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Free · general informationRhode Island
What to do when someone dies in Rhode Island
The first things Rhode Island’s own law asks for after a death, quoted word for word, then the pages for everything that follows, in the order it usually comes. Nothing here decides what a particular family must do. That belongs to the office named, the court, or an attorney in Rhode Island.
Every fact dated, in the official words
Each state’s own law
Every quotation checked October 24, 2026
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Every quotation on this page is the official body’s own words, as they stood on the day we read them. The date is beside each one.
§1Filing the death certificate: who files it, and how soon
Registering the death comes first. These are Rhode Island’s own words on who files the record, and how soon.
(a) A death certificate for each death that occurs in this state shall be filed with the state registrar of vital records or as otherwise directed by the state registrar within seven (7) calendar days after death and prior to removal of the body from the state
(b) The funeral director, his or her duly authorized agent, or person acting as agent, who first assumes custody of a dead body, shall file the death certificate.
Rhode Island · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-3-16(a), (b)
§3What the person holding the will must do after the death, how soon, and the executor’s own duty
The will has its own rules. These are Rhode Island’s own words on who brings it to the court after a death, and what the court does with it.
(a) Every person, other than a probate clerk, who has custody of a will shall, within thirty (30) days after notice of the death of the testator, deliver the will into the probate court which has jurisdiction of the probate thereof, or to the executors named in the will, who shall themselves deliver it into court within thirty (30) days after they receive the will
Rhode Island · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-7-5(a)
§4Refusing to deliver a will after the court’s citation: contempt, and being held until it is delivered
if any executor or other person neglects, without reasonable cause, to deliver a will, after being duly cited for that purpose by the court, he or she may be adjudged to be in contempt and may be committed therefor to the adult correctional institutions and shall remain there until he or she delivers the will to the court
Rhode Island · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-7-5(a)
§5A fiduciary named in a will lodging it with the court on an affidavit: the fee and the receipt
a fiduciary nominated in a will may deliver such will to the probate court with an affidavit
Upon receipt of such will and affidavit the probate clerk, upon being paid a fee of thirty dollars ($30.00), shall receive and keep the will and accompanying affidavit and shall give a receipt of the deposit thereof.
Rhode Island · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-7-5(b)
The estate: probate in Rhode Island, its route for a smaller estate, what falls to whoever is settling it, and the accounts that pass outside the will.
(a) A death certificate for each death that occurs in this state shall be filed with the state registrar of vital records or as otherwise directed by the state registrar within seven (7) calendar days after death and prior to removal of the body from the state
(b) The funeral director, his or her duly authorized agent, or person acting as agent, who first assumes custody of a dead body, shall file the death certificate.
Rhode Island · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-3-16(a), (b)
(a) A death certificate for each death that occurs in this state shall be filed with the state registrar of vital records or as otherwise directed by the state registrar within seven (7) calendar days after death and prior to removal of the body from the state
(b) The funeral director, his or her duly authorized agent, or person acting as agent, who first assumes custody of a dead body, shall file the death certificate.
Rhode Island · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-3-16(a), (b)
(a) Every person, other than a probate clerk, who has custody of a will shall, within thirty (30) days after notice of the death of the testator, deliver the will into the probate court which has jurisdiction of the probate thereof, or to the executors named in the will, who shall themselves deliver it into court within thirty (30) days after they receive the will
if any executor or other person neglects, without reasonable cause, to deliver a will, after being duly cited for that purpose by the court, he or she may be adjudged to be in contempt and may be committed therefor to the adult correctional institutions and shall remain there until he or she delivers the will to the court
Rhode Island · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-7-5(a)
a fiduciary nominated in a will may deliver such will to the probate court with an affidavit
Upon receipt of such will and affidavit the probate clerk, upon being paid a fee of thirty dollars ($30.00), shall receive and keep the will and accompanying affidavit and shall give a receipt of the deposit thereof.
Rhode Island · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-7-5(b)
