Updated September 7, 2026. Quick answer: Rhode Island charges 1% of the decedent’s personal property, with a $30 floor and a $1,500 cap that a $250,000 estate hits.
If a trust could save your estate this fee in Rhode Island
A living trust avoids probate entirely in Rhode Island, which means the estate skips the 1.0% above along with every other cost the court charges once a case is open. LawDepot builds a state-specific one.
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What Rhode Island charges to open probate
Rhode Island prices this as a percentage of the estate’s value rather than a flat amount, so the total scales up continuously as the estate gets larger.
| Rate on personal property | 1.0% |
| Minimum fee | $30.00 |
| Maximum fee (cap) | $1,500.00 |
| Example: a $250,000 estate (capped) | $1,500.00 |
Where this money goes and who sets it
The authority for this figure is R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-22-21(a). In the source’s own words: “one percent (1.0%) of the personal property of the decedent or ward over which the court has jurisdiction, but in no event shall the fee be less than thirty dollars ($30.00) nor more than one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500)”
What this fee doesn’t cover
Because Rhode Island prices this as a percentage, a larger estate pays proportionally more just to open the file, before any attorney is even hired. Either way, this is the court’s own charge just to open the file and issue letters, separate from what an attorney charges to actually handle the estate and separate from any state estate or inheritance tax the estate itself might owe.
Sources
Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-22-21(a).