Wills and estate planning in Rhode Island

Researched 2026-10-20 · confidence: medium · 2026 figures

In plain words: in Rhode Island a will is valid when it's signed in front of 2 adult witnesses. There is a state estate tax. The federal estate tax exemption is $15,000,000 a person in 2026.

Witnesses to a will	2
Handwritten (holographic) will	Not recognised
Self-proving affidavit	Available
Electronic wills	Not allowed
Power of attorney	Notary
Health care directive	2 witnesses or a notary
State estate tax	Yes
State inheritance tax	No
Community property	No
Age of majority / UTMA age	18 / 21

Signing a will

Statute: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-5-5.

A gift to an attesting witness (or anyone claiming under them) is void, but the will stays valid and the witness can still prove execution (R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-6-1). The statute summary showed no saving clause for extra disinterested witnesses.

The testator must sign or acknowledge before two or more witnesses present at the same time, and the witnesses must sign in the testator's presence (§ 33-5-5). Exceptions exist for soldiers and mariners (§§ 33-5-6, 33-5-7). The self-proving procedure differs from the UPC form. Under § 33-7-26 one or more subscribing witnesses swear an affidavit before a notary or other oath officer, the testator need not sign the affidavit, and the will can be admitted on it if no one objects. Always use disinterested witnesses.

Power of attorney

Statute: Rhode Island Short Form Power of Attorney Act, R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 18-16 (form at § 18-16-2); durability at § 34-22-6.1.

The POA must be acknowledged like a real-property conveyance, i.e. before a notary (§ 18-16-2(b), (e)). Use of the short form is voluntary (§ 18-16-2(c)). It is NOT durable by default: include language such as 'This power of attorney shall not be affected by the subsequent incompetency of the donor' (§ 34-22-6.1). The short form has categories A-J that the principal can strike. Gifting is not a listed category, so gift, trust and beneficiary-change powers must be drafted expressly. Rhode Island has not adopted UPOAA.

Health care directive

Called: Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care; living will is a 'Declaration'.

Statute: Health Care Power of Attorney Act, R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-4.10-2; Rights of the Terminally Ill Act (living will declaration), § 23-4.11-3.

Health care POA: the agent or alternate agents, health care providers or their employees, and the operator or employees of a community care facility may not witness. At least one witness (or the notary) must declare they are not related to the principal by blood, marriage or adoption and not entitled to any part of the estate (§ 23-4.10-2). Living will declaration: two witnesses who are not related to the declarant by blood or marriage (§ 23-4.11-3).

The statutory health care POA is valid only if signed before two qualified witnesses or one notary. The living will declaration under § 23-4.11-3 requires two witnesses; the statute does not mention a notary, and its sample form is optional. Official form URL not found.

If there's no will: what a spouse gets

With surviving issue, the spouse takes one-half of the intestate personal property (R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-1-10) and a life estate in the decedent's real estate (§ 33-25-2), with the real estate itself passing to the issue (§§ 33-1-1, 33-1-2). Section numbers are partly from secondary sources.

A spouse's right to a share

No fractional elective share; the surviving spouse receives a life estate in real estate the decedent held in fee simple at death, subject to encumbrances and excluding real estate conveyed by a deed recorded before death (R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-25-2).

Estate and inheritance tax

Rhode Island estate tax: for deaths in 2026 the first $1,838,056 is exempt (credit $87,940), indexed annually to CPI-U (R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-22-1.1; RI Division of Taxation ADV 2025-27). Bills to raise it were pending, not enacted.

No inheritance tax.

Probate

Probate is handled by city/town probate courts and is moderately formal. A voluntary administration (small estate) is available for estates of only personal property worth $15,000 or less, 30 days after death (R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-24-1).

Money God drafts a Rhode Island will, power of attorney and health care directive from a short interview, then you send it to your attorney for review before signing.

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Sources

Researched from state statutes and official forms. Laws change; this page is information, not legal advice. Every Money God draft is reviewed by a licensed attorney in your state before you sign it.