Estate Settlement Cost
Menu

Rhode Island source record

Every source behind the Rhode Island guide

7 primary records, quoted verbatim and checked against 21 named presence or absence conditions that must pass against the live government text. Open the record, read the words the publishing body actually used, and confirm the current rule for yourself.

Last full re-fetch September 15, 2026

What each source establishes

The Rhode Island guide rests on the source-backed rules this site can verify for the state: which simplified procedure exists and what it limits, what the court charges, how the person administering the estate may be paid, and the statutory creditor-deadline clocks the official text states.Every published rule below is quoted in the publisher’s own words rather than summarised.

Simplified-procedure rule · Court cost rule

R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-24-1

Rhode Island General Assembly · P.L. 2011, ch. 363, § 10. · Verified August 9, 2026

(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

What was published from this source

  • RI R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-24-1

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • section identity
  • quoted legal rule
  • section identity

Response digest 4dbd8fab34c11eba… · HTTP 200

Executor compensation rule

R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-14-8

Rhode Island General Assembly · G.L. 1956, § 33-14-8. · Verified August 9, 2026

Executors and administrators shall, also, be allowed in their accounts such compensation for their services as the probate court shall consider just.

What was published from this source

  • RI R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-14-8

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • section identity
  • quoted legal rule
  • section identity

Response digest d0c909239b6da8a9… · HTTP 200

Creditor deadline rule

R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-11-5

Rhode Island General Assembly · P.L. 2008, ch. 307, § 2. · Verified August 9, 2026

(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.

What was published from this source

  • RI R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-11-5

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • section identity
  • quoted legal rule
  • section identity

Response digest 6d0ced816e032090… · HTTP 200

Court cost rule

R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-22-21(a)

Rhode Island General Assembly · P.L. 2014, ch. 351, § 2; P.L. 2014, ch. 398, § 2. · Verified August 9, 2026

The fees in probate courts shall be as follows: for every petition for the appointment of a custodian, administrator, guardian, or conservator, or for the probate of a will, one percent (1.0%) of the personal property of the decedent or ward over which the court has jurisdiction, but in no event shall the fee be less than thirty dollars ($30.00) nor more than one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500);

What this means: This is the statewide statutory probate fee, missed by the prior draft (which treated formal fees as purely municipal). It was amended by the same 2014 acts (P.L. 2014, ch. 351/398) that repealed the older § 33-22-19 fee section. The fee is value-based: 1% of the decedent's personal property, floored at $30 and capped at $1,500.

What was published from this source

  • RI R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-22-21(a)

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • section identity 33-22-21
  • 1% personalty, min $30, max $1,500
  • section identity

Response digest deaf496239752082… · HTTP 200

Simplified-procedure rule

R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-24-2

Rhode Island General Assembly · P.L. 2005, ch. 389, § 2; P.L. 2011, ch. 363, § 10. · Verified August 9, 2026

§ 33-24-2. Administration of small estates where executor named in will - Voluntary executors. (a) If a resident of Rhode Island dies leaving an estate that would otherwise be subject to being listed on a probate inventory pursuant to § 33-9-1, consisting entirely of personal property, the total value, exclusive of tangible personal property of which the decedent was owner, does not exceed fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) in value, and he or she leaves a will naming a person as executor, the named person, if of full age and legal capacity, may,

What this means: The will-named-executor counterpart to § 33-24-1: where the decedent left a will naming an executor, that executor (or an alternate/relative if unable) may use the same $15,000 personal-property voluntary route. Omitted from the prior draft.

What was published from this source

  • RI R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-24-2

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • section identity 33-24-2
  • will-executor route, $15,000 personal property
  • section identity

Response digest 4129b7535ef77251… · HTTP 200

Creditor deadline rule

R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-11-5.1

Rhode Island General Assembly · P.L. 2008, ch. 307, § 2; P.L. 2009, ch. 310, § 12; P.L. 2013, ch. 186, § 1; · Verified August 9, 2026

§ 33-11-5.1. Duty to notify known or reasonably ascertainable creditors. (a) If the identity of a creditor of the decedent's is known to or reasonably ascertainable by the personal representative, the personal representative shall, within a reasonable period of time after qualification, take such steps as are reasonably necessary to ensure that such creditor receives or has received notice of the commencement of the decedent's estate.

What this means: Completes the creditor framework: § 33-11-5.1 is the actual-notice duty that § 33-11-5(b)'s 'adequate notice' extension mechanism refers to, requiring the personal representative to notify known or reasonably ascertainable creditors of the commencement of the estate.

What was published from this source

  • RI R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-11-5.1

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • section identity 33-11-5.1
  • duty to notify ascertainable creditors
  • section identity

Response digest 28b13822db105bfc… · HTTP 200

Court and venue rule

R.I. Gen. Laws § 8-9-9

Rhode Island General Assembly · P.L. 1996, ch. 110, § 3. · Verified August 9, 2026

Every probate court shall have jurisdiction in the town or city in which it is established of the probate of wills; the granting of administration, the appointment of custodians, of administrators, of guardians of persons and estates, or of persons only or of estates only, and of conservators; the accepting and allowing of bonds, inventories, and accounts of executors, administrators, and guardians; the granting of leave to sell at public or private sale, or to mortgage property, as hereinafter provided; of the making of partition of the real estate of deceased persons; of the adoption of persons eighteen (18) years of age or older; of change of names of persons; of the removal or filling of a vacancy of a trustee of any trust established under a will, or the termination of such trust; of setting off and allowing real estate and personal property to widows and surviving husbands; and of

What was published from this source

  • RI R.I. Gen. Laws § 8-9-9

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • section identity
  • quoted legal rule
  • section identity

Response digest e1194e9fd02ad417… · HTTP 200

Rhode Island source decision map

How the Rhode Island records fit together

The source record is most useful when each citation has a job. This map links the Rhode Island procedure, cost, compensation, and deadline records to the decision each one can and cannot answer.

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.

Decision boundary

What the Rhode Island source set does not silently decide

The Rhode Island records establish the rules listed above, but they do not turn a source citation into advice about title, family priority, tax filing, contested proceedings, or the exact clerk practice in every county. Those questions stay with the official court or a qualified adviser. The useful next step is to match the question to the citation rather than treating the longest quote as the answer to every estate problem.

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

Open the quoted record for the row you rely on and check the publisher's current text before filing.

  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

What Rhode Island courts publish

The statutes on this page state the rule. These are the documents the court itself publishes. Every link is probed before release, and any link that stops resolving fails the build rather than staying on the page.

Limits on court 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.

Checking these Rhode Island records against the publishers

Every citation above links to the body that publishes it, and every quoted sentence is reproduced exactly, so a text search on the publisher’s own page should land on it. Where the publisher’s current wording differs from what is recorded here, the publisher governs and this page is wrong; naming the citation and the language you see maps the difference onto a specific condition rather than a general complaint. The full procedure, including how a source qualifies in the first place and what disqualifies one, is set out once on the methodology page instead of being restated on each of the254 state records.

These records cover the cost and route questions this site answers for Rhode Island. They do not cover intestate succession shares, spousal and family allowances, creditor priority, tax filing obligations, real-property transfer mechanics, or contested proceedings. Where an answer would require one of those, the site says so rather than estimating.

Return to the Rhode Island estate guide ·All 254 records ·Dataset overview and citation ·How sources are selected