Rhode Island Probate Types: Voluntary Informal Administration vs Full Administration
Rhode Island runs every estate through the probate court of one of its 39 cities and towns, and the first question is whether the estate can be settled on a sworn statement or has to open a full administration.
Compare eligibility, timing, court involvement, and local verification points
How to Compare Rhode Island Probate Types
Rhode Island has no county probate court. Its five counties hold no county government and run no court. R.I. Gen. Laws § 8-9-9 gives each probate court jurisdiction "in the town or city in which it is established", so there are 39 probate courts, one for each city and town, and R.I. Gen. Laws § 8-9-11 sends a decedent’s estate to the court for the place where the decedent lived. In most municipalities the town or city clerk is also the probate clerk under R.I. Gen. Laws § 8-9-6, though several home-rule charter municipalities separate the two offices. An appeal from a probate decree goes to the Superior Court and is heard de novo.
Two facts decide which path an estate takes: whether the decedent owned Rhode Island real property in their own name, and how much countable personal property there is. An estate consisting entirely of personal property, with $15,000 or less of value that would otherwise be listed on a R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-9-1 inventory excluding tangible personal property, can be settled on a sworn statement under R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-24-1, or § 33-24-2 where there is a will. Everything else opens a full administration. Rhode Island has no summary administration and no muniment-of-title track, so those two sections are the whole of the small-estate menu.
Voluntary Informal Administration vs Full Administration at a Glance
Swipe sideways to see the full table.
| Category | Voluntary Informal Administration | Full Administration | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where it is filed | The PC-1.10 or PC-1.9 statement goes to the probate court of the decedent’s city or town, and the clerk files it as a permanent record | The PC-1.5 or PC-1.1 petition goes to the same court, but the court admits the will or grants administration and qualifies a fiduciary | Voluntary Informal Administration |
| Cost to open | A flat $30 to file plus $5 for the certification, so $35 in statutory fees whatever the estate holds | One per cent of the personal property under R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-22-21(a), so $250 on $25,000 and $1,500 on anything at or above $150,000 | Voluntary Informal Administration |
| Who can use it | Limited to an estate consisting entirely of personal property with $15,000 or less of countable value, filed by a listed relative or interested party who lives in Rhode Island | No dollar cap and no residency condition on the estate. The only route for a house, a larger estate or a contested will | Full Administration |
| Authority granted | A certification of appointment of voluntary administrator or voluntary executor, which banks and transfer agents accept for the scheduled assets | Letters and certificates of appointment, which are what a title company, a court or a reluctant institution asks to see | Full Administration |
| Who gets paid | Nobody. R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-24-1(e) has the voluntary administrator serve "without fee for his or her services" | The executor or administrator is allowed such compensation as the probate court considers just under R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-14-8, approved on form PC-7.4 with the account | Voluntary Informal Administration |
| Timeline | About 1 to 3 months, after a 30-day wait from the death, with no hearing required unless the judge orders one | About 9 to 15 months, because the six-month creditor period and the nine-month estate tax statement both have to run | Voluntary Informal Administration |
| Filings that still apply | Debts are still paid in the R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-12-11 order, and the § 44-23-1 statement to the tax administrator is still due | The same statement is due, plus an inventory of all personal property within 90 days of appointment and a final account or an affidavit of complete administration | Voluntary Informal Administration |
Main Rhode Island Probate Options
| Probate Type | Threshold | Filing Fee | Timeline | Real Estate | Attorney | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Voluntary Informal Administration R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-24-1 (form PC-1.10) | An estate consisting entirely of personal property, with $15,000 or less of value that would otherwise be listed on a R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-9-1 inventory, exclusive of the decedent’s tangible personal property. | $30 to file plus $5 for the certification, so $35 in statutory fees and about $39 with the $4 records assessment | About 1 to 3 months, after the 30-day wait from the death that has to run first | No. Any solely owned Rhode Island real property closes the route | No | Small intestate estates of accounts and belongings where nobody needs letters |
Voluntary Executor R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-24-2 (form PC-1.9) | The same $15,000 ceiling and the same personal-property-only rule, where the decedent left a will naming an executor. | $30 to file plus $5 for the certification, so $35 in statutory fees and about $39 with the $4 records assessment | About 1 to 3 months, after the same 30-day wait | No | No | Small testate estates where the will names someone willing to act |
Full Administration R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 8-9-11, 33-8-8 and 33-22-2 (forms PC-1.5 and PC-1.1) | No dollar cap. The default path whenever the voluntary route is unavailable, which includes ANY estate holding solely owned Rhode Island real property and any estate whose countable personal property exceeds $15,000. | One per cent of the decedent’s personal property under R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-22-21(a), never below $30 and never above $1,500, plus the $4 records assessment | About 9 to 15 months, including the six-month creditor-claim period that runs from the first publication | Yes | No statutory requirement; counsel is usual where there is real estate, a business, or a disagreement | Any estate with a house, more than $15,000 of countable personal property, or a need for court-issued authority |
Will Filed With No Assets R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-7-5(b); fee at § 33-22-21(a)(4) (form PC-1.4) | There are no probate assets to administer. | $30, plus the $4 records assessment | About a month | No | No | A will that has to go on the record when everything passed by survivorship or beneficiary designation |
Ancillary Administration R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 33-7-18 to 33-7-25; fee at § 33-22-21(a) (forms PC-1.3 and PC-1.6) | A decedent who lived outside Rhode Island but owned Rhode Island property. | The same one per cent, computed on the decedent’s personal property LOCATED IN RHODE ISLAND, with the same $30 floor and $1,500 ceiling | About 6 to 12 months, running alongside the home-state proceeding | Yes | Counsel is usual, because a second state proceeding runs alongside the home-state one | A nonresident decedent whose Rhode Island house, land or accounts have to be transferred |
Insolvent Estate R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 33-11-21 to 33-11-34 and § 33-12-11 | The estate’s assets are not enough to pay its debts. | The same one per cent scale on the personal property, with the $30 floor | About 9 to 18 months | Yes | Counsel is strongly advised, because creditors are being paid in a statutory order and a shortfall invites objections | Estates where the funeral, the last illness and the debts outrun the assets |
Voluntary Informal Administration
R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-24-1 (form PC-1.10)
Small intestate estates of accounts and belongings where nobody needs letters
Threshold: An estate consisting entirely of personal property, with $15,000 or less of value that would otherwise be listed on a R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-9-1 inventory, exclusive of the decedent’s tangible personal property.
Filing Fee: $30 to file plus $5 for the certification, so $35 in statutory fees and about $39 with the $4 records assessment
Timeline: About 1 to 3 months, after the 30-day wait from the death that has to run first
Real Estate: No. Any solely owned Rhode Island real property closes the route
Attorney: No
Voluntary Executor
R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-24-2 (form PC-1.9)
Small testate estates where the will names someone willing to act
Threshold: The same $15,000 ceiling and the same personal-property-only rule, where the decedent left a will naming an executor.
Filing Fee: $30 to file plus $5 for the certification, so $35 in statutory fees and about $39 with the $4 records assessment
Timeline: About 1 to 3 months, after the same 30-day wait
Real Estate: No
Attorney: No
Full Administration
R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 8-9-11, 33-8-8 and 33-22-2 (forms PC-1.5 and PC-1.1)
Any estate with a house, more than $15,000 of countable personal property, or a need for court-issued authority
Threshold: No dollar cap. The default path whenever the voluntary route is unavailable, which includes ANY estate holding solely owned Rhode Island real property and any estate whose countable personal property exceeds $15,000.
Filing Fee: One per cent of the decedent’s personal property under R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-22-21(a), never below $30 and never above $1,500, plus the $4 records assessment
Timeline: About 9 to 15 months, including the six-month creditor-claim period that runs from the first publication
Real Estate: Yes
Attorney: No statutory requirement; counsel is usual where there is real estate, a business, or a disagreement
Will Filed With No Assets
R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-7-5(b); fee at § 33-22-21(a)(4) (form PC-1.4)
A will that has to go on the record when everything passed by survivorship or beneficiary designation
Threshold: There are no probate assets to administer.
Filing Fee: $30, plus the $4 records assessment
Timeline: About a month
Real Estate: No
Attorney: No
Ancillary Administration
R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 33-7-18 to 33-7-25; fee at § 33-22-21(a) (forms PC-1.3 and PC-1.6)
A nonresident decedent whose Rhode Island house, land or accounts have to be transferred
Threshold: A decedent who lived outside Rhode Island but owned Rhode Island property.
Filing Fee: The same one per cent, computed on the decedent’s personal property LOCATED IN RHODE ISLAND, with the same $30 floor and $1,500 ceiling
Timeline: About 6 to 12 months, running alongside the home-state proceeding
Real Estate: Yes
Attorney: Counsel is usual, because a second state proceeding runs alongside the home-state one
Insolvent Estate
R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 33-11-21 to 33-11-34 and § 33-12-11
Estates where the funeral, the last illness and the debts outrun the assets
Threshold: The estate’s assets are not enough to pay its debts.
Filing Fee: The same one per cent scale on the personal property, with the $30 floor
Timeline: About 9 to 18 months
Real Estate: Yes
Attorney: Counsel is strongly advised, because creditors are being paid in a statutory order and a shortfall invites objections
* Rhode Island charges no flat fee to open an estate. R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-22-21(a) charges one per cent of the decedent’s PERSONAL property over which the court has jurisdiction, never below $30 and never above $1,500, and R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-9-1 keeps real property out of the inventory and therefore out of the fee base. The fee stops responding to estate size once personal property reaches $150,000. Ten separate $30 flat fees are enumerated at § 33-22-21(a)(1) through (10), a certificate of appointment is $5, and § 33-22-21(c) charges $1.50 per page for copies and $3.00 to certify a document. R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-8.1-20(b) adds a flat $4.00 Rhode Island Historical Records Trust assessment to every instrument filed under § 33-22-21, so the counter total runs from $34 to $1,504. The amounts are the same in all 39 courts because § 33-22-29 forbids a local administrative rule from varying any provision of Title 33.
Unfamiliar terms in the comparison? The Rhode Island probate glossary defines them in plain language.
Not sure which type applies to you?
Answer a few questions to see which Rhode Island probate path fits this estate.
Take the 2-minute assessment