Free Rhode Island Last Will and Testament
Build a complete Rhode Island will in minutes — free, no account. Fill in your details and download a ready-to-sign PDF with the protective clauses built in and Rhode Island's correct signing requirements.
A free, ready-to-sign will — but not legal advice.
This builds a complete Rhode Island will with the protective clauses most templates skip (survivorship period, residuary, minor's trust, executor powers). It becomes legally valid only when you sign it correctly (see the signing steps below). For a large or blended estate, have an attorney review it. RecordingLaw.com is not a law firm.
About you
Children
Name all your children, even any you are not leaving anything to — naming them prevents an 'omitted child' claim.
Who inherits everything else (your residuary estate)
The catch-all gift of everything not specifically given. Shares should total 100%.
Specific gifts (optional)
Particular items or sums to particular people.
Executor (the person who carries out your will)
Options
Naming them states the omission is intentional. Note: you generally cannot fully disinherit a spouse (see the warnings).
Before you sign — Rhode Island notes
Choose 2 witnesses who are adults and who do NOT inherit under this Will. A beneficiary (or a beneficiary's spouse) should never witness your Will.
Add at least one residuary beneficiary with a share above 0%. Without a residuary gift, everything not specifically given would pass by intestacy (state default rules), defeating the point of the Will.
To make this Will valid in Rhode Island: A valid Rhode Island will must be in writing, signed by the testator (or by another at the testator's direction and in the testator's presence), and signed by at least two witnesses who each witnessed the testator sign or acknowledge the will and who signed in the presence of the testator and of one another (§ 33-5-5). Rhode Island does not recognize ordinary holographic wills. Notarization is not required for validity, but a self-proving affidavit substantially in the form set out in § 33-7-26 — the witnesses swearing before a notary that they observed proper execution and that the testator appeared of sound mind and 18+ — allows the will to be proved at probate without live witness testimony.
This is a do-it-yourself Will for a straightforward estate. If you have a large or blended estate, business interests, tax concerns, a special-needs beneficiary, or want to disinherit close family, have an attorney review it. This is not legal advice and RecordingLaw.com is not a law firm.
Or email yourself a copy (PDF)
Last Will and Testament of [YOUR FULL NAME]
ARTICLE I — DECLARATION
I, [YOUR FULL NAME], a resident of [CITY], [COUNTY] County, Rhode Island, being of full legal age to make a will and of sound mind and memory, declare this to be my Last Will and Testament, and I revoke all wills and codicils I have previously made.
ARTICLE II — FAMILY
I am not married.
If I have not named or provided for a child or other descendant in this Will, that omission is intentional and not the result of accident or mistake.
ARTICLE III — PAYMENT OF DEBTS, EXPENSES, AND TAXES
I direct my Executor to pay my legally enforceable debts, the expenses of my last illness and funeral, the costs of administering my estate, and any estate or inheritance taxes payable by reason of my death, out of the residue of my estate, without apportionment.
ARTICLE IV — TANGIBLE PERSONAL PROPERTY
I give my tangible personal property (household goods, furniture, vehicles, jewelry, collections, and personal effects not otherwise specifically given) to my residuary beneficiaries as they agree, or as my Executor determines if they cannot agree.
Rhode Island does not give legal effect to a separate personal-property memorandum, so any specific items must be listed in this Will itself to be binding.
ARTICLE V — RESIDUARY ESTATE
I give all the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate to [RESIDUARY BENEFICIARY].
If no beneficiary named in this article survives me, my residuary estate shall pass to my heirs at law under the intestacy laws of my state.
ARTICLE VI — SURVIVORSHIP
Except as otherwise provided, a beneficiary must survive me by 30 days to receive any gift under this Will. A beneficiary who does not survive me by 30 days shall be treated as having predeceased me. This protects my estate from passing through the estate of a beneficiary who dies shortly after me.
ARTICLE VII — APPOINTMENT OF EXECUTOR
I nominate [EXECUTOR NAME] as Executor of this Will.
I direct that my Executor serve without bond and, to the fullest extent allowed by law, without court supervision (independent administration). My Executor shall have all powers granted to executors and personal representatives under the law of my state, including the power to sell, lease, invest, and distribute estate property, to pay debts and taxes, and to settle claims, all without prior court approval, as my Executor deems to be in the best interest of my estate.
ARTICLE VIII — DIGITAL ASSETS
I authorize my Executor to access, manage, distribute, and dispose of my digital assets and electronic communications, and to act as my fiduciary under the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (or its equivalent in my state), with full authority to consent to a custodian's disclosure of the content and records of my electronic communications and accounts.
ARTICLE IX — SIMULTANEOUS DEATH
If any beneficiary and I die under circumstances in which the order of our deaths cannot be established, that beneficiary shall be deemed to have predeceased me. If my spouse and I die under such circumstances, my spouse shall be deemed to have predeceased me.
ARTICLE X — GENERAL PROVISIONS
This Will shall be governed by the laws of the State of Rhode Island.
If any provision of this Will is held invalid, the remaining provisions shall remain in full effect. Words of one gender include the other, and the singular includes the plural, as the context requires. The headings are for convenience only and do not affect the meaning of this Will.
EXECUTION
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I sign this Will, consisting of the foregoing pages, on this _____ day of ____________, 20____, at [CITY], Rhode Island.
____________________________________
[YOUR FULL NAME], Testator
ATTESTATION — The foregoing instrument was signed by the Testator and declared to be the Testator's Will in our presence, and we, at the Testator's request and in the Testator's presence and in the presence of each other, sign below as witnesses, believing the Testator to be of sound mind and under no constraint or undue influence.
Witness 1: ____________________________ Address: ____________________________
Witness 2: ____________________________ Address: ____________________________
SELF-PROVING AFFIDAVIT (R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-7-26) — sign this part before a notary to make probate easier:
STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
COUNTY OF [COUNTY]
In [CITY/TOWN] on this ___ day of ____, 20__, before me personally appeared the undersigned, who, being duly sworn, depose and say that: they witnessed the execution of the will (codicil) of [TESTATOR NAME]; that the signature to the will (codicil) is in the handwriting of the testator or was made by some other person for the testator, in the testator's presence and by the testator's express direction; that the testator so subscribed the will (codicil) and declared the same to be his/her last will (a codicil to his/her last will) in their presence; that they thereafter subscribed the same as witnesses in the presence of the testator and in the presence of each other; that at the time of execution of the will (codicil) the testator appeared to be of sound mind and eighteen (18) years of age or over; and that the signatures of the witnesses on the will are genuine.
_______________________ (Witness)
_______________________ (Witness)
Subscribed and sworn to before me on the day and date first above written.
_______________________ (Notary Public) (SEAL)
How to Sign Your Will in Rhode Island
A valid Rhode Island will must be in writing, signed by the testator (or by another at the testator's direction and in the testator's presence), and signed by at least two witnesses who each witnessed the testator sign or acknowledge the will and who signed in the presence of the testator and of one another (§ 33-5-5). Rhode Island does not recognize ordinary holographic wills. Notarization is not required for validity, but a self-proving affidavit substantially in the form set out in § 33-7-26 — the witnesses swearing before a notary that they observed proper execution and that the testator appeared of sound mind and 18+ — allows the will to be proved at probate without live witness testimony.
Rhode Island requires 2 witnesses: The will must be in writing and signed by the testator (or by another person in the testator's presence and by the testator's express direction), and signed by at least two witnesses, each of whom was present and witnessed the testator's signing (or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature/will) and signed in the presence of the testator and of each other (R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-5-5).. Your will does not need to be notarized to be valid.
Choose witnesses who are adults and who do not inherit under your will. A beneficiary should never witness your will. Then sign the self-proving affidavit (R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-7-26) in front of a notary. That sworn statement lets the court accept your will without tracking down your witnesses later, which speeds up probate.
Can You Use a Handwritten (Holographic) Will in Rhode Island?
No. Rhode Island does not recognize holographic (handwritten, unwitnessed) wills — a handwritten note will not work. Your will must be typed and signed in front of 2 witnesses, which is exactly what this generator produces.
Spousal and Family Protections in Rhode Island
Can you disinherit your spouse? You CANNOT fully disinherit a spouse, but Rhode Island's elective share is UNUSUAL — it is NOT a clean fraction of the estate. A surviving spouse may elect to take an amount equal to (a) the LIFE ESTATE and allowance in the decedent's REAL estate that an intestate spouse would receive under R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 33-1-5 and 33-1-6 (i.e., a life estate in the realty, derived from dower/curtesy at R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 33-25), PLUS (b) the intestate share of the decedent's PERSONAL estate under § 33-1-10. Net effect: the spouse cannot be cut off entirely, but the protection skews toward a life estate in real property rather than a fee-simple percentage.
Children born after your will: Rhode Island protects after-born/omitted issue: when a testator's child (or the issue of a deceased child) is omitted from the will, that issue may take a share as in intestacy unless the omission appears intentional. R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-6-23 (and related construction provisions in ch. 33-6). This is why the generator has you name your children and states that any omission is intentional.
If a beneficiary dies before you: When a devisee/legatee of an estate or interest not determinable at or before that person's death predeceases the testator leaving issue who survive the testator, the gift does not lapse but passes to that person's issue (in the proportions they would take by intestacy) — unless a contrary intention appears in the will. The protected base is broad (any devisee leaving issue, not limited to close relatives). Generator should include an express alternate-taker/survivorship clause to control disposition. The generator's "per stirpes" option and survivorship clause work alongside this rule.
Survivorship, No-Contest, and Digital Assets
Survivorship: Rhode Island has adopted a 120-hour survivorship requirement for intestate succession / simultaneous death (Uniform Simultaneous Death Act; R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 33-2). For devises, a non-surviving beneficiary triggers lapse/anti-lapse. Best practice (and generator default) is an express survivorship period of 30–60 days, which RI honors. The generator builds in a 30-to-60-day survivorship period regardless.
No-contest clauses: Rhode Island has no statute voiding no-contest (in terrorem) clauses; they are generally enforceable under Rhode Island common law, which (consistent with the majority rule) declines to enforce forfeiture where the contestant acted in good faith and with probable cause. Generator may include a no-contest clause but should warn it will not bar a good-faith, probable-cause contest. (Medium confidence — no on-point governing statute; rests on common law.)
Digital assets: Rhode Island has adopted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, so your executor can manage your online accounts and digital property — the generator includes a clause granting that authority.
Personal-property list: Rhode Island does not give legal effect to a separate personal-property memorandum, so list any specific items in the will itself.
What Happens If You Die Without a Will in Rhode Island?
Rhode Island keeps an old-fashioned, two-track system that splits real estate from personal property. When children survive, the spouse does NOT inherit the house outright — the spouse gets only a life estate in the real estate (children own the remainder) plus one-half of the personal-property surplus. With no children, the spouse gets a much larger share: a life estate (the probate court may convey up to $150,000 of realty in fee simple) and $50,000 plus half the remaining personalty.
- Spouse, no children: Real estate: the spouse takes a life estate in all the decedent's real property, and the probate court may, in its discretion, allow and set off to the spouse real estate in fee simple up to $150,000 in value. Personal property: $50,000 from the surplus plus 1/2 of the remainder; the rest passes to the decedent's next of kin.
- Spouse and shared children: Real estate: spouse receives a LIFE ESTATE in all the decedent's real property (children inherit the remainder/fee). Personal property: spouse takes 1/2 of the surplus; children divide the other 1/2 by representation. Rhode Island does not distinguish joint vs. step children for the spouse's share.
- Spouse and a child from another relationship: Same as joint children — Rhode Island makes NO stepchild distinction. Real estate: spouse gets a life estate, children take the remainder. Personal property: spouse gets 1/2 of the surplus, children divide the other 1/2.
- Children, no spouse: No spouse: the whole estate (real and personal) passes to the decedent's children or their descendants, by representation (per stirpes).
- No spouse or children: No spouse, no issue: to surviving parent(s); then to brothers and sisters and their descendants; then to grandparents; then to next of kin; escheats to the state if no heirs.
Unmarried partners, friends, and stepchildren you have not adopted generally receive nothing under intestacy. A will is how you override these defaults. Source: R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 33-1-5, 33-1-6, 33-1-10.
Updating, Revoking, and Storing Your Will
Review your will after any big life change — marriage, divorce, a birth, a death, or a move to a new state. To change it, either sign a new will that revokes the old one (the cleanest option, and what this generator produces) or add a witnessed "codicil." Do not cross things out on a signed will — handwritten edits can invalidate it. Store the signed original somewhere safe and tell your executor where it is; a will that cannot be found is presumed revoked.
Common mistakes to avoid: using a beneficiary as a witness; forgetting a residuary clause (so part of the estate passes by intestacy); leaving a young child a lump sum outright at 18 instead of in trust; not naming a backup executor or guardian; and never actually signing the document. The generator above is built to avoid each of these.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a will made online valid in Rhode Island?
Yes, if you sign it correctly. Rhode Island requires 2 witnesses. The document this tool creates is a standard typed will; it becomes legally valid when you sign it following the steps above.
Does my Rhode Island will need to be notarized?
No. Rhode Island does not require your will to be notarized to be valid. Notarizing the separate self-proving affidavit is optional but makes probate easier.
How many witnesses does a Rhode Island will need?
2 witnesses. The will must be in writing and signed by the testator (or by another person in the testator's presence and by the testator's express direction), and signed by at least two witnesses, each of whom was present and witnessed the testator's signing (or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature/will) and signed in the presence of the testator and of each other (R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-5-5). They should be adults who do not inherit under the will.
Can I leave my spouse out of my Rhode Island will?
You CANNOT fully disinherit a spouse, but Rhode Island's elective share is UNUSUAL — it is NOT a clean fraction of the estate. A surviving spouse may elect to take an amount equal to (a) the LIFE ESTATE and allowance in the decedent's REAL estate that an intestate spouse would receive under R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 33-1-5 and 33-1-6 (i.e., a life estate in the realty, derived from dower/curtesy at R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 33-25), PLUS (b) the intestate share of the decedent's PERSONAL estate under § 33-1-10. Net effect: the spouse cannot be cut off entirely, but the protection skews toward a life estate in real property rather than a fee-simple percentage.
What happens if I die without a will in Rhode Island?
Rhode Island keeps an old-fashioned, two-track system that splits real estate from personal property. When children survive, the spouse does NOT inherit the house outright — the spouse gets only a life estate in the real estate (children own the remainder) plus one-half of the personal-property surplus. With no children, the spouse gets a much larger share: a life estate (the probate court may convey up to $150,000 of realty in fee simple) and $50,000 plus half the remaining personalty.
Does a Rhode Island will avoid probate?
No. A will still goes through probate — it directs how your estate is distributed and names your executor, but the court still supervises (often a simplified, independent administration). To avoid probate entirely, people use living trusts and beneficiary designations in addition to a will.
How old do I have to be to make a will in Rhode Island?
Generally 18. Must be of sound mind and at least 18 years old (R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-5-2). You must also be of sound mind.
Can I write my will by hand in Rhode Island?
No. Rhode Island does not recognize handwritten, unwitnessed wills. Your will must be typed and properly witnessed.
Do I need a lawyer to make a will in Rhode Island?
Not for a straightforward estate — a properly signed will is valid whether or not a lawyer drafts it. See an attorney if you have a large or blended estate, business interests, tax concerns, a special-needs beneficiary, or want to disinherit close family.
Is this really free?
Yes. The generator is free, requires no account, and runs entirely in your browser — your answers are not sent to a server. It is general information, not legal advice.
Disclaimer
This generator produces a general-purpose will for a straightforward estate and is not legal advice or a substitute for an attorney. Will and probate law changes; the Rhode Island requirements here are current as of 2026-06-03. A will is only valid if signed and witnessed correctly. For a large, blended, or complex estate, tax planning, a special-needs beneficiary, or to disinherit close family, consult a Rhode Island estate-planning attorney. RecordingLaw.com is not a law firm.
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