Executor Resignation and Removal Requirements in Rhode Island
At a glance
| Governing law, office, stage, and court | R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 33-18-2 to -7, 33-18-13, 33-22-12, 33-23-7, and 33-9-22, plus statewide Probate Forms PC-1.7 and PC-1.8; already-appointed executor or administrator in the probate court supervising the estate |
|---|---|
| Petitioners, court initiative, and surety role | Any person interested in the estate, any creditor, or the bond surety may complain for removal and obtain a citation. No court-own-motion removal route is stated. Successor or interested person may enforce turnover, and successor must pursue the former bond; after written request and refusal, an interested person may sue on the first bond (§§ 33-18-3, -6) |
| Mandatory removal and disqualification | No surveyed ground commands removal: incapacity, neglected/refused duties, waste, and failure to comply with nonresident-agent requirements all use may or may be cause. Once a removal decree enters, however, it operates despite appeal until final appellate determination (§§ 33-18-2, -13; 33-23-7) |
| Discretionary removal grounds | Court may remove when executor/administrator for any cause becomes incapable of executing the trust, neglects or refuses trust duties, or wastes the administered estate. Failure to comply with §§ 33-18-9 to -12 resident-agent requirements may also be cause (§§ 33-18-2, -13) |
| Resignation form, notice, consent, and acceptance | Fiduciary resigns in writing to the probate court; court may accept only after accounts are settled and may appoint successor on petition. No fixed resignation-notice period or consent substitute appears in § 33-18-4. Current PC-1.7 is signed, notarized, and heard; its decree accepts resignation but withholds discharge until final-account allowance and transfer of all assets and records |
| Removal process, hearing, show cause, and interim relief | Complaint triggers citation to the fiduciary stating the substance or attaching the complaint; service follows § 33-22-12, including personal citation at least 7 days before proceeding or mailed notice to interested persons. Court removes only after hearing. PC-1.8 is a signed/notarized petition identifying grounds and proposed successor. No pre-decree suspension, temporary fiduciary, or protective-order route appears in these provisions (§§ 33-18-2 to -3; 33-22-12) |
| Accounting, liability, bond, compensation, and turnover | Resignation acceptance requires settled accounts; PC-1.7 withholds discharge until final-account allowance and transfer. Successor demands all estate effects, books, securities, documents, and papers; court may compel delivery by contempt, and successor pursues the former bond. New or surviving fiduciary gives a new bond as court requires. No departure-specific compensation rule appears (§§ 33-18-4 to -6) |
| Successor or interim fiduciary, powers, and notice | After sole fiduciary resigns, court shall appoint successor; surviving joint executor continues and may need new bond, while replacement of a resigning joint administrator is discretionary. Successor receives resigning fiduciary's powers unless will says otherwise, takes estate property and records, and may continue pending actions. Sections state no special successor priority or repeated creditor-notice rule (§§ 33-18-4 to -7) |
| Appeal, stay, transition, and reinstatement | Removal decree is effective notwithstanding appeal; qualified successor receives property and proceeds as if no appeal. Final reversal ends successor powers and requires prompt delivery back to predecessor or court-designated person. Earlier lawful acts and good-faith sales remain valid after removal (§§ 33-23-7, 33-9-22) |
Requirements one by one
Rhode Island's Chapter 33-18 uses the older offices executor and administrator and places both resignation and removal in the probate court that already has jurisdiction over the estate.
Removal requires a complaint, citation, and hearing
Under R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-18-3, a person interested in the estate, a creditor, or the surety on the fiduciary's bond may make the complaint. The citation to the executor or administrator must state the complaint's substance or attach a copy.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-18-2 then permits removal after hearing when the fiduciary becomes incapable of executing the trust, neglects or refuses the duties, or wastes the estate. The current official PC-1.8 petition tracks those categories, adds a field for another asserted reason, and asks the court to name a successor or another suitable person.
Resignation is written, account-gated, and court-controlled
R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-18-4 requires the executor or administrator to resign in writing to the supervising probate court. The court may accept the resignation and appoint a successor on petition, but the statute says no resignation may be accepted until the resigning fiduciary has settled the accounts with the court.
The current official PC-1.7 form adds an important implementation layer. Its decree states that an accepted fiduciary is not discharged until the final account is allowed and all assets and records are transferred to the successor. The statute's acceptance gate and the form's discharge gate should both be checked against the court's current order and account status.
Removal is not stayed by an appeal
R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-23-7 makes the removal decree effective despite an appeal. The qualified successor receives the property and acts as though no appeal were pending. If a final decree reverses the removal, the successor's powers cease and the estate property returns promptly to the predecessor or another person the court orders.
What trips people up
The grounds are discretionary, not automatic. Both R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-18-2 and the separate resident-agent ground in R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-18-13 use may language. The mandatory language begins after the court has actually entered a removal decree and the appeal-transition rule applies.
Citation is more specific than a generic hearing notice. R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-22-12 permits personal citation service on known interested parties at least seven days before the proceeding and separately permits mailing notice to interested persons with known addresses. The citation itself identifies the subject, time, and place.
Successor treatment changes with the office configuration. R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-18-5 requires a successor when the resigning fiduciary was sole, lets a joint executor continue subject to a new bond if required, and makes replacement of a resigning joint court-appointed administrator discretionary.
Common questions
What must the departing fiduciary turn over?
R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-18-6 reaches all estate goods and effects, account books, securities, documents, and papers. The probate court may compel delivery by contempt after a petition and hearing, and the successor may sue to recover the property and must pursue the former fiduciary's bond.
Do pending estate actions end when the fiduciary leaves?
No. R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-18-7 says an estate action does not abate because the executor or administrator dies, resigns, or is removed. The successor may appear to prosecute or defend or may be summoned as the court directs.
Does removal invalidate what the fiduciary already did?
Not when the act was lawful. R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-9-22 preserves earlier lawful acts and lawful sales made with purchaser good faith after the executor or administrator is removed or the letters or decree are revoked.
Statutes and sources
- R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 33-18-2 to -7 and 33-18-13 — removal standing and grounds, resignation, successors, turnover, bond enforcement, and continued actions. Official Chapter 33-18 index and linked current sections (accessed August 28, 2026).
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-22-12 — citation service and mailed notice. Official current text (accessed August 28, 2026).
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-23-7 — immediate effect during appeal and restoration after reversal. Official current text (accessed August 28, 2026).
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-9-22 — validity of earlier lawful acts and good-faith sales. Official current text (accessed August 28, 2026).
- Rhode Island Probate Forms PC-1.7 and PC-1.8 — current listed resignation and removal-petition forms and decrees. Official probate-forms page (accessed August 28, 2026).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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