will override, or separate extraordinary-services rate.

Rhode Island states no percentage schedule: the Probate Court allows the executor or administrator compensation in the account in the amount the court considers just. The cited section does not specify a value base, will override, or separate extraordinary-services rate. The relevant base is the estate accounting.

Deadline context

Claims generally run six months from first publication (§ 33-11-5(a)), but § 33-11-5(b) permits a creditor lacking adequate notice to petition before distribution to present a late claim, and § 33-11-5.1 imposes a duty on the personal representative to notify known or reasonably ascertainable creditors of the commencement of the estate. Notice sent at least 60 days before the six-month period expires is deemed adequate; that 60-day language defines adequate notice rather than a standalone claim period, so one days value would hide the extension mechanism.

  • The code publisher exposes amendment history but no edition-level currentness marker.
  • The § 33-24-1 voluntary small-estate route is a separate flat charge ($30 filing plus $5 certification) and is not priced from the § 33-22-21(a) percentage.

Court-material note: Rhode Island probate is filed with the city or town Probate Court where the decedent resided, which supplies local filing instructions, but the opening fee is set statewide by statute: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-22-21 fixes 1% of personal property (min $30, max $1,500) for a formal appointment/probate petition, and § 33-24-1 fixes $30 + $5 for the voluntary small-estate route. No statewide judiciary small-estate form returning HTTP 200 was found; the statutory fee itself is the pinned authority.

Arithmetic illustration

See the Rhode Island amount screen without mistaking it for a result

The recorded Rhode Island ceiling is $15,000, and it is tested against personal probate property only, on a basis this site records as gross value with statutory exemptions not classified by this worksheet. Counted that way, $11,300 sits below the Rhode Island figure and $18,800 sits above it. Both are comparisons to a published number rather than legal outcomes: two estates holding the same total can land on opposite sides of this line, because what Rhode Island counts and how it values it are decided before the comparison is made.

Illustrative counted amountComparison to the Rhode Island ceilingWhat it does not decide
$11,300Below $15,000Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties
$18,800Above $15,000Whether another statutory route or court process applies

Next evidence to collect

Use the calculator for arithmetic, then verify title, timing, and the receiving court's form.

  1. Record the date of death, the county, and the exact proceeding or affidavit being considered.
  2. Classify each asset by title, beneficiary, trust, real-property status, and the value basis shown above.
  3. Open the official court material below and keep its form or schedule with the estate record.
  4. Do not distribute property until the route, creditor position, and required approvals are resolved.

Official material

Rhode Island probate is filed with the city or town Probate Court where the decedent resided, which supplies local filing instructions, but the opening fee is set statewide by statute: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-22-21 fixes 1% of personal property (min $30, max $1,500) for a formal appointment/probate petition, and § 33-24-1 fixes $30 + $5 for the voluntary small-estate route.

No statewide judiciary small-estate form returning HTTP 200 was found; the statutory fee itself is the pinned authority.

Source trail

Records used by this Rhode Island map

Controlling source

Each legal input links to the government source reviewed for this page. Source text can change; confirm the current rule before acting.

Continue in Rhode Island