Rhode Island Creditor Claims

Rhode Island gives creditors six months to present a claim, and the clock starts on the day the probate clerk first publishes notice that the personal representative qualified. R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-11-5(a) states the window. Section 33-11-1 names the anchor. Neither one mentions the date of death, so a page that tells you Rhode Island runs a window from the day someone died is describing a different state.

The second Rhode Island fact catches almost everyone. A claim goes to the clerk of the probate court, not to the executor. Filing with the court is what makes the claim presented. This guide walks through that clock, the notice the personal representative has to mail, the 60-day cushion that closes a late creditor's best excuse, how a claim gets disallowed and what happens next, the two-year outer bar on suit, and the nine classes that decide who gets paid when the money runs short. Read it alongside the Rhode Island executor duties guide, the Rhode Island probate timeline, and the Rhode Island debt payment priority guide. Confirm any date that touches your estate with the Probate Court for the decedent's city or town or a licensed Rhode Island attorney.

The Six Months Runs From First Publication

Section 33-11-5(a) reads: claims shall be presented within six months from the first publication or be forever barred, subject to extensions granted under subsection (b).

Which publication? Section 33-11-1 answers it for the whole chapter. Periods of time in chapter 33-11, where no other provision is made, are reckoned from the date of the first publication by the probate clerk of the notice of the qualification of the original personal representative. That single event starts the creditor clock, and it is a dated newspaper advertisement a family can point to.

Section 33-22-11 supplies the mechanics for that advertisement. Notice runs once a week for at least two weeks, with the first advertisement published at least 14 days before the first hearing date named in the notice, in a newspaper printed in English that circulates in the city or town or has general circulation in the county, as the probate court designates. Advertising in a New Shoreham matter runs in a paper distributed in Washington or Providence counties.

Two words in § 33-11-1 do real work. Original means the clock belongs to the first fiduciary who qualified, so replacing an executor later does not restart it. Publication means the estate's own paperwork date is not the trigger. A personal representative who qualified in March and advertised in April is working against an April date.

How a Creditor Presents a Claim

Section 33-11-4(1) sets one route. The claimant files a written statement of the claim with the clerk of the probate court showing its basis, the amount claimed if known, the claimant's name and address, and the claimant's attorney's name and address, then delivers or mails a copy to the personal representative. The claim is deemed presented when filed with the probate court. The claimant has the burden of establishing proper and timely presentation.

Three extra details belong in the statement. A claim not yet due states the date it will become due. A contingent or unliquidated claim states the nature of the condition or uncertainty. A secured claim describes the security. The statute adds that failing to describe any of those accurately does not invalidate the presentation, so a creditor who guesses wrong at a maturity date has not forfeited the claim.

The Rhode Island Department of State publishes the statewide PC-series probate forms, and there is no PC form for presenting a claim. A creditor drafts the statement and files it. What the state does publish for this stage is PC-7.5, Statement Disallowing Claims, which the personal representative uses on the other side of the exchange.

Two housekeeping rules follow. Section 33-11-6 requires every creditor to file its post office address with the claim in the clerk's office and to tell the clerk about any change of address during the administration, because all notices the creditor is entitled to go to that filed address. Section 33-11-7 lets the personal representative or any interested party demand a sworn affidavit from the claimant covering the legal theory, the supporting facts and documentation, the calculation of the amount justly due, whether the estate got credit for payments and offsets, whether and how the claim is secured, and whether it rests on a negotiable instrument.

A contingent claim gets its own handling under § 33-11-9. The creditor presents it inside the ordinary window, and if the probate court finds after a hearing that the claim may become due, it orders the personal representative to deposit assets in the registry of the court sufficient to satisfy the claim, or its proportionate share if the estate is insolvent.

A personal representative who is also a creditor cannot approve his or her own claim. Section 33-11-8 sends that claim to the probate court for examination. A co-executor may represent the estate at the hearing if the court permits, and otherwise the court may appoint a disinterested person to stand in for the estate.

The Lawsuit That Was Already Running

Section 33-11-4(2) carves out an exception worth knowing before anyone files anything. No presentation of claim is required for matters already claimed in proceedings that were pending against the decedent at the time of death. A car accident case filed two years before the death does not need a probate filing to survive.

There is a matching limit. No personal representative has to defend, and no estate is liable, on a claim pending against the decedent until the estate is joined as a party, notice goes to the probate court, and the personal representative is served. Section 33-11-44 completes the picture: a surviving action does not abate, it may be prosecuted to final judgment against the estate, execution on that judgment is stayed, and if the estate is solvent execution may issue once claims of the same class become payable.

The Notice the Personal Representative Mails

Section 33-11-5.1(a) puts a duty on the fiduciary. If the identity of a creditor is known to or reasonably ascertainable by the personal representative, the personal representative shall, within a reasonable period of time after qualification, take steps reasonably necessary to make sure that creditor receives or has received notice of the commencement of the estate.

Subsection (b) hands over a safe harbor. A personal representative is conclusively presumed to have complied by sending a written notice that matches the statutory form in substance, which is the wording the section uses. Rhode Island publishes that text as form PC-9.9, Notice of Commencement of Probate, and it names the court, the docket, the date of qualification, and the address for claims. First class mail to the creditor's last known address is deemed a means of satisfying the section, though the statute says it is not the exclusive means.

Subsection (a) closes with protection for the fiduciary. The personal representative is not liable to a creditor, or to a successor personal representative, for giving or for failing to give this notice. The notice still carries consequences, and the reason sits in the next section.

The 60-Day Cushion That Closes the Late-Claim Door

Section 33-11-5(b) lists four grounds a late creditor can raise: accident, mistake, excusable neglect, or lack of adequate notice of the decedent's estate. Three of those are about the creditor. The fourth is about the estate, and the estate controls it.

Here is the sentence that matters. For purposes of § 33-11-5, a notice of commencement of probate sent under § 33-11-5.1 at least 60 days before the expiration of the six-month claim period is deemed adequate. Where PC-9.9 reaches a known creditor inside the first four months, that creditor generally cannot come back in month eight arguing it never heard about the estate.

Where the mailing never goes out, that ground stays open for every creditor the personal representative could have identified. That is the practical cost of treating § 33-11-5.1 as optional paperwork.

Late Claims, and What a Late Claim Can Reach

A creditor who missed the six months petitions the probate court for leave to present out of time. Section 33-11-5(b) allows the petition only before distribution of the estate, so a closed estate ends the conversation. The court hears the petition after notice to the personal representative, the heirs and the beneficiaries, then may grant leave in its discretion on whatever terms it prescribes.

Winning leave is not the same as getting paid in full. A claim presented out of time, if allowed, is paid out of the assets remaining in the personal representative's hands when notice of the petition was received. A creditor who arrives after most of the money went out to beneficiaries collects from what is left on that date.

Section 33-11-5(c) removes one route the parties might expect. There is no de novo appeal to the superior court from an order or decree of the probate court granting leave to present a claim out of time.

Later assets can reopen the window from the other direction. Under § 33-11-20, if further assets turn up and are recovered after the six months have run, the personal representative applies them to creditors' claims the same way. When the surplus after paying claims in full is large enough in the probate court's opinion, the court may order notice of the receipt of those assets and extend the time for presenting claims by up to six months after that notice.

Disallowing a Claim, and the Clocks It Starts

Rhode Island puts a deadline on the estate's response. Section 33-11-14 gives the personal representative, or any interested party, until six months and 30 days from the first publication to disallow a claim that was presented inside the six months. A claim presented after the six months may be disallowed within 30 days after presentation.

Disallowing takes two steps. A statement disallowing the claim goes into the office of the clerk of the probate court, on form PC-7.5, and written notice goes to the claimant either personally or by registered or certified mail. Section 33-11-30 repeats the notice duty in the insolvency track and adds that when an interested person files the objection, the clerk gives the notice instead.

Miss the deadline and the estate is not without options. Section 33-11-15 lets a personal representative or interested party who failed to disallow in time petition the probate court, at any time before distribution and while the claim is unpaid, for leave to disallow out of time. After a hearing on notice to all interested parties the court may grant leave on terms, and a disallowance filed inside the court's window has the same effect as a timely one.

When the probate court itself disallows a claim in whole or in part, § 33-11-37 requires the probate clerk to mail written notice of the disallowance to the claimant or its attorney within seven days after the court's order is filed.

After a Disallowance: 20 Days, Then 30

Two routes open once a claim is disallowed, and they run on different clocks.

The probate court route is short. Under § 33-11-16, if the estate is solvent, the personal representative, the claimant or an interested party may ask the probate court to determine the disallowed claim by petition filed within 20 days of the disallowance. The court may decline. If no timely request is made, or if the court in its sole discretion finds that pleading, discovery and trial would run better in the district or superior court depending on the amount in controversy, the disallowance is affirmed by order and the claimant must sue under § 33-11-48 within 30 days of that entry or lose the claim forever.

The civil action route is where most disallowed claims end up. Section 33-11-48 splits on timing:

• Disallowed before the six months expire. Suit may be brought in the district or superior court, depending on the amount in controversy, no later than 30 days after the expiration of six months from first publication.
• Disallowed after the six months expire. Suit may be brought within 30 days after notice of the disallowance reaches the claimant, or within 30 days after the probate court affirms the disallowance, whichever is later.

Both routes carry the same consequence for inaction. Section 33-11-45 bars any action on the claim against the personal representative and the estate when the claimant neither asks the probate court to determine the claim nor files suit inside these deadlines, and an affidavit of the personal representative or a certificate from the district or superior court clerk that no action was filed is enough to prove it.

Section 33-11-42 names the remedies. A claimant whose claim the probate court disallowed has one route, a civil action under § 33-11-48. The personal representative or another interested party gets a different one, an appeal of the disallowance for de novo determination in the superior court under § 33-23-1 and following.

The Two-Year Outer Bar on Suit

Two sections limit when a creditor may sue the fiduciary at all, and they sit at opposite ends of the administration.

Section 33-11-49 blocks the front end. No personal representative has to answer a civil action by a creditor of the decedent commenced within six months from the date of the first publication, unless the suit runs under § 9-1-21 or another special statutory provision. The estate gets its claim period without defending lawsuits.

Section 33-11-50 closes the back end, and it carries two conditions rather than one. No personal representative has to answer a creditor's suit, except a suit on the fiduciary's bond or as otherwise provided, unless the suit is commenced within two years from the date of the first publication and before any order of distribution has been made. An order of distribution shuts the door even when the two years have not run.

Read those next to § 33-11-5 and the shape becomes clear. Six months decides whether a claim exists in the probate case. Two years and the distribution decree decide whether the fiduciary can still be sued over it.

Paying the Claims

Section 33-11-19(a) tells the personal representative when to start writing checks. After the six months expire and the statement of disallowed claims is filed under § 33-11-14, the personal representative pays the claims allowed or proved in the order of priority prescribed, after reserving for costs and expenses of administration, taxes, allowances, claims presented but still pending determination or appeal, and claims not yet barred that may still arrive.

Claims that come in later and are not disallowed, or that are disallowed and afterwards proved, are payable only out of assets remaining in the personal representative's hands under subsection (b).

Subsection (c) is the personal-liability trap. A personal representative may pay any just claim that has not been barred at any time, with or without formal presentation. Doing that creates personal liability to another claimant whose claim is allowed and who is injured by the payment in two situations: the payment was made inside the claim period and the fiduciary failed to require the payee to indemnify the estate for a refund needed to pay other claimants, or the payment was made through negligence or willful fault in a way that deprived the injured claimant of priority. Paying the sympathetic creditor early is exactly the move the subsection punishes.

One protection runs the other way. Section 33-11-21 says a personal representative who pays out the whole estate in accordance with law is not required to represent the estate insolvent when further claims show up, and that payment, once the account is allowed, bars any action against the fiduciary.

When the Estate Cannot Pay Everyone

Rhode Island charges the estate before it ranks anyone. Section 33-12-1 makes the real and personal estate chargeable with the expenses of administration, allowances to the widow and family, the funeral charges including the cost of a place of burial if necessary, and the decedent's debts. Section 33-12-2 puts personal property first and reaches real estate only so far as the personal estate falls short, except as a will or another law provides.

Two categories come off the top before any ranking. Section 33-12-11(a) applies the estate to debts and charges only after deducting the charges of administration and any property set off and allowed to the widow and family. Section 33-10-2 explains why the family share disappears from the calculation: property the court allows to the surviving spouse or family, although inventoried, is not assets in the hands of the personal representative.

What remains is applied in this order:

1. The necessary funeral charges of the deceased.
2. The necessary expenses of the last sickness.
3. Debts due to the United States.
4. Debts due to Rhode Island, and all state and town taxes.
5. Past and future child support obligations under § 33-11-51.
6. Wages of labor performed within the six months before the death, not exceeding $1,000 to any one person.
7. Proceeds due the Rhode Island state lottery under § 42-61-6.2.
8. Other debts filed within six months of the first notice.
9. All other debts.

Section 33-12-11(b) governs the arithmetic. Creditors within a class are paid ratably on their respective claims, and no creditor of a class is paid until every earlier class is paid in full. Funeral charges coming ahead of federal debt is a Rhode Island signature, and child support sitting above wages and general creditors comes from the public policy § 33-11-51 declares, which also makes the support obligation survive the parent's death and take precedence over any distribution by will or intestacy.

The Rhode Island debt payment priority guide works through these nine classes with worked examples.

The Insolvency Track

Section 33-11-24 lets a personal representative represent the estate insolvent to the probate court at any time during administration and ask the court to examine and determine the claims. When the court finds the estate probably insolvent, it hears and determines all disallowed claims and the priority of payment among all presented claims. Section 33-11-23 confirms that every disallowed claim against an insolvent estate is heard and decided by the probate court rather than elsewhere.

The procedure runs on published and mailed notice. Section 33-11-28 requires the court to advertise notice of its hearings in one or more newspapers published in Rhode Island, at least once each week for two successive weeks before the hearing, and to give every creditor whose claim is disallowed at least seven days' written notice of the times and places. Section 33-11-29 requires the fiduciary to file a statement disallowing the claims the fiduciary intends to contest at least 14 days before that first hearing date, and to keep filing similar statements as new claims arrive.

Three rules change how much an insolvent estate pays:

• Secured creditors. Under § 33-11-32 the court values the security in cash. Unless the creditor lodges a certificate electing to relinquish the security within 15 days after notice of the allowed amount and the court's valuation, the creditor takes a dividend only on the excess of the claim over that valuation.
• Interest and unmatured claims. Section 33-11-34 has the court allow interest to the date of death on claims that draw interest, and value claims not due at death as of the date of death.
• Mutual debts. Section 33-11-35 reduces the claim to present value, considers any mutual claims subject to offset, and allows the claimant only the balance justly due.

Section 33-11-22 covers the estate that turns insolvent late. Where the personal representative paid out under § 33-11-19 and the remainder cannot satisfy claims presented after the six months, and some of those late claims are disallowed, the fiduciary may represent the estate insolvent and, under a decree of the probate court, divide the remaining estate among the creditors entitled to payment. Section 33-12-12 then has the probate court decree distribution among the creditors whose claims are allowed, once the time for claiming an appeal from the decree on the insolvent-estate report has passed. If further assets reach the fiduciary after that decree, the court makes additional decrees of distribution.

Small Estates Still Answer to Creditors

Rhode Island's voluntary route under § 33-24-1 skips the full administration, not the debts. Subsection (e) tells a voluntary administrator to discharge the necessary funeral and last sickness expenses and the necessary expenses of administration first, without taking a fee for that service, then pay the debts of the deceased in the order specified in § 33-12-11 and any other debts of the estate, and only then distribute the balance.

Subsection (f) supplies the enforcement. A voluntary administrator is liable as an executor in his or her own wrong to all persons aggrieved by that administration, and to the rightful executor or administrator if letters are later granted. Choosing the short route does not lower the standard for paying creditors.

Closing the Estate

Rhode Island makes the creditor-notice question part of the closing paperwork. Section 33-11-5.2 requires the fiduciary, to close an estate whether by accounting or by affidavit of completed administration, to submit a sworn affidavit stating one of two things: notice of the commencement of the estate was mailed to all known or reasonably ascertainable creditors and to the Executive Office of Health and Human Services where the decedent was 55 or older, or no such notice was required because the estate had no known or reasonably ascertainable creditors and the decedent was under 55.

Rhode Island publishes that document as form PC-10.14, Affidavit of Notice to Creditors. It belongs in the closing file described in the Rhode Island probate accounting guide, and a fiduciary who never mailed PC-9.9 has to swear to that fact in writing at the end.

The state Medicaid agency gets its own track. Section 33-11-5.1(c) directs the personal representative to notify the Executive Office of Health and Human Services under § 40-8-15 in every case where the decedent was 55 or older at death. Section 40-8-15(g) adds a filing duty at the front of the case: on filing a petition for admission of a will to probate or for administration for a decedent who was 55 or older, a copy of the petition and a copy of the death certificate go to the office. A petitioner who skips that step where recoverable benefits were paid blocks every distribution and every administration fee, and anyone who received a distribution is liable to the office up to the amount received.

Are Rhode Island Families Liable for the Debts?

Usually not. A decedent's solo debts belong to the estate, and a relative owes them only after co-signing, holding a joint account, or otherwise agreeing to pay. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau gives collectors the same answer when they call surviving family members.

Two Rhode Island wrinkles are worth holding onto. Funeral charges and last sickness expenses sit at the top of § 33-12-11, so the family member who signed a funeral contract is dealing with the class Rhode Island pays first. And a beneficiary who took a distribution while the state had a recoverable Medicaid claim is personally liable to the Executive Office of Health and Human Services up to the amount received under § 40-8-15(g). What each person received, and when, decides the exposure.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do creditors have to present a claim against a Rhode Island estate?

Six months from the first publication. R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-11-5(a) says claims shall be presented within six months from the first publication or be forever barred. Section 33-11-1 defines that anchor as the date the probate clerk first publishes notice of the qualification of the original personal representative, so the window does not run from the date of death.

Where does a Rhode Island creditor file a claim?

With the clerk of the probate court, not with the executor. Section 33-11-4(1) requires a written statement of the claim showing its basis, the amount claimed if known, the claimant's name and address, and the claimant's attorney's name and address. A copy goes to the personal representative. The claim counts as presented on the date it is filed with the court, and the claimant carries the burden of proving proper and timely presentation.

Does a Rhode Island executor have to mail notice to creditors?

Yes, for creditors the executor knows about or can reasonably identify. Section 33-11-5.1(a) requires reasonable steps within a reasonable period after qualification. Mailing the statutory Notice of Commencement of Probate, form PC-9.9, to the creditor's last known address by first class mail creates a conclusive presumption of compliance under subsection (b).

Can a Rhode Island creditor file a claim after six months?

Only with leave of the probate court. Section 33-11-5(b) lets a creditor who missed the window through accident, mistake, excusable neglect or lack of adequate notice petition before distribution of the estate. If the court grants leave and the claim is allowed, it is paid only out of assets still in the personal representative's hands when notice of the petition arrived.

What is the 60-day rule in R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-11-5?

It closes the lack-of-notice excuse. Section 33-11-5(b) says a notice of commencement of probate sent under § 33-11-5.1 at least 60 days before the six-month claim period expires is deemed adequate. A creditor who received that notice on time cannot later argue the estate never told it about the probate.

How long does a Rhode Island creditor have to sue after a claim is disallowed?

Thirty days, measured two ways. Under § 33-11-48, a claim disallowed before the six months expire supports a civil action filed no later than 30 days after the six months run out. A claim disallowed after that supports an action within 30 days after notice of the disallowance or 30 days after the probate court affirms it, whichever is later. Section 33-11-16 also allows a petition asking the probate court to decide the claim within 20 days of the disallowance.

Who gets paid first when a Rhode Island estate cannot cover its debts?

Section 33-12-11(a) sets nine classes after administration charges and the family allowance come off the top: funeral charges, last sickness expenses, debts due the United States, debts due Rhode Island and state and town taxes, child support under § 33-11-51, up to $1,000 of wages per person earned in the six months before death, Rhode Island state lottery proceeds, other debts filed within six months of the first notice, and all other debts. Creditors inside a class share ratably, and no class is paid until every earlier class is paid in full.

Does Rhode Island require notice to the state Medicaid agency?

Yes, when the decedent was 55 or older at death. Section 33-11-5.1(c) directs the personal representative to notify the Executive Office of Health and Human Services in accordance with § 40-8-15. Under § 40-8-15(g), a petitioner who fails to send the petition and death certificate blocks all distributions and administration fees where recoverable benefits were paid.

Related Guides

• Rhode Island Executor Duties: the whole job, from qualifying in your city or town to the closing affidavit.
• Rhode Island Debt Payment Priority: the nine § 33-12-11 classes and how they apply when the estate falls short.
• Rhode Island Probate Timeline: every deadline with the event it counts from, including this six-month window.
• Rhode Island Probate Accounting: the final account, the affidavit of complete administration, and the PC-10.14 creditor affidavit.
• Rhode Island Probate Guide: how an estate opens and which path it takes.
• Rhode Island Probate Courts: all 39 city and town Probate Courts and where to file.

Every estate carries its own facts. Under R.I. Gen. Laws § 8-9-9 the Probate Court for the city or town where the decedent lived is the one that answers questions about your case. Check your dates there or with a licensed Rhode Island attorney, and use the Rhode Island probate hub for the rest of the series.

Sources:

• Title: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-11-1, Computation of time. Publisher: Rhode Island General Assembly, Office of Legislative Data Systems. Publication Date: 2026 General Laws, accessed 2026-08-02. URL: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-11/33-11-1.htm
• Title: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-11-4, Manner of presentation of claims. Publisher: Rhode Island General Assembly, Office of Legislative Data Systems. Publication Date: 2026 General Laws, accessed 2026-08-02. URL: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-11/33-11-4.htm
• Title: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-11-5, Time allowed for presenting claims, late claims, appeal. Publisher: Rhode Island General Assembly, Office of Legislative Data Systems. Publication Date: 2026 General Laws, accessed 2026-08-02. URL: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-11/33-11-5.htm
• Title: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-11-5.1, Duty to notify known or reasonably ascertainable creditors. Publisher: Rhode Island General Assembly, Office of Legislative Data Systems. Publication Date: 2026 General Laws, accessed 2026-08-02. URL: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-11/33-11-5.1.htm
• Title: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-11-5.2, Fiduciary's affidavit regarding notice to creditors and OHHS. Publisher: Rhode Island General Assembly, Office of Legislative Data Systems. Publication Date: 2026 General Laws, accessed 2026-08-02. URL: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-11/33-11-5.2.htm
• Title: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-11-6, Address of creditor filed, notices. Publisher: Rhode Island General Assembly, Office of Legislative Data Systems. Publication Date: 2026 General Laws, accessed 2026-08-02. URL: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-11/33-11-6.htm
• Title: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-11-7, Affidavit to support claim. Publisher: Rhode Island General Assembly, Office of Legislative Data Systems. Publication Date: 2026 General Laws, accessed 2026-08-02. URL: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-11/33-11-7.htm
• Title: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-11-9, Presentation of contingent claim, deposit by personal representative to assure payment. Publisher: Rhode Island General Assembly, Office of Legislative Data Systems. Publication Date: 2026 General Laws, accessed 2026-08-02. URL: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-11/33-11-9.htm
• Title: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-11-14, Disallowance of claim. Publisher: Rhode Island General Assembly, Office of Legislative Data Systems. Publication Date: 2026 General Laws, accessed 2026-08-02. URL: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-11/33-11-14.htm
• Title: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-11-15, Petition for filing of late disallowance. Publisher: Rhode Island General Assembly, Office of Legislative Data Systems. Publication Date: 2026 General Laws, accessed 2026-08-02. URL: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-11/33-11-15.htm
• Title: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-11-16, Probate court determination of disallowed claims against solvent estate. Publisher: Rhode Island General Assembly, Office of Legislative Data Systems. Publication Date: 2026 General Laws, accessed 2026-08-02. URL: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-11/33-11-16.htm
• Title: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-11-19, Payment of claims allowed or proved. Publisher: Rhode Island General Assembly, Office of Legislative Data Systems. Publication Date: 2026 General Laws, accessed 2026-08-02. URL: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-11/33-11-19.htm
• Title: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-11-20, Application of later discovered assets, extension of time for presenting claims. Publisher: Rhode Island General Assembly, Office of Legislative Data Systems. Publication Date: 2026 General Laws, accessed 2026-08-02. URL: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-11/33-11-20.htm
• Title: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-11-32, Secured claims against insolvent estates. Publisher: Rhode Island General Assembly, Office of Legislative Data Systems. Publication Date: 2026 General Laws, accessed 2026-08-02. URL: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-11/33-11-32.htm
• Title: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-11-45, Claim barred by failure to prove or prosecute. Publisher: Rhode Island General Assembly, Office of Legislative Data Systems. Publication Date: 2026 General Laws, accessed 2026-08-02. URL: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-11/33-11-45.htm
• Title: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-11-48, Action on disallowed claim. Publisher: Rhode Island General Assembly, Office of Legislative Data Systems. Publication Date: 2026 General Laws, accessed 2026-08-02. URL: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-11/33-11-48.htm
• Title: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-11-49, Actions barred within time for filing claims. Publisher: Rhode Island General Assembly, Office of Legislative Data Systems. Publication Date: 2026 General Laws, accessed 2026-08-02. URL: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-11/33-11-49.htm
• Title: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-11-50, Limitation of actions by creditors of decedent. Publisher: Rhode Island General Assembly, Office of Legislative Data Systems. Publication Date: 2026 General Laws, accessed 2026-08-02. URL: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-11/33-11-50.htm
• Title: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-12-11, Order of preference of debts. Publisher: Rhode Island General Assembly, Office of Legislative Data Systems. Publication Date: 2026 General Laws, accessed 2026-08-02. URL: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-12/33-12-11.htm
• Title: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-12-1, Estate chargeable with debts. Publisher: Rhode Island General Assembly, Office of Legislative Data Systems. Publication Date: 2026 General Laws, accessed 2026-08-02. URL: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-12/33-12-1.htm
• Title: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-10-2, Property allowed not assets in hands of executor or administrator. Publisher: Rhode Island General Assembly, Office of Legislative Data Systems. Publication Date: 2026 General Laws, accessed 2026-08-02. URL: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-10/33-10-2.htm
• Title: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-22-11, Notice by advertisement. Publisher: Rhode Island General Assembly, Office of Legislative Data Systems. Publication Date: 2026 General Laws, accessed 2026-08-02. URL: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-22/33-22-11.htm
• Title: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-24-1, Voluntary informal administration of small estates. Publisher: Rhode Island General Assembly, Office of Legislative Data Systems. Publication Date: 2026 General Laws, accessed 2026-08-02. URL: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-24/33-24-1.htm
• Title: R.I. Gen. Laws § 40-8-15, Lien on deceased recipient's estate for assistance. Publisher: Rhode Island General Assembly, Office of Legislative Data Systems. Publication Date: 2026 General Laws, accessed 2026-08-02. URL: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE40/40-8/40-8-15.htm
• Title: R.I. Gen. Laws § 8-9-9, General probate jurisdiction. Publisher: Rhode Island General Assembly, Office of Legislative Data Systems. Publication Date: 2026 General Laws, accessed 2026-08-02. URL: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE8/8-9/8-9-9.htm
• Title: Probate Forms. Publisher: Rhode Island Department of State, Business Services Division. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-08-02. URL: https://www.sos.ri.gov/divisions/business-services/probate-forms
• Title: PC-9.9 Notice of Commencement of Probate. Publisher: Rhode Island Department of State. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-08-02. URL: https://docs.sos.ri.gov/documents/BusinessServices/PC9.9-notice-of-commencement-of-probate.pdf
• Title: PC-10.14 Affidavit of Notice to Creditors. Publisher: Rhode Island Department of State. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-08-02. URL: https://docs.sos.ri.gov/documents/BusinessServices/PC10.14-affidavit-of-notice-to-creditors.pdf
• Title: Does a person's debt go away when they die? Publisher: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-08-02. URL: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/does-a-persons-debt-go-away-when-they-die-en-1463/

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