Rhode Island timeline
Rhode Island probate timeline: the 30-day wait and creditor deadlines
The simplified route starts 30 days after death.
Rhode Island creditor deadlines are set out below against the event each one runs from.
Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch October 3, 2026.
The one date this page can source
The voluntary informal administration of small estates route requires 30 days to elapse from the date of death. This is a precondition: the affidavit or petition cannot be presented before it runs, regardless of how straightforward the estate is.
(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) TheR.I. Gen. Laws § 33-24-1 — Rhode Island General Assembly; P.L. 2011, ch. 363, § 10..
Creditor deadlines
- From publication of notice to creditors
- Six months from first publication (§ 33-11-5(a)), subject to a court-granted late-claim petition before distribution.
- From actual notice to a known creditor
- The personal representative must, within a reasonable time after qualification, notify known or reasonably ascertainable creditors of the commencement of the estate (§ 33-11-5.1); notice at least 60 days before the six-month period expires is deemed adequate. This is not a separate standalone bar.
- Outer limit, running from death
- No separate death-based outer limit was established from the harvested sections; late claims may be sought before distribution under § 33-11-5(b).
How these combine. 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.
(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.R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-11-5 — Rhode Island General Assembly; P.L. 2008, ch. 307, § 2..
General sequence: first week, how long probate takes.
Rhode Island record: 7/7 verified, 21 matched checks, latest source re-fetch October 3, 2026. Source record · method · report a correction