Rhode Island Voluntary Informal Administration

The test and the tangible-property trap (sections 33-24-1 and 33-9-1)

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 under section 33-9-1, exclusive of tangible personal property of which the decedent was owner, does not exceed $15,000 in value, the voluntary informal procedure is available. Section 33-9-1 requires an inventory, under oath within 90 days after appointment, of all personal property, both tangible and intangible, and all claims, rights, causes of action, and other assets other than real property, with an appraisement as of the date of death.

The consequence is sharp. Tangible property is still inventory-listed and still collectible as a scheduled chattel. Only its value is excluded from the $15,000 computation. An estate with $10,000 in bank accounts and $40,000 in tangible property passes the test on the statute's words. Any summary stating "the estate must be worth less than $15,000" without the tangible exclusion misstates the test. The estate must consist entirely of personal property. No real property is in the lane.

Voluntary informal administration (section 33-24-1)

The affiant may be a 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. After the expiration of 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, the affiant files with that probate court, on a form prescribed by the court, a statement verified by oath or affirmation containing six items: the affiant's name and residential address; the decedent's name, residence, and date of death; the relationship; a schedule of every asset known titled solely in the decedent's name and all assets known or believed titled in the decedent's name as of the date of death, with the estimated value of each; an undertaking to act as voluntary administrator and administer according to law, applying proceeds under the section; and the names and addresses known of the persons who would take under section 33-1-10 in the case of intestacy.

The section states no will condition. It neither requires intestacy nor excludes a will. Do not label it intestate-only. Filing is in the probate court of the city or town where the decedent resided. Rhode Island has no county probate court in this lane.

The statement is filed with a death certificate and a $30.00 fee, and the clerk files it as part of the permanent record. On payment of $5.00, the clerk issues a certification of appointment of voluntary administrator if no other probate proceeding for administration is pending in that court, but only after the certification has been reviewed by the judge of the probate court. No hearing in the probate court is required as a condition for issuance, provided that the probate judge may require a hearing to determine whether the certification should issue. Both halves must be stated. "No hearing required" does not mean no judicial involvement.

On presentation of a copy of the certification, tender of a proper receipt in writing, and surrender of any policy, passbook, note, certificate, or other evidentiary instrument, the voluntary administrator may, as legal representative of the deceased and the estate, receive payment of any debt or obligation in the nature of a debt, or delivery of any chattel or asset scheduled in the statement. Payments and deliveries discharge the liability of the debtor, obligor, or deliverer to all persons, unless at the time of payment or delivery a written demand had been made on the debtor, obligor, or deliverer by a duly appointed executor or administrator. The voluntary administrator may sell any chattel received and negotiate or assign any chose in action to convert it to cash in a reasonable amount.

The waterfall in subsection (e) runs as follows, as far as possible out of the assets that come into the voluntary administrator's hands: first discharge the necessary expenses of the funeral and last sickness of the deceased and the necessary expenses of administration without fee for the voluntary administrator's services, then pay the debts of the deceased in the order specified in section 33-12-11 and any other debts of the estate, then distribute the balance, if any, to the surviving spouse, or, if there is no surviving spouse, to the persons and in the proportions prescribed by section 33-1-10. Section 33-12-11 was not opened, so no debt-order list is stated in this guide. Section 33-1-10 was read only in a 2013 republication, and its $50,000 and half-share fractions must not be carried as the section 33-24 distribution rule. Whether subsection (e) incorporates the section 33-1-10 split when a spouse survives with issue is a reconciliation stated here as a fork, not resolved silently. The voluntary administrator is liable as an executor in the administrator's own wrong to aggrieved persons, and to the rightful executor or administrator if letters are later granted.

The section states no notarization, only oath or affirmation. No publication, no creditor notice, no bond, and no "small estate affidavit" label appear in the section. The instrument is a court-filed statement producing a certification.

Voluntary executors where a will names an executor (section 33-24-2)

Section 33-24-2 states the same estate test, plus the condition that the decedent leaves a will naming a person as executor. Who may file follows an order. First, the named person, if of full age and legal capacity, with no Rhode Island residency requirement stated for the named person. If the named person declines or is unable, any alternate named. If the alternate declines or is unable, then the 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. The same 30 days and no-letters-petition-filed conditions apply, with the same court-prescribed-form sworn statement, contents (1) to (6) as in section 33-24-1, plus a seventh item: the names and addresses of the persons who would take under the will.

The original of the will shall be filed with the statement. If the executor resides outside the state, the executor shall appoint a resident agent to represent the executor in the state. That is the only residency accommodation in the chapter, and it runs the opposite way from section 33-24-1. Never apply one track's residency rule to the other. The same $30 and $5 fees, death certificate, judge review, and no-hearing-unless-required rule apply, and the certification issued is a certification of appointment of executor. The same present-certification, receipt, and surrender channel, discharge rule, chattel-sale power, and liability rule apply. The waterfall in subsection (f) runs through section 33-12-11, then distributes the balance according to the terms of the will, and should that prove impossible, to the surviving spouse, or if there is no surviving spouse, to the persons and in the proportions prescribed by section 33-1-10. Subsection (a)(5) in section 33-24-2 still says the affiant "has undertaken to act as voluntary administrator." That wording is carried verbatim and is not silently corrected to "executor."

Forms and vehicle lanes

The court forms are petitions, not affidavits: PC-1.10, Petition for Voluntary Informal Administrator, under section 33-24-1, and PC-1.9, Petition for Voluntary Informal Executor, under section 33-24-2. Copies read carry revisions 09/17 and 10/17 and were read via mirrors, so current revisions and the current forms index were not confirmed. The form for the administrator track cites intestacy takers as "RIGL 33-1-1 et seq." where the statute cites section 33-1-10. The forms show a notary seal block. Form requirements stay in the form lane with revisions cited. The Providence Probate Court exhibits list includes an "Affidavit of Complete Distribution of Assets Totaling $5000 or Less Without Court Approval" as a single-city exhibit with unopened contents. It is not a statewide lane and is not stated as one here.

Three vehicle instruments are distinct and must never be merged. First, spousal passage under section 31-3.1-37, on republication evidence: unless otherwise provided in the last will and testament, any motor vehicle owned by the decedent belongs to the surviving spouse and title passes to the surviving spouse, with registration on a certified death certificate and the deceased spouse's registrations, and no fee for a new certificate of title to the surviving spouse. The official text of that section was not opened. Second, the Department of Motor Vehicles Sole Heir Affidavit lane for next of kin or adult children with no surviving spouse and no executor, and for parents of the deceased with no surviving spouse or executor, with an original death certificate. The form text was not opened. Third, the Chapter 33-24 voluntary-executor certification, obtainable at the local city or town hall. Transfer-on-death vehicle titles do not exist in Rhode Island on the evidence banked. A 2025 bill that would have allowed them was held for further study and died.

For small-estate procedures in other states, see the Small Estate Affidavits by State directory. For the questions each state's procedure answers, see Small Estate Affidavit Questions.

Source

Sources: R.I. General Laws sections 33-24-1, 33-24-2, and 33-9-1, full texts on webserver.rilegislature.gov read 2026-11-01, history lines ending at P.L. 2011 ch. 363; section 33-1-10, Justia 2013 edition only; Department of Motor Vehicles "Transfer at Death" page, read in full 2026-11-01; Providence Probate Court Administrative Rules exhibit list; form copies PC-1.9 (Rev. 10/17) and PC-1.10 (Rev. 09/17) via mirrors. Facts verified 2026-11-01. Open flags: (1) no amendment after 2011 was confirmed by a session-law search, and the official current texts must be re-opened; (2) section 33-1-10 current official text was not opened, and the distribution fork is stated, not resolved; (3) section 33-12-11 was not opened, so no debt-order list is stated; (4) chapter completeness, including whether any section 33-24-3 exists, was not confirmed by an index re-check; (5) current form revisions, the current forms index, and Providence Exhibit VII contents were not opened; (6) section 31-3.1-37 official text and the Department of Motor Vehicles Fee Table were not opened; (7) nonresident decedent and ancillary rules were not checked, and the Sole Heir Affidavit form text was not opened.

This page explains how the process works and what the official rules say. It is general information, not legal advice. For a dispute about your specific situation, talk to the Rhode Island probate court or a lawyer.