Personal Property Memorandum Requirements in Rhode Island
At a glance
| 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 |
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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