Rhode Island: Personal Property Memorandum Requirements
The short answer
Rhode Island has no general statute authorizing a will-referenced, freely updatable personal property memorandum. R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-5-5 instead requires an ordinary will to be written and signed, with the testator signing or acknowledging the signature before two or more witnesses present at the same time and the witnesses subscribing in the testator's presence. A binding later change or revocation must use a route allowed by § 33-5-10.
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This is the general rule in Rhode Island. Ask about your specific facts and see which parts of current Rhode Island law apply, with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law and device recognized | No general separate-writing device in R.I. Gen. Laws tit. 33 or ch. 33-5; ordinary will law applies (§ 33-5-5) |
|---|---|
| Will reference required | N/A Title 33 has no statute making a will's reference to an informal property list effective |
| Eligible property and exclusions | No memorandum-specific tangible-property definition, exclusion list, or value cap |
| Signature, handwriting, and date | No memorandum formality; an ordinary will must be written, signed, and attested by two or more witnesses present together (§ 33-5-5) |
| Item and devisee identification | No memorandum-specific item-and-recipient identification rule |
| Timing before or after the will | No statutory before-or-after-will list route |
| Alteration, replacement, and conflict priority | No informal alteration or priority rule; later binding change or revocation must follow ordinary will/codicil law (§ 33-5-10) |
| Probate use, effect, and failure consequence | No special memorandum admissibility, filing, delivery, lapse, or fallback rule; a dispositive writing must qualify under ordinary will/codicil law |
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Rhode Island uses ordinary will formalities, not a list statute
The current R.I. Gen. Laws tit. 33 chapter index and complete chapter 33-5
section index contain no provision authorizing a will-referenced, freely
updatable writing for tangible personal property.
A separate paper therefore does not gain the special effect that a personal
property memorandum statute gives it in some states. The ordinary statutory
route is a valid will under R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-5-5. It must be in writing and
signed by the testator or by another person at the testator's express direction
and in the testator's presence. The testator must sign or acknowledge the
signature before two or more witnesses present at the same time, and the
witnesses must attest and subscribe in the testator's presence.
What trips people up
A will's reference to an informal list is not a substitute for a statute or
ordinary testamentary execution. Chapter 33-5 contains no separate-list rule
that relaxes the signature and witness requirements for a later property
schedule.
Rhode Island also supplies no memorandum-specific property exclusions, value
ceiling, date rule, item-and-recipient formula, alteration formality, competing-
writing priority, or probate filing rule. Those features should not be borrowed
from another state's statute.
For later binding changes, § 33-5-10 recognizes another will or codicil executed
under § 33-5-5, a revocation writing executed like a will, or specified acts of
destruction done with revocatory intent. It does not create an informal cross-
out, replacement-list, or newest-memorandum route.
Common questions
Can the will simply refer to a list created later?
Title 33 and chapter 33-5 contain no statute giving that arrangement special
effect. A later paper intended to operate as a binding testamentary instrument
must satisfy ordinary will or codicil requirements.
Does a handwritten paper avoid the witness requirement?
Section 33-5-5 states no general exception for a wholly handwritten will. The
ordinary will must be attested by two or more witnesses present at the same
time as the section directs.
Does the state set a property type or value limit for a memorandum?
No. Because there is no memorandum statute, chapter 33-5 has no memorandum-
specific eligible-property list, exclusion, per-item limit, or aggregate cap.
Can an informal new list revoke an older testamentary gift?
Section 33-5-10 does not provide that route. It identifies another properly
executed will or codicil, a formal revocation writing, or specified destructive
acts done with revocatory intent.
Statutes and sources
- R.I. Gen. Laws tit. 33 and ch. 33-5 — current probate-title chapter index
and complete execution-and-revocation section index. Rhode Island General
Assembly: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/INDEX.HTM and
https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-5/INDEX.HTM (accessed
2026-08-11). - R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-5-5 — ordinary will writing, signature,
acknowledgment, and witness requirements. Rhode Island General Assembly:
https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-5/33-5-5.htm
(accessed 2026-08-11). - R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-5-10 — later will or codicil, formal revocation
writing, and destructive-act routes. Rhode Island General Assembly:
https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE33/33-5/33-5-10.htm
(accessed 2026-08-11).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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