Rhode Island · Estate & Probate
The Rhode Island Wills, Trusts & Estates Guide
Understand Rhode Island's unique probate system, will requirements, trust laws, and advance directives to create an effective estate plan.
2026-2027 Edition · Cited to Rhode Island law · Plain language
Paperback · $19.99
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Add-on: Texas Wills & Powers of Attorney Pack · $39.99
Eleven editable forms that go with this guide, including a will, financial and medical powers of attorney and a living will, with a signing guide. Instant download; Word and PDF.
✓ Free bonus toolkit: register your book after purchase and download checklists, worksheets and a starter template for this topic.
Cited to the statute · Legal information, not legal advice
Understand Rhode Island wills, trusts, and estates in one place
Will signing rules, intestacy, living trusts, powers of attorney, municipal probate courts, small estates, and the Rhode Island estate tax.
ABOUT THIS BOOK
Planning ahead, or settling the estate of someone who has died, starts with knowing Rhode Island's own rules. The state has not adopted the Uniform Probate Code, and each of its 39 cities and towns runs its own probate court.
The Rhode Island Wills, Trusts & Estates Guide explains what makes a will valid: a testator at least 18 and of sane mind, and a signed writing witnessed by two people present at the same time. It explains why handwritten and oral wills are not recognized, and what happens under intestate succession when there is no will.
The guide walks through:
• Living trusts, funding, and the certification of trust for real estate
• The Superior Court's equity jurisdiction over trust matters
• Statutory durable powers of attorney, health care powers, and living wills
• Voluntary informal administration for estates of $15,000 or less in personal property
• Probate steps, creditor claims, inventories, and the 2026 estate tax threshold of $1,838,056
It is written from two points of view: the person making a plan and the executor, trustee, or beneficiary. Chapter 4 answers 25 real-world questions, and the Toolkit includes checklists, a deadlines table, comparison tables, sample documents, and questions to ask an attorney.
Legal information, not legal advice.
WHAT’S INSIDE
- The Foundation: Rhode Island's Common Law and Statutory Framework
- Last Will and Testament: Your Instructions for After Death
- Trusts: A Powerful Tool for Managing Assets
- Planning for Incapacity: Powers of Attorney and Health Care Directives
- Exceptions, Special Circumstances, and Defenses
- Rights and Responsibilities of Key Roles
- Step-by-step procedures from each side, with deadlines at a glance
- 25 real-world questions and answers
- Statute index, key court decisions and official forms
- Toolkit: checklists, comparison tables, glossary and common mistakes to avoid
WHY READERS TRUST THIS GUIDE
Plain language. Cited to the statute. Dated so you know it is current.
Every rule is cited to Rhode Island law so you can verify it.
Cited, so you can check it
Every rule names the section of Rhode Island law it comes from, so you can read the source yourself.
Plain language, no filler
Written to be read start to finish by someone with no legal training, with worked examples.
Dated and updated
Each guide carries a law-current date and new editions ship when the law changes.
Bonus toolkit
Register your book for this topic’s checklists, worksheets and starter template, as soon as they are ready.
QUESTIONS BEFORE YOU BUY
Rhode Island will requirements: what to know before you order.
Straight answers about what the guide is, what it covers and how it reaches you.
Does a will need to be notarized in Rhode Island?
No. A will needs the testator's signature and two witnesses present at the same time (G.L. § 33-5-5). A witness affidavit can be added later to help prove due execution.
Is a handwritten will valid in Rhode Island?
Only if it meets the formal signing and two-witness rules. Rhode Island does not recognize unwitnessed holographic wills, and it does not permit oral wills.
Is this legal advice?
No. It is legal information in plain language, cited to the law, so you understand your options and know what to ask. Reading it creates no attorney-client relationship.
Is it written for Rhode Island?
Yes. This guide is written for Rhode Island law and cites the Rhode Island statutes and rules it relies on. If your case is in another state, choose that state's edition.
KEEP GOING
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PLEASE READ
Legal information, not legal advice. STACKED LEGAL® is a publisher, not a law firm. Buying or reading this book creates no attorney-client relationship and promises no outcome. Laws change; verify current law and talk to a licensed attorney in Rhode Island about your situation.
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