Rhode Island timeline
Rhode Island probate timeline: the 30-day wait and when creditor claims close
The simplified route starts 30 days after death. Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-24-1.
Creditor-claim deadline in a full Rhode Island administration, counted from publication of the notice to creditors: Six months from first publication (§ 33-11-5(a)), subject to a court-granted late-claim petition before distribution. Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-11-5. The clocks running from actual notice to a known creditor and the date of death are set out below.
The 30-day wait is the earliest the simplified route can be used; the creditor deadline is when claims not yet presented are barred. They belong to different proceedings, so they are not added together. No overall duration is published here: court scheduling, accountings and disputes add time these clocks do not measure.
Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Sources rechecked October 3, 2026. This page last revised .
The one date this page can source
The voluntary informal administration of small estates route requires 30 days to elapse from the date of death. This is a precondition: the affidavit or petition cannot be presented before it runs, regardless of how straightforward the estate is.
Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-24-1, voluntary informal administration(Rhode Island General Assembly; P.L. 2011, ch. 363, § 10.).
The section’s own words
(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
Creditor deadlines
- From publication of notice to creditors
- Six months from first publication (§ 33-11-5(a)), subject to a court-granted late-claim petition before distribution.
- From actual notice to a known creditor
- The personal representative must, within a reasonable time after qualification, notify known or reasonably ascertainable creditors of the commencement of the estate (§ 33-11-5.1); notice at least 60 days before the six-month period expires is deemed adequate. This is not a separate standalone bar.
- Outer limit, running from death
- No separate death-based outer limit was found in the sections reviewed; late claims may be sought before distribution under § 33-11-5(b).
How these combine. 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 a single number of days would hide the late-claim extension.
Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-11-5, time for claims(Rhode Island General Assembly; P.L. 2008, ch. 307, § 2.).
The section’s own words
(a) Claims shall be presented within six (6) months from the first publication or be forever barred, subject to extensions granted pursuant to subsection 33-11-5(b). (b) A creditor who, by reason of accident, mistake, excusable neglect or lack of adequate notice of decedent's estate, failed to present a claim within six (6) months from the first publication, may before distribution of the estate, petition the probate court for leave to present a claim out of time. For purposes of this section, notice of commencement of probate pursuant to § 33-11-5.1 at least sixty (60) days before the expiration of the six (6) months claim period shall be deemed adequate.
General sequence: first week, how long probate takes.
Sources rechecked October 3, 2026: Rhode Island source list · how sources are checked · report a correction