Are Beneficiary Designations Protected in Rhode Island?
Rhode Island does not revoke an ex-spouse as beneficiary at divorceR.I. Gen. Laws § 33-5-9.1Verified Sep 15, 2026View source; employer plans under ERISA follow federal rules either way, so a 401(k) beneficiary changes only by a new designation.
A beneficiary designation on life insurance, a retirement account, a payable-on-death bank account or a transfer-on-death brokerage account decides who receives that asset at death, in Rhode Island as everywhere. The designation controls over the will or trust, and an outdated one stays in force whatever the other documents say.
No. Rhode Island does not automatically revoke an ex-spouse as beneficiary on divorceR.I. Gen. Laws § 33-5-9.1Verified Sep 15, 2026View source. Every designation on life insurance, a retirement account and the other assets is updated by hand after a divorce, or the ex-spouse still receives the asset.
Yes. The federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) preempts state law for an employer-sponsored plan such as a 401(k), a pension or group life insurance: the plan pays the designation on file with the plan administrator, and a qualified plan requires the spouse's consent to name anyone else (Egelhoff v. Egelhoff, 2001; Kennedy v. Plan Administrator, 2009). Rhode Island sets no spousal-consent requirement of its ownR.I. Gen. Laws § 33-28-1Verified Sep 15, 2026View source for an individual account.
Yes. Rhode Island gives inherited IRAs full statutory protection from creditorsR.I. Gen. Laws § 9-26-4(11)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source. After Clark v. Rameker (2014) held that federal bankruptcy law does not protect an inherited IRA, the state statute is the shield.
No. Rhode Island does not default to per stirpes for beneficiary designationsR.I. Gen. Laws § 33-6-19; §§ 7-11.1-8, 7-11.1-11; § 19-9-14.1(h)(2)(ii)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source: when a named beneficiary dies before the account holder, the share lapses unless the designation says per stirpes or names a contingent beneficiary.
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Divorce
What divorce does and does not undo: beneficiary designations, your will, powers of attorney, and the one account your ex stays on until you change it.
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Marriage
What married couples need in place: one joint trust or two, wills, beneficiary updates, and the spousal rights your state grants you automatically.
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Retirement
Retirement changes your financial picture. Healthcare directives, beneficiary reviews, long-term care planning, and protecting what you've built.
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Serious Diagnosis
A serious diagnosis changes priorities. Healthcare proxies, financial powers of attorney, and the documents that ensure your wishes are honored.
Learn moreForms for Planning Your Estate in Rhode Island
Free forms for planning your estate in Rhode Island: a will, living trust, pour-over will, both powers of attorney, living will, and TOD deed.
Last Will and Testament
In Rhode Island, a will is signed before 2R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-5-5Verified Oct 19, 2026View source witnesses, and the witnesses sign an affidavit at probate instead of a self-proving affidavitR.I. Gen. Laws § 33-5-5Verified Oct 19, 2026View source.
Healthcare Power of Attorney
Rhode Island allows a choice for a healthcare power of attorney: 2R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-4.10-2Verified Oct 15, 2026View source witnesses or a notary.
Financial Power of Attorney
Rhode Island requires explicit durability language for a power of attorney to survive incapacityR.I. Gen. Laws § 18-16-2Verified Sep 20, 2026View source, and it is signed before a notaryR.I. Gen. Laws § 18-16-2Verified Sep 20, 2026View source.
Living Will
In Rhode Island, the living will is the DeclarationR.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 23-4.11 (Rights of the Terminally Ill Act, §§ 23-4.11-1 to 23-4.11-15)Verified Sep 27, 2026View source, a document of its own, apart from the healthcare power of attorney.
Tools for Planning Your Estate in Rhode Island
Free tools for planning your estate in Rhode Island: what a will or trust costs, whether you need a trust or TOD deed, and how documents are signed.
What Does Estate Planning Actually Cost?
An attorney-prepared revocable trust in Rhode Island runs $3,850Estimate: 10 hours at $385, Clio's Rhode Island Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $5,775Estimate: 15 hours at $385, Clio's Rhode Island Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source and a simple will $1,146Estimate: 3 hours at $382, Clio's Rhode Island Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $2,292Estimate: 6 hours at $382, Clio's Rhode Island Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?
In Rhode Island, four years at a public university cost about $116,656NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 330.20, public 4-year in-state tuition, fees, room and board, academic year 2022-23Verified Oct 17, 2026View source and the cost of living is near the U.S. averageBEA Regional Price Parities, all items, by state, 2024Verified Oct 17, 2026View source; the state levies an estate taxR.I. Gen. Laws § 44-22-1.1Verified Sep 15, 2026View source above $1,838,056R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-22-1.1Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
How Much Does Probate Cost?
Probate on a $500,000 estate in Rhode Island costs an estimated $28,582R.I. Gen. Laws (no statutory schedule; court discretion applies)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source. Attorney fees run 2.1%R.I. Gen. Laws (no statutory schedule; court discretion applies)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3.4%R.I. Gen. Laws (no statutory schedule; court discretion applies)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate under a reasonable-compensation standard.
Who Inherits Without a Will?
Without a will in Rhode Island, descendants divide what passes to them per stirpesR.I. Gen. Laws §§ 33-1-1, 33-1-7, 33-1-10Verified Sep 10, 2026View source, and an heir must survive the decedent by 120 hoursR.I. Gen. Laws § 33-1-13Verified Sep 10, 2026View source to inherit.
How Much Does a Revocable Living Trust Cost?
An attorney-prepared revocable living trust in Rhode Island runs $3,850Estimate: 10 hours at $385, Clio's Rhode Island Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $5,775Estimate: 15 hours at $385, Clio's Rhode Island Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source for an individual, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
How Much Does a Will Cost?
An attorney-prepared will in Rhode Island runs $1,146Estimate: 3 hours at $382, Clio's Rhode Island Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $2,292Estimate: 6 hours at $382, Clio's Rhode Island Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source, against $0 to $299 up front with an online service, and probate on a $500,000 estate adds about $28,582R.I. Gen. Laws (no statutory schedule; court discretion applies)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source.
How Does SimplyTrust Compare to LegalZoom, Trust & Will, and Other Services?
Compare what it costs to make a trust official across SimplyTrust, LegalZoom, Trust & Will, Rocket Lawyer, and Quicken WillMaker.
How Do I Name a Guardian for My Minor Children?
In Rhode Island, a parent names a guardian for a minor child in a willR.I. Gen. Laws §§ 33-5-4, 33-15.1-7, 33-15.1-4, 33-15.1-8; will execution § 33-5-5Verified Sep 16, 2026View source, and the nomination covers the child until the age of majority, 18R.I. Gen. Laws § 15-12-1Verified Sep 16, 2026View source.
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Rhode Island Estate Planning Resources
In-depth guides covering Rhode Island probate laws, trust requirements, and estate planning strategies.