Estate Inventory and Appraisement Requirements in Rhode Island

At a glance

Requirements one by one

The return is oath-backed and due in 90 days

R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-9-1 requires every executor and administrator to return a true inventory under oath to the municipal probate court within 90 days after appointment. The probate court may allow a longer period, but the statute does not state an extension standard.

The probate court accepts and allows inventories under § 8-9-9, and the clerk records them under § 8-9-7. The cited statewide authorities do not create a private-delivery alternative, a beneficiary-copy duty, or an inventory-specific confidentiality or sealing rule.

Real property does not belong in this statutory inventory

Section 33-9-1 covers tangible and intangible personal property and all claims, rights, causes of action, and other assets except real property. It requires an appraisement as of the date of death but does not prescribe fair market value, gross value, net value, or another valuation metric, and it does not require an encumbrance schedule.

R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-9-2 also excludes the decedent's wearing apparel from the inventory and creditor assets. Jewels and watches are expressly outside that apparel exclusion.

The representative appraises unless the court appoints appraisers

Under R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-9-4(a), the executor or administrator appraises the property in the inventory. On a party in interest's petition, the court may appoint one or more appraisers for the assets specified in the petition. Those court appraisers swear to faithful performance.

Section 33-9-4 does not prescribe professional qualifications or disinterest, and it does not authorize the representative simply to replace the statutory appraiser arrangement with a privately selected appraiser certificate.

The public supplement form addresses additional personal property

Public statewide Form PC-10.4 is a Supplemental Inventory tied to § 33-9-1. It lists additional estate personal property and each asset's value, provides signature lines for the fiduciary and appraiser, and includes a notarized oath or affirmation. It does not list real estate for a decedent's estate.

Neither Chapter 33-9 nor the public form states a fixed supplement deadline or a general trigger for correcting an erroneous original value. Local filing requirements remain relevant because Rhode Island probate courts are municipal.

A party in interest may seek a citation for neglect

Public statewide Form PC-5.2 allows a party in interest to petition for a citation when the fiduciary has neglected to file an inventory, render an account, or both. Section 8-9-9 also gives the probate court power to remove an executor or administrator, without stating that every late inventory produces automatic removal.

What trips people up

Death-date appraisement is not statutory fair-market-value language. Section 33-9-1 sets the date but does not define the valuation measure.

The representative is the default appraiser. Independent appraisers enter through an interested party's petition and court appointment, and the appointed appraisers are sworn.

The public supplemental form and court-only universal inventory are different. The Secretary of State makes PC-10.4 public, while identifying the universal inventory as accessible only to probate courts and authorized staff.

Common questions

Does the Rhode Island inventory include real estate?

No. Section 33-9-1 expressly excludes real property from this inventory.

Is an outside appraiser always required?

No. The executor or administrator appraises by default. The court may appoint one or more appraisers after a party in interest petitions.

Can the probate court allow more than 90 days?

Yes. Section 33-9-1 permits a longer period allowed by the court, but does not state the governing standard.

Statutes and sources

• R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-9-1 — 90-day oath-backed return, extension, personal- property scope, real-property exclusion, and death-date appraisement: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-9/33-9-1.htm (accessed 2026-08-10).
• R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-9-2 — wearing-apparel exclusion and jewels/watches exception: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-9/33-9-2.htm (accessed 2026-08-10).
• R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-9-4 — representative appraisal and petition-based, sworn court appraisers: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-9/33-9-4.htm (accessed 2026-08-10).
• R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 8-9-7 and 8-9-9 — clerk recording, probate-court acceptance/allowance, and removal power: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE8/8-9/8-9-7.htm and https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE8/8-9/8-9-9.htm (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Rhode Island Probate Forms PC-10.4 and PC-5.2 — public supplemental- inventory fields and petition for citation after inventory neglect: https://docs.sos.ri.gov/documents/BusinessServices/PC10.4-supplemental-inventory.pdf and https://docs.sos.ri.gov/documents/BusinessServices/PC5.2-petition-to-render-inventory-and-account.pdf (accessed 2026-08-10).