Tools for Planning and Settling an Estate in Rhode Island

After a death in Rhode Island, the estate either qualifies for the simplified procedure for estates under $15,000 or goes through probate, where creditors have 6 months to file claims after notice.

All Planning ahead Settling an estate

36 tools for Rhode Island

How Much Does Probate Cost?

Probate on a $500,000 estate in Rhode Island costs an estimated $28,582. Attorney fees run 2.1% to 3.4% of the estate under a reasonable-compensation standard.

Use Calculator

How Much Can an Executor Charge?

Rhode Island pays executors reasonable compensation, typically 2.2% to 3.8% of the estate.

Use Calculator

Who Inherits Without a Will?

Without a will in Rhode Island, descendants divide what passes to them per stirpes, and an heir must survive the decedent by 120 hours to inherit.

Use Calculator

What's Fair Trustee Compensation?

In Rhode Island, trustee compensation follows "reasonable compensation" (UTC § 708 or equivalent) unless the trust instrument sets a different amount.

Use Calculator

How Much Are Estate & Inheritance Taxes?

Rhode Island levies an estate tax above $1,838,056 (top rate 16%) and no inheritance tax; the federal estate tax applies above $15,000,000.

Use Calculator

How Many Death Certificates Do I Need?

In Rhode Island, certified death certificates come from the Rhode Island Department of Health - Center for Vital Records; the first copy costs $22, additional copies $18 each.

Use Calculator

Do I Need Probate?

In Rhode Island, estates with personal property of $15,000 or less use the Voluntary Informal Administration, 30 days after death, a court filing short of full probate.

Check Now

What Does Estate Planning Actually Cost?

An attorney-prepared revocable trust in Rhode Island runs $3,850 to $5,775 and a simple will $1,146 to $2,292, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.

Compare Costs

How Much Does a Revocable Living Trust Cost?

An attorney-prepared revocable living trust in Rhode Island runs $3,850 to $5,775 for an individual, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.

Compare Costs

How Much Does a Will Cost?

An attorney-prepared will in Rhode Island runs $1,146 to $2,292, against $0 to $299 up front with an online service, and probate on a $500,000 estate adds about $28,582.

Compare Costs

How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?

In Rhode Island, four years at a public university cost about $116,656 and the cost of living is near the U.S. average; the state levies an estate tax above $1,838,056.

Use Calculator

What Taxes Apply to My Inheritance?

In Rhode Island, beneficiaries owe no inheritance tax and the estate pays any estate tax above $1,838,056; probate assets arrive when the estate closes, 6 months to 12 months for a simple estate.

Learn More

How Does Step-Up in Basis Work?

Inherited assets in Rhode Island take a basis reset to fair market value on the date of death, and the gain on a later sale faces ordinary income tax at the state's regular rates.

Use Calculator

Are My Beneficiary Designations Protected?

Rhode Island does not revoke an ex-spouse as beneficiary at divorce; employer plans under ERISA follow federal rules either way, so a 401(k) beneficiary changes only by a new designation.

Check Now

What Are the Estate Laws in My State?

Probate on a $500,000 estate in Rhode Island costs an estimated $28,582 and takes 6 months to 12 months for a simple estate, with attorney fees of typically 2.1% to 3.4% of the estate. Estates under $15,000 can use a small-estate procedure instead.

Check Your State

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.

Compare Services

How Do I Name a Guardian for My Minor Children?

In Rhode Island, a parent names a guardian for a minor child in a will, and the nomination covers the child until the age of majority, 18.

Check Your State

What Are the Burial and Cremation Laws in My State?

Rhode Island allows you to name your own agent in a signed, written document, and that designation takes priority over the statutory order of next of kin who otherwise control disposition of the remains.

Check Your State

How Do I Sign Estate Documents?

Find witness, notary, and remote signing requirements for all 50 states.

Check Requirements

Will My Estate Documents Transfer?

Check if estate planning documents signed in one state are valid in another.

Check Portability

1 2

Rhode Island allows estates with personal property of $15,000 or less to use the Voluntary Informal Administration, which avoids full probate administration. In Rhode Island the affidavit is filed with the court, and holders honor the court's certified copy — but no letters testamentary or of administration issue. The waiting period is 30 days after death.

Probate costs in Rhode Island typically include attorney fees of typically 2.1% to 3.4% of the estate, executor fees, court filing fees, and publication costs. On a $500,000 estate, total costs run about $28,582, roughly 6% of estate value, varying with complexity. Estimate executor compensation separately with the Rhode Island executor fee calculator.

Rhode Island intestacy law decides. Rhode Island follows separate property rules: the surviving spouse's share depends on whether children survive and whose children they are. The estate passes to the closest surviving relatives, in most cases the spouse and children first, then in order: Parents; Brothers and sisters and their descendants; Grandparents (paternal and maternal moieties); Uncles and aunts and their descendants; Great-grandparents, great uncles and aunts, and remoter kindred; Your surviving spouse, or your spouse's kindred; The state (escheat).

Yes. Rhode Island imposes a state estate tax on an estate above $1,838,056, separate from and in addition to the federal estate tax. Rhode Island has no inheritance tax on the beneficiary.

A will in Rhode Island costs what the provider charges. An online service runs $0 to $299 up front. An attorney in Rhode Island charges around $382 an hour for wills and estates, which puts a simple will at $1,146 to $2,292. The document is only part of the cost: probate adds about $28,582 on a $500,000 estate in fees the heirs pay later.

Free Estate Planning Tools in Rhode Island

The tools are grouped by who you are. Planning ahead covers the questions that come before any document is drafted: what a will, a trust, or a full plan costs in your state, whether a trust or a transfer on death deed changes anything for you, and how documents are signed. Someone I love died covers the first weeks: death certificates, burial and cremation rules, and whether the estate needs probate at all. The executor and trustee groups follow an administration from appointment to distribution, and inheriting covers what a death triggers in estate, inheritance, and income tax.

In Rhode Island, probate on a $500,000 estate costs about $28,582, and a simple estate closes in 6 months to 12 months. Rhode Island pays executors reasonable compensation, typically 2.2% to 3.8% of the estate. Rhode Island levies an estate tax above $1,838,056 and no inheritance tax.

SimplyTrust Editorial·Updated October 15, 2026

Legal Sources

Show 5 more sources

Data sourced from Rhode Island statutes and official state code. How we research.