Rhode Island
Death Laws & End-of-Life Guide

At a Glance

Registering a death in Rhode Island.

A death certificate for each death in Rhode Island must be filed with the state registrar of vital records, or as the state registrar otherwise directs, within seven calendar days after the death and before the body leaves the state. The funeral director who first takes custody files it and gets the medical certification from whoever is responsible for signing it. (R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-3-16)

Who can order copies.

Certified copies of death records are confidential and may only be issued to the registrant's issue, spouse, parent(s), sibling, legal guardian, attorneys, title examiners, members of genealogical societies, by court order, funeral directors, or persons requiring information for the determination or protection of a personal or property right.

• -Rhode Island Department of Health, Center for Vital Records: https://health.ri.gov/vital-records
• -Cost: $20.00 for the certificate, then $15.00 for each duplicate issued at the same time, at the state registrar and at the local registrar alike (R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 23-3-25, 23-1-54)
• -Expedited service adds $7.00. VitalChek charges its own fees on top.

Who can order a death certificate in Rhode Island?

The person's children and their descendants, the spouse or registered partner, a parent, sibling or legal guardian, attorneys and title examiners, members of incorporated genealogical societies, funeral directors, anyone with a court order, and anyone who needs the record to determine or protect a personal or property right. Certified copies come from Rhode Island's Center for Vital Records, Rhode Island Department of Health, in Cranston, in person by appointment, by mail or drop box, or online through VitalChek.

How do I get a death certificate in Rhode Island?

Order certified copies from Rhode Island's vital records office; this section's source link is the official process. The funeral home or cremation provider usually orders the first copies for you. Ask each bank, insurer, court, and agency whether it needs its own certified copy before you decide how many to order.

How much does a death certificate cost in Rhode Island?

$22 in person, $25 by mail per certified copy in Rhode Island, as shown above. Additional-copy pricing varies; the official source linked in this section has the current fee schedule.

At a Glance

When probate is required.

In Rhode Island, probate is generally required for estates with assets exceeding $15,000 (excluding tangible personal property) that don't have a designated beneficiary or other non-probate transfer mechanisms. The Probate Court has jurisdiction over these matters.

If you die without a will.

If a Rhode Island resident dies without a valid will (intestate), their property will be distributed according to the state's laws of intestate succession, found in RIGL Title 33, Chapter 33-1. The court will appoint an administrator to manage the estate.

• -Spouse and children: If there are children, the spouse inherits half of the personal estate and a life estate in the real property. The children inherit the remaining personal property and the remainder interest in the real property.
• -Spouse, no children: The spouse inherits all personal property and half of the real property. The decedent's parents inherit the other half of the real property.
• -No spouse, no children: Property passes to parents, then siblings, then other relatives.
• -No relatives: If no heirs are found, the estate escheats to the State of Rhode Island.

Avoiding probate.

Common strategies to avoid probate in Rhode Island include establishing a living trust, designating beneficiaries on financial accounts (e.g., bank accounts, retirement accounts, life insurance policies), and holding property in joint tenancy with rights of survivorship.

Handwritten wills.

Rhode Island doesn't accept an unwitnessed handwritten will from most people. A will needs two or more witnesses present at the same time (R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-5-5). The only exception covers a soldier or airman in actual military service, or a sailor at sea, who can leave personal property by will the way earlier law allowed (§ 33-5-6). It doesn't cover real estate. A will made outside Rhode Island that was valid where it was signed, or where the person lived, is accepted (§ 33-5-7).

Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-5-5 (Rhode Island General Assembly) ↗Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-5-7 ↗

How long does probate take in Rhode Island?

A straightforward Rhode Island probate typically runs Several months to over a year, as shown in this section. Contested wills, missing heirs, or real property in other states stretch it well past that.

What is the small-estate limit in Rhode Island?

$15,000. Estates under that figure can use the simplified process or affidavit covered above instead of full probate.

Do I need a probate attorney in Rhode Island?

Not always. If the estate qualifies for the simplified process covered above, many people handle it without a lawyer. Hire one for full probate, a contested will, or property in more than one state. Before you hire anyone, know the fee structures: hourly, flat, and (in a few states) statutory percentages. Our probate attorney cost guide covers what each should run you.

Does Rhode Island allow transfer-on-death deeds?

No. Rhode Island has no transfer-on-death deed statute. A living trust or joint ownership with survivorship does the same job here; a 2026 bill (S 2050) got a committee hearing but wasn't enacted.

Source: legislative record ↗

Time off work after a death in Rhode Island

Rhode Island doesn't require a private employer to give bereavement leave, paid or unpaid. Whatever you get is your employer's policy, and it can be changed or refused.

Who it covers. Not applicable. No private-employer mandate.

How much. Not applicable. No private-employer mandate.

Paid or unpaid. Not applicable. No private-employer mandate.

Rhode Island has three leave programs and none of them cover a death. RIPFMLA applies to employers with 50 or more employees and gives 13 consecutive weeks of unpaid leave in any two calendar years to employees with 12 consecutive months of service, but only for serious illness of a family member or birth or adoption. Temporary Caregiver Insurance pays wage replacement for bonding or caring for a seriously ill family member, and it ends when the person dies. Paid sick and safe leave can't be used for a funeral. So the honest reader answer is that a Rhode Island worker relies on the employer's policy. Some HR websites report that Rhode Island state employees get up to four days of paid funeral leave, but we couldn't confirm that against an official state source.

Source: R.I. Gen. Laws 28-48-1 (Parental and Family Medical Leave Act, definitions); R.I. Gen. Laws 28-57-6 (Healthy and Safe Families and Workplaces Act, permitted uses) ↗

Can I leave money to care for my pet in Rhode Island?

Yes. Rhode Island enforces pet trusts under R.I. Gen. Laws § 4-23-1, so money you set aside for an animal is legally binding on whoever you put in charge of it. The trust ends when your animal dies, or when the last of them dies if you covered more than one, and there's no year limit. Whoever you name in the trust enforces it, and if you name nobody the court appoints someone. Anyone with an interest in the animal's welfare can ask the court to appoint an enforcer or to remove the one in place, and that enforcer gets a beneficiary's rights, which means accountings, notices and other information from the trustee. A judge can cut the amount back if it's worth more than the animal needs. Surplus money, and whatever's left when the trust ends, follows a set order: what your trust says first, then to you if you're living, then under the residuary clause of your will, then to your heirs under Rhode Island's inheritance rules. Rhode Island keeps its pet trust rule in the animal chapter of the code rather than in a trust code, so if you go looking for it yourself, it's in Title 4, chapter 23. If nobody you named as trustee is willing or able to serve, the probate court names one, so the money still gets handled.

Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 4-23-1 ↗

How to set one up, and what it costs →

Die without a will in Rhode Island and this law picks your heirs.

If you die intestate (without a valid will) in Rhode Island, R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 33-1-1 to 33-1-13 decides who inherits everything a will would have covered. The shares depend on exactly who survives you: spouse, children, parents, siblings. What you told people you wanted doesn't matter. Only a signed will changes these defaults.

What your spouse gets.

What your spouse inherits depends on who else survives you. The four common family shapes:

• -Spouse only (no descendants or parents): a life estate in all real estate plus up to $150,000 of it in fee by court petition, plus $50,000 and half the remaining personal property; the balance goes to the next kindred.
• -Spouse + parents (no descendants): same spouse package; the parents take the real estate subject to the life estate and the leftover personal property.
• -Spouse + joint descendants: a life estate in the real estate and half the personal property; the children take the rest.
• -Spouse + blended family: identical, parentage of the children changes nothing.
• -Source: R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 33-1-1 to 33-1-13

Children's shares.

The children take the real estate and the personal property in equal shares, with a dead child's share passing to that child's descendants.

No spouse, no children: the line of succession.

After children come parents, then siblings and their descendants, then paternal and maternal halves running through grandparents, aunts and uncles, great-grandparents and onward without end; if no kindred exist at all, the estate goes to the surviving spouse or a deceased spouse's kindred, and it escheats to the state only when all of that fails.

At a Glance

Either route is the rule for the statutory durable power of attorney for health care (R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-4.10-2). The living will takes two witnesses and offers no notary alternative (§ 23-4.11-3).

What Rhode Island requires.

Rhode Island law provides for advance directives, which include a living will and a durable power of attorney for health care. The state provides a statutory form for the Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care (R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-4.10-2). That form has to be witnessed by two qualified adult witnesses or by one notary public, and the form itself warns that it isn't valid unless you follow the witnessing procedure printed at the end of it. You have to be at least 18 and a Rhode Island resident.

Healthcare power of attorney.

In Rhode Island, a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care allows you to appoint an agent to make healthcare decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated. This is often combined with a living will in a single advance directive document, but the statutory form for the power of attorney must be used.

POLST / MOLST forms.

Rhode Island recognizes Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) forms. MOLST is a bright pink, two-sided, standardized medical form containing valid medical orders about life-sustaining treatment for individuals with serious advanced illnesses. It's distinct from an advance directive, which is for future care, as MOLST reflects current medical orders based on a patient's current health status and wishes.

Where do I get Rhode Island's advance directive form?

Start with RIGL § 23-4.10-2 (statutory form of durable power of attorney for health care), linked as this section's source. Use the current form or sample that the official source provides or identifies. Form authority and execution requirements vary by state, so confirm the source before signing and get legal help if your situation or the instructions are unclear.

Does Rhode Island require a notary or witnesses for an advance directive?

Rhode Island accepts either 2 adult witnesses or a notary, as shown in the requirements above; you don't need both. Either route is the rule for the statutory durable power of attorney for health care (R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-4.10-2). The living will takes two witnesses and offers no notary alternative (§ 23-4.11-3). Anyone 18 or older of sound mind can make one.

At a Glance

Cremation rules in Rhode Island.

In Rhode Island, cremation can't take place until at least 24 hours have passed from the time of death, unless the person died of a contagious or infectious disease. Two documents have to reach the crematory first: the burial permit required before any burial, and a cremation certificate issued by the Rhode Island Office of State Medical Examiners, which issues one only after deciding no further examination or judicial inquiry into the cause and manner of death is needed. That certificate travels with the body in duplicate. Once the crematory has custody, the remains are to be cremated without unreasonable delay. (R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 23-3-18(e), 5-33.2-13.2)

Green burial and alternatives.

Rhode Island allows green burial, with several cemeteries offering natural burial options. All interments in Rhode Island must occur in developed cemeteries. Human composting and alkaline hydrolysis aren't explicitly addressed in current Rhode Island statutes as widely available or regulated alternatives, and home burial is generally not permitted outside of established cemeteries.

• -Green Burial: Permitted and available in several certified natural burial grounds and sections of conventional cemeteries.
• -Human Composting: Not explicitly legalized or regulated in Rhode Island.
• -Alkaline Hydrolysis: Not explicitly legalized or regulated in Rhode Island.
• -Home Burial: Generally not permitted; interments must be in developed cemeteries.

Funeral home regulations.

Funeral homes in Rhode Island are regulated by the state and must be licensed. They're also subject to the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Funeral Rule, which requires them to provide itemized price lists and other disclosures to consumers.

Who decides what happens to the body in Rhode Island

Rhode Island sets this order by statute. The first person on the list who is available and willing decides, and a funeral home takes its instructions from them.

1. decedent's own funeral service contract executed by the principal personally and still in effect (§ 5-33.2-24(1); it controls goods, services, and final disposition, and if it specifies cremation it is by itself sufficient legal authorization)
2. designated agent (funeral planning agent designated under ch. 5-33.3)
3. surviving spouse or domestic partner
4. surviving adult children
5. surviving parent(s) over 18, or the custodial parent where the deceased is a minor under a custody order, after signing an affidavit that the other parent's whereabouts are unknown
6. surviving brother(s) or sister(s)
7. surviving adult grandchildren
8. surviving adult niece(s) or nephew(s)
9. guardian of the person of the deceased at the time of death

Naming someone in advance. Yes, a separate instrument: the funeral planning agent designation under R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 5-33.3. Section 5-33.3-3 lets any person 18 or older and of sound mind name a primary agent and, optionally, an alternate. Section 5-33.3-4 prints the form, which is signed by the principal, witnessed, and notarized, and which is also signed by the agent(s) to accept. Executing a new designation revokes all previous ones. A signed notarized original goes to the principal, the primary agent, and the alternate.

When the same tier disagrees. Not stated. Section 5-33.2-24 sets no tie-break for disagreement inside a tier and names no court. It also states no majority rule for the multi-person tiers (adult children, siblings, grandchildren, nieces and nephews). The only related protection is § 5-33.2-24(3), which holds licensed funeral directors, establishments, crematories, cemeteries, and their agents harmless from civil suit for complying with the chapter.

Accepting the appointment in Rhode Island costs money. Under § 5-33.3-3(d), a person who accepts a funeral planning agent appointment "shall assume ultimate responsibility for ensuring full payment of all expenses and costs connected to the funeral of the principal from the principal's resources, or in the event the principal's resources are insufficient to ensure full payment, from the agent's own personal financial resources." The same subsection caps agents at one non-relative at a time. Rhode Island also counts a domestic partner equal to a spouse, and § 5-33.2-24(4) sets out the affidavit test for that status: 18 or older, neither partner married to anyone else, not related within the degrees that bar marriage, living together for at least one year at the time of death, and financially interdependent on at least two listed proofs.

Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-33.2-24 (Proper authority for funeral arrangements and disposition of human remains), with ch. 5-33.3 (Funeral Planning Agent Designation) ↗

If you can't afford the funeral in Rhode Island

Three separate pots of money, on three different agencies' websites, collected nowhere. A family that qualifies for all three usually claims none of them.

1. When nobody can pay. General Public Assistance (GPA) Burial Program, under RIGL § 40-6-3.10 and 218-RICR-20-00-3 Rhode Island Department of Human Services

What it pays. From the DHS regulation, § 3.22.8: 'An amount up to nine hundred dollars ($900.00) may be authorized to meet funeral expenses of an adult or child.' On top of that, when required: 'Cost of a lot - one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00); Opening and closing of the grave - one hundred seventy-five dollars ($175.00); Cement liner, if required by the cemetery - one hundred twenty-five dollars ($125.00); and Crematory fee - one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00).' Anything above those amounts needs the GPA Program Administrator to document special circumstances.

What disqualifies you. 'Payment is made to meet the cost of funeral and burial expenses up to the cost standard for any person who dies and leaves no, or insufficient, resources and/or income to meet these expenses.' All of the deceased's resources come off the top (life insurance where the beneficiary is the estate or a legally liable relative, cash, securities, bonds, nursing home patient accounts, non-homestead real property). Veterans' benefits are excluded from that count. Non-exempt resources over $400 belonging to legally liable relatives (spouses living together, parents of minor children) are treated as available. Nobody in the custody of the Department of Corrections, DCYF, or BHDDH at the time of death is eligible.

The official page ↗

2. If the death was caused by a crime. 'the maximum award for funeral and burial expenses shall be limited to ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00)', covering funeral home charges, cemetery services, headstones and other reasonable costs. The overall program cap is '$25,000.00 plus any attorney fees awarded', and the claim window is three years from the death.

Rhode Island crime victim compensation ↗

3. Money the person was already owed. Search Rhode Island's unclaimed property before you borrow anything. Searching and claiming are free.

Rhode Island unclaimed property ↗

There's a hard 30-day clock: 'application for payment of funeral and burial expenses must be made on behalf of the deceased within thirty (30) days of the date of death.' File with DHS before services are arranged if you can. If nobody claims the body, the rule treats a call to DHS from whoever has custody as the application.

At a Glance

Rhode Island has an estate tax for estates over $1,838,056 (2026).

Rhode Island imposes an estate tax on the net value of assets of decedents with property in the state. For deaths occurring on or after January 1, 2026, an estate is required to file a Rhode Island estate tax return if its value exceeds $1,838,056. The tax rate is progressive, ranging from 0.8% to 16%.

Rhode Island doesn't have an inheritance tax.

Rhode Island doesn't impose an inheritance tax. An inheritance tax is paid by the beneficiaries who receive inherited property, while an estate tax is paid by the estate itself before assets are distributed.

Federal estate tax.

The federal estate tax applies to estates over $15 million per person (2026), $30 million for married couples. This is separate from any state estate or inheritance tax. The Working Families Tax Cuts Bill (Public Law 119-21, 2025) made the higher exemption permanent, so the drop to roughly $7 million once scheduled under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act never took effect.

Does Rhode Island have an estate tax?

Yes. Rhode Island levies its own estate tax, with a state exemption of $1.84 million and rates of 0.8%-16%. The federal estate tax can also apply, but only to estates over $15 million per person (2026).

Does Rhode Island have an inheritance tax?

No. Rhode Island doesn’t tax inheritances. Heirs owe no state tax on what they receive, though the estate itself can owe state estate tax before anything is distributed.

What is the federal estate tax exemption for 2026?

$15 million per person, $30 million for a married couple, indexed for inflation. The Working Families Tax Cuts Bill (Public Law 119-21, 2025) made the higher exemption permanent. Estates below the threshold owe no federal estate tax.

At a Glance

Registering as a donor in Rhode Island.

In Rhode Island, you can register as an organ donor through the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) when obtaining or renewing your driver's license or state ID. You can also register online through the New England Organ Bank (NEOB) or indicate your wishes in an advance directive.

• -New England Donor Services (formerly New England Organ Bank) Donor Registry: https://neds.org/register-now/
• -Register at the Rhode Island DMV when applying for or renewing your driver's license/state ID.
• -Indicate your organ donation wishes in your advance directive.

Your family can't override an adult donor's decision.

In Rhode Island, a registered organ donor decision is legally binding. Nobody else can make, amend, or revoke the gift after your death (R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-18.6.1-8(a)). One exception: if the donor is an unemancipated minor, a parent who is reasonably available can revoke or amend the gift (R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-18.6.1-8(g)). Organ procurement organizations still consult families in practice, so tell yours what you decided.

Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-18.6.1-8 (preclusive effect of anatomical gift, amendment or revocation) ↗