Rhode Island: Petition to Probate a Will Requirements

Requirements one by one

Governing law and proceeding type

Rhode Island's ordinary opening filing is a petition to probate the will and,
when requested, issue letters testamentary or letters of administration with the
will annexed. Probate courts are municipal courts: each city or town's court has
probate jurisdiction, and statewide Form PC-1.5 combines the request to admit the
will with the request to appoint a fiduciary.

Court and venue

Section 8-9-11 directs a resident decedent's will to the probate court of the city
or town where the decedent lived. For a nonresident, a Rhode Island city or town
containing the decedent's rights, credits, or real or personal estate may act.
The first local probate for a nonresident bars another original probate elsewhere
in the state.

Who may petition

The petitioner does not have to be the executor named in the will. Section
33-7-9 expressly addresses a petition in which one or more named executors are not
parties, and Form PC-1.5 separately asks for the petitioner's identity and
relationship and the proposed nominee or co-nominee. The cited provisions do not
state a closed list of eligible petitioners.

Petition contents

Every probate petition must be written and signed. For probate of a will, §
33-22-2 also requires an oath and the proceeding title; petitioner name and
address; the decedent's domicile and other jurisdiction facts; the known spouse,
heirs, and will beneficiaries; protected-person details; and an affidavit of
efforts if no heirs can be listed.

Statewide Form PC-1.5 adds the decedent's residence and death date, estimated
personal estate, the date of the will or codicil offered, the requested type of
letters, nominee and co-nominee details, relationships, and notarized
verification. Under § 33-22-16, probate courts may require the statewide
forms.

Original will, copies, and lodging

The ordinary form refers to the “accompanying instrument.” If the will was
already delivered to the proper court under § 33-7-5, the petition may refer to
that deposited will instead. After proof, § 33-6-32 keeps the original on file in
the probate court. These ordinary provisions do not authorize substituting a
photocopy merely because the domestic original is missing.

Filing or production deadline

The thirty-day clocks attach to custody and the nominee, not to every potential
petitioner. Under § 33-7-5, a custodian must deliver the will within thirty days after notice of
death, either to the proper court or to the named executors; an executor who
receives it then has thirty days to deliver it to court. A named executor already
holding the will must present it within thirty days after death or after learning
of the nomination. Failure is treated as declining the office. The cited ordinary
petition statutes state no separate universal deadline for another petitioner to
open probate (§ 33-8-3).

Proof and self-proving route

In an unopposed proceeding, § 33-7-26 makes one subscribing witness's oral
testimony sufficient. An affidavit by one or more subscribing witnesses also
works and may be executed before or after the testator's death; the statute gives
a model affidavit.

If the subscribing witnesses cannot provide the ordinary proof because they are
dead, incapable, away in qualifying service, or otherwise unavailable in that
service, § 33-7-10 allows at least two credible disinterested witnesses to prove
the testator's handwriting, or other sufficient handwriting proof. The court may
still require an available subscribing witness or other evidence.

Notice, hearing, and objections

Rhode Island uses advance notice and a hearing. Under § 33-22-3, the petitioner mails notice of
the filing, its nature, and the hearing time and place to the spouse, heirs,
beneficiaries, and other persons listed under § 33-22-2. Mailing is due at least
ten days before the hearing, or three weeks when the address is outside the
continental United States. The petitioner files an affidavit identifying the
recipients, addresses, mailing date, and notice.

Publication under § 33-22-11 runs once a week for at least two weeks, with the first advertisement
at least fourteen days before the first hearing date. If every interested party
waives notice in writing and assents, § 33-22-5 permits the court to hear the petition without
publication or further notice. A named executor who was not a petition party gets
the separate clerk's mailed notice after probate under § 33-7-9.

Executor qualification, bond, and letters

After the will is probated, § 33-8-1 directs letters to the named executor only if
the nominee is legally competent and gives the required bond. A nominee under
eighteen cannot yet qualify under § 33-8-2. Form PC-3.4 records acceptance or declination, and a
nominee who refuses or does not qualify within thirty days after probate or notice
may be passed over under § 33-8-4 for another named executor or a suitable administrator with
the will annexed.

Bond is not wholly eliminated by a no-bond direction in the will. Under § 33-17-4,
says that direction exempts only surety, and the court may still require surety.
The probate form's decree appoints the fiduciary upon filing bond; failure to file
an approved required bond within thirty days after appointment may be treated as
declining the trust (§ 33-17-5).

What trips people up

• The nominee and petitioner can be different people. A named executor who
  is not a party receives the clerk's notice after the will is probated.
• Two different thirty-day rules can apply. One governs delivery of a will
  held by a custodian; another can make a named executor's delay a declination of
  office.
• The witness affidavit is conditioned on no objection. Section 33-7-26's
  one-witness or affidavit route begins with “in the absence of objection.”
• A will can waive surety, not the bond itself. The court fixes the bond and
  retains authority to require surety.

Common questions

Does every named executor have to join the petition?

No. Section 33-7-9 expressly contemplates named executors who are not parties.
After probate, the clerk mails notice to a nonparty executor whose address is
known or can be found.

Can everyone waive the newspaper publication?

Yes, if all interested parties waive the required notice in writing and assent to
immediate action. Section 33-22-5 then permits the court to hear the case without
publication or further notice.

Does a witness affidavit automatically prove a contested will?

No. The streamlined oral-testimony or affidavit rule in § 33-7-26 applies in the
absence of objection. The unavailable-witness fallback also allows the court to
require additional evidence.

Statutes and sources

• R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 8-9-9 and 8-9-11 — municipal probate-court jurisdiction
  and resident/nonresident venue. Official § 8-9-9
  and official § 8-9-11
  (accessed 2026-08-09).
• R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 33-22-1 to -3, 33-22-5, 33-22-11, and 33-22-16 —
  petition form and contents, mailed and published notice, waiver, and statewide
  forms. Official Chapter 33-22
  (accessed 2026-08-09).
• R.I. Probate Form PC-1.5 — petition facts, offered will, requested letters,
  verification, and decree. Official PC-1.5 PDF
  (accessed 2026-08-09).
• R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 33-7-5, 33-7-9, 33-7-10, and 33-7-26; § 33-6-32 —
  will delivery, nonparty-executor notice, ordinary and unavailable-witness proof,
  and original-will retention. Official Chapter 33-7
  and official § 33-6-32
  (accessed 2026-08-09).
• R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 33-8-1 to -4 — named-executor letters, minority,
  presentation and qualification clocks, and administration with the will
  annexed. Official Chapter 33-8
  (accessed 2026-08-09).
• R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 33-17-1, 33-17-4, and 33-17-5; Form PC-3.4 — bond,
  surety, failure to bond, acceptance, and declination. Official Chapter
  33-17
  and official PC-3.4 PDF
  (accessed 2026-08-09).