Updated September 7, 2026. Quick answer: Rhode Island has no dedicated will-contest statute of limitations. The figure that actually governs is 20 days, running from execution of the probate order or decree, to file the claim of appeal (30 days total to perfect it with stated reasons).
How long do you have to contest a will in Rhode Island?
| Deadline to contest an admitted will | 20 days |
| What starts the clock | execution of the probate order or decree, to file the claim of appeal (30 days total to perfect it with stated reasons) |
| Dedicated will-contest statute? | No; this is a general probate-appeal / vacate-the-order deadline |
“Any person aggrieved by an order or decree of a probate court may appeal to the superior court…Within twenty (20) days after execution of the order or decree by the probate judge, the appellant shall file…a claim of appeal to the superior court…Within thirty (30) days after the entry of the order or decree, the appellant shall file, in the superior court, a certified copy of the claim and the reasons of appeal specifically stated.”
Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-23-1
What makes Rhode Island different
Rhode Island has no dedicated will-contest statute; a probate decree is challenged like any other appealable Probate Court order, with an unusually tight 20-day window to file the claim of appeal and 30 days to perfect it, heard fresh (de novo) in Superior Court. The controlling authority is R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-23-1, and the window runs from execution of the probate order or decree, to file the claim of appeal (30 days total to perfect it with stated reasons).
What happens once this deadline passes?
Once the window above closes, Rhode Island’s probate of the will generally becomes final and binding on everyone who had the chance to object, subject only to the tolling or discovery exceptions described above; a separate objection Rhode Island allowed at the original probate hearing does not reopen or extend it.
Sources
| Statute / rule | R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-23-1 |
| Rhode Island courts (general reference) | Rhode Island judicial branch |
| Confidence | High |
Every statute or rule quoted on this Rhode Island page was read directly from the state’s own legislature/court/code site this session, or, where that site blocked automated access, from a reputable legal-citation mirror quoting the same official text with its official citation (disclosed below). General information, not legal advice; whether a specific contest is still timely can turn on facts (exactly when notice was given, how the will was probated, whether a disability applies) that only your own Rhode Island probate court file can confirm.