Insolvent Probate Estate Claim-Payment Priority in Rhode Island

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Administration, allowances, and nine debt classes

Under § 33-12-11(a), the debt ladder begins only “after deducting the charges of administration, and any property as is set off and allowed to the widow and family.” Those allowances are estate charges under § 33-12-1. Specified costs of dividing and assigning real estate and appointing guardians are included in administration expenses under § 33-12-3, subject to its appeal exception.

Named priority debts

Section 33-12-11(a) separates necessary funeral charges from necessary last-sickness expenses in the first two debt classes. U.S. debts take class three; state debts and state or town taxes take class four. Under § 33-11-51, legally enforceable past and future child support survives the parent's death, and § 33-12-11(a)(5) ranks it fifth. Recent labor wages are sixth only to the stated $1,000 per-person limit; proceeds due the state lottery are seventh.

Secured claim dividend

Under § 33-11-32, the probate court values a filed creditor's security. Unless the creditor elects to relinquish it by certificate within 15 days after personal notice of the allowed amount and valuation, the estate dividend is only on the excess of the claim over that value.

What trips people up

Section 33-12-11(b) requires a whole earlier class to be paid before any later class and ratable payment when a class itself is short. On probable insolvency, § 33-11-24 allows the probate court to determine disputed claims and their payment priority; § 33-12-12 provides for a distribution decree and permits a reserve when an appeal or suit remains pending.

Common questions

Do ordinary debts all rank alike? Section 33-12-11(a)(8)–(9) distinguishes other debts filed within six months of the first notice from all other debts.

Is a secured creditor paid on the entire claim while keeping the security? Under § 33-11-32, keeping the security limits the estate dividend to the excess above the court's valuation.

Statutes and sources

• R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 33-12-11, 33-12-1, 33-12-3, 33-11-32, 33-11-24, 33-12-12, and 33-11-51. Verbatim official text, section URLs, and access dates appear in the source fields above.