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Middletown Probate Court, RI Probate Information
Quick facts
| Topic | Detail |
|---|---|
| Court | Middletown Probate Court, the probate court for the town of Middletown alone under R.I. Gen. Laws 8-9-9. |
| Courthouse and filing address | Middletown Town Hall, 350 East Main Road, Middletown, RI 02842. |
| Mailing | Use Middletown Town Hall, 350 East Main Road, Middletown, RI 02842, unless the town clerk of Middletown gives a different instruction under R.I. Gen. Laws 8-9-6. |
| Phone | 401-847-0009 for the Town Clerk and Probate Clerk function under R.I. Gen. Laws 8-9-6. |
| Fax | 401-845-0406, from the court directory baseline. |
| Counter hours | Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., from the court directory baseline. These are counter hours, not hearing times. |
| Hearing schedule | Regular sessions are the first and third Thursdays of each month at 8:30 a.m. at Middletown Town Hall. Rhode Island requires local administrative rules to state session dates, docketing procedures and filing deadlines under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-29. |
| Filing cost | Set by state statute: one percent of the decedent's personal property, with a minimum of $30 and a maximum of $1,500, payable before the petition is filed and computed from the petitioner's own estimate, figures unchanged since at least 1996 under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-21. Middletown's January 1, 2026 schedule lists a $34.00 minimum and $1,504.00 maximum, plus local advertising charges under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-11. The one percent fee is recalculated against the inventory required by R.I. Gen. Laws 33-9-1 and the difference is billed or refunded. |
| Local forms | Middletown directs filers to the free statewide PC probate forms published by the Secretary of State under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-16. The town page does not publish a separate Middletown probate form beyond those statewide forms. |
| Filing method | Paper filing. Middletown's probate page offers no electronic filing option, and Rhode Island statutes assume signed paper petitions, original wills and a clerk's written receipt under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-1, R.I. Gen. Laws 33-24-2 and R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-21. |
| Record lookup | Middletown's probate page publishes no online probate case search. Probate records are kept by the town clerk of Middletown under R.I. Gen. Laws 8-9-7, and the town page says historical probate records date to 1743. |
| Hearing access | The meeting location is handicapped accessible. The town asks anyone needing interpreter services for the hearing impaired to notify the Town Clerk's Office at least 48 hours before each Probate Court session. |
| Website | Middletown Probate Court |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
Before you choose a form, list the assets, debts, likely heirs or beneficiaries, and whether any property was titled only in the decedent's name. In Middletown, that first asset list also drives the counter payment, because the probate filing cost is based on the petitioner's estimate and later revised under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-21.
Sunset can support estate settlement by searching across 2,300 institutions for accounts and assets, organizing what you find, and helping you understand which items may need Middletown Probate Court authority before a bank, transfer agent or buyer will act.
Which court handles jurisdiction
File where the decedent lived. If the decedent's home was in Middletown, Rhode Island, the Middletown Probate Court is the court, and no other Rhode Island probate court has jurisdiction over the estate under R.I. Gen. Laws 8-9-9.
Rhode Island has no county probate courts and no county government. The Middletown Probate Court is the court for the town of Middletown and for no other municipality under R.I. Gen. Laws 8-9-9. Middletown is in Newport County, which matters in one respect only: an appeal from a decree of this court goes to the Superior Court for that county under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-23-1, and the Superior Court sits in four divisions statewide, with Providence and Bristol counties served together.
The clerk of this probate court is the town clerk of Middletown under R.I. Gen. Laws 8-9-6. If the decedent lived in another Rhode Island city or town, that municipality's own probate court is the filing court.
The jurisdiction process
- Identify the assets, debts and title facts first. The estimate you put on the petition affects the amount due before filing, because Rhode Island charges one percent of personal property, with a $30 minimum and $1,500 maximum, under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-21, figures unchanged since at least 1996.
- Choose the correct statewide PC form. Middletown directs filers to the free Secretary of State probate forms under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-16, including administration, probate of will, waiver, appeal and closing forms.
- File the signed paper petition, original will if there is one, and related papers with the town clerk of Middletown at Middletown Town Hall, 350 East Main Road, Middletown, RI 02842. The town clerk is the clerk of the probate court under R.I. Gen. Laws 8-9-6.
- Pay the amount due before the petition is filed. Middletown's January 1, 2026 fee schedule lists most opening petitions at a $34.00 local minimum and a $1,504.00 local maximum, plus advertising under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-11 when notice is required.
- Address notice and waiver. If every interested party signs the proper waiver under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22, the advertising requirement and its local charge can fall away. Middletown's January 1, 2026 schedule lists general advertising at $54.00, a petition to sell real estate at $100.00, and qualifications advertising at $130.00 under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-11.
- Ask the clerk for Middletown's current filing cutoffs before you choose a session. The town posts local administrative rules under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-29, and the published rules should be used for deadlines that are not printed on the main probate page.
- Use the receipt as an important filing paper. Under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-21, the clerk issues a written receipt for a probate fee and notes the hearing date and time on it whenever possible.
- Attend the hearing if one is required. Middletown's regular sessions are the first and third Thursdays of each month at 8:30 a.m. at Middletown Town Hall. Uncontested matters are heard before contested matters under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-30.
- Request certificates after appointment. Each certificate of appointment costs $5.00 on Middletown's January 1, 2026 schedule and under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-21; banks, transfer agents and other institutions may each want one.
- File the inventory within 90 days after appointment unless the court allows more time. R.I. Gen. Laws 33-9-1 requires the inventory of personal property, and the one percent fee under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-21 is recalculated against that inventory.
- Handle claims, administration and any sale authority. If real estate must be sold, use the proper statewide sale petition and account for Middletown's January 1, 2026 advertising charge of $100.00 for a petition to sell real estate under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-11.
- Resolve the Rhode Island estate tax position before closing. The Middletown Probate Court cannot allow a final account until the tax has been paid, extended or determined not to apply, and the Division of Taxation's certification controls that point under R.I. Gen. Laws 44-23-36. The probate clerk also notifies the Division within 30 days after letters are granted under R.I. Gen. Laws 44-23-6.
- Close the estate with the required account or affidavit of complete administration. Middletown's January 1, 2026 schedule lists an affidavit of completed administration at $34.00, and R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-21 treats that filing as part of the statutory probate fee schedule.
Forms and documents
Probate forms at the Middletown Probate Court
Rhode Island probate forms are statewide. A legislative commission prescribes them and the Secretary of State publishes them free to the public, to lawyers and to the probate clerks under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-16. They are numbered in the PC series and downloadable at sos.ri.gov.
The Middletown Probate Court uses the same statewide forms as every other Rhode Island probate court under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-16. Middletown's probate page links to the Secretary of State catalogue and does not publish a separate Middletown probate form beyond that statewide PC series.
Common estate filings include the administration petition, petition for probate of will, waiver or advertising form, certificate-related requests, appeal form, sale petition and affidavit of complete administration. A few Rhode Island probate forms are issued by the court rather than posted online, so ask the town clerk of Middletown under R.I. Gen. Laws 8-9-6 if the Secretary of State page does not show the form you need.
Fees
Rhode Island sets probate fees by statute and the same statutory schedule applies in all 39 cities and towns. For a petition to probate a will or to grant administration, the fee is one percent of the decedent's personal property over which the court has jurisdiction, with a floor of $30 and a ceiling of $1,500 under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-21, figures unchanged since at least 1996. The amount is due before the petition is filed and is calculated from an estimate you supply on the petition itself.
Middletown's local schedule, headed January 1, 2026, adds its own local charge to that statutory schedule. It lists the opening fee as one percent of the personal estate, with a $34.00 minimum and a $1,504.00 maximum, plus advertising under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-11. The same January 1, 2026 schedule lists general advertising at $54.00, advertising for a petition to sell real estate at $100.00, qualifications advertising at $130.00, a voluntary informal executor or administrator petition under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-24 at $39.00, a certificate of appointment under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-21 at $5.00, certified copies at $3.00, and additional pages at $1.50 under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-21.
The counter payment is provisional. R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-21 requires revision when the estimate is wrong, with a further payment or a rebate. The inventory required within 90 days by R.I. Gen. Laws 33-9-1 is the point where that one percent calculation is tested against the actual personal property inventory.
If every interested party signs a waiver under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22, the advertising requirement and its local charge under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-11 can fall away. Middletown's January 1, 2026 fee schedule also says advertising checks should be payable to the Town of Middletown.
Local nuance
Middletown-specific considerations
Middletown publishes a local accessibility instruction that is unusual in Rhode Island probate. The town says the meeting location is handicapped accessible, and anyone needing interpreter services for the hearing impaired should notify the Town Clerk's Office at least 48 hours before each Probate Court session.
Middletown also publishes a local rules document, which matters because every Rhode Island probate court must maintain local administrative rules covering session dates, docketing, special sessions and filing deadlines under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-29. Use the town clerk's phone number, 401-847-0009, to confirm filing cutoffs before relying on a specific Thursday session.
Recent updates
| Change | What it means |
|---|---|
| Middletown probate fee schedule dated January 1, 2026 | The town's current local schedule lists a $34.00 minimum and $1,504.00 maximum on the one percent statutory filing fee under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-21, plus local advertising charges under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-11. |
Scenarios
| Scenario | Likely Middletown path | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse with co-owned home | Start by confirming how the Middletown home and accounts were titled. If probate is needed for assets titled only in the decedent's name, file the statewide petition with the town clerk of Middletown under R.I. Gen. Laws 8-9-6. Middletown's January 1, 2026 schedule lists most opening petitions at $34.00 plus $54.00 general advertising under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-11 unless a waiver under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22 removes advertising. | Sunset helps organize account discovery, title facts and the estate settlement packet so the spouse can see what actually needs Middletown Probate Court authority. |
| Out-of-state adult child with small estate | If the parent died without a will, an out-of-state child cannot serve as voluntary administrator under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-24-1 because that route requires Rhode Island residence. If the child is named executor in a will, the voluntary executor route under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-24-2 may be available with a resident agent on PC-3.5 under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-24-2. Middletown's January 1, 2026 schedule lists the voluntary informal executor or administrator filing under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-24 at $39.00. | Sunset helps the child compare the will, account list and residence facts before deciding whether to prepare a voluntary informal filing under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-24 or a full probate packet. |
| Parent settling predeceased child's estate, home must be sold | Real property takes the estate out of the voluntary informal route under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-24-1. File the appropriate probate petition in Middletown if the child lived in the town, then seek sale authority if needed. Middletown's January 1, 2026 schedule lists advertising for a petition to sell real estate at $100.00 under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-11, separate from the one percent fee under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-21. | Sunset helps identify accounts, prepare the court packet, and connect the family with a local probate attorney when a sale, tax clearance or contested issue makes the estate settlement more complex. |
Self-help resources
| Resource | How it helps | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Middletown Probate Court, town of Middletown | Provides the address, phone number, session schedule, jurisdiction description, accessibility and interpreter note, and links to the town's rules and fee schedule. | Middletown Probate Court |
| Middletown Probate Court fee schedule | Lists the town's January 1, 2026 probate charges, including local opening charges, advertising under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-11 and certificates under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-21. | Probate fee schedule |
| Rhode Island Secretary of State probate forms | Publishes the statewide PC probate forms free to the public under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-16, which Middletown links from its own probate page. | Probate forms |
| Rhode Island Superior Court | Hears an appeal from a Middletown Probate Court decree under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-23-1. | Superior Court |
| Rhode Island Division of Taxation estate tax | Explains Form RI-706 under R.I. Gen. Laws 44-23, the nine-month filing clock under R.I. Gen. Laws 44-23-1, and the tax certification needed before a final account is allowed under R.I. Gen. Laws 44-23-36. | Estate tax |
When to hire an attorney
A Rhode Island probate attorney is especially useful when the estate includes a home to sell, an out-of-state fiduciary, a dispute, missing heirs, tax clearance, claims presented under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-11-5, or any question about whether the voluntary informal route under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-24 fits. The clerk can receive filings and keep the probate records under R.I. Gen. Laws 8-9-7, but the clerk cannot give legal advice. Sunset connects to a vetted attorney.
How Sunset helps
Find the accounts and assets. Sunset helps families build a clearer asset picture before filing in Middletown, so the estate settlement starts with the accounts, property and debts that actually matter.
Generate the probate packet. Sunset turns the information you gather into an organized packet for the Middletown Probate Court, using Rhode Island's statewide PC forms under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-16 and the local filing details for Middletown.
Find a local probate attorney. When a Middletown estate needs legal help, Sunset can connect the family with a probate attorney who understands Rhode Island municipal probate practice.
Sunset is free for families. Families can use Sunset to organize estate settlement, find assets, prepare for court filing, and decide when attorney help is needed without paying Sunset.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I file probate for someone who lived in Middletown, Rhode Island?
File with the town clerk of Middletown at Middletown Town Hall, 350 East Main Road, Middletown, RI 02842. The town clerk is the clerk of the probate court under R.I. Gen. Laws 8-9-6, and the Middletown Probate Court has jurisdiction over estates of Middletown residents under R.I. Gen. Laws 8-9-9.
When does Middletown Probate Court hold hearings?
Middletown's regular sessions are the first and third Thursdays of each month at 8:30 a.m. at Middletown Town Hall. Rhode Island requires each probate court's local administrative rules to cover session dates and filing deadlines under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-29, so call 401-847-0009 before choosing a target session.
Can I file a Middletown probate case electronically?
Middletown's probate page offers no electronic filing option. Plan on a paper filing with the town clerk of Middletown under R.I. Gen. Laws 8-9-6, because Rhode Island statutes require signed written petitions, original wills where applicable, and a written fee receipt under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-1, R.I. Gen. Laws 33-24-2 and R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-21.
Is there an online Middletown probate case search?
Middletown's probate page publishes no online probate case search. Probate records are kept by the town clerk under R.I. Gen. Laws 8-9-7, and the town page says historical probate records date to 1743.
How much does probate cost in Middletown?
The statutory filing fee is one percent of personal property, with a $30 minimum and $1,500 maximum, figures unchanged since at least 1996 under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-21. Middletown's January 1, 2026 local schedule lists a $34.00 minimum and $1,504.00 maximum, plus advertising charges under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-11, including $54.00 general advertising, $100.00 for a petition to sell real estate, and $130.00 for qualifications advertising.
Do I have to travel to Middletown for a probate hearing?
If a hearing is required, Middletown's regular sessions are at Middletown Town Hall. The practical way to reduce travel is often to make the matter uncontested: if all interested parties sign a waiver under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22, the advertising step under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-11 may be avoided, and uncontested matters are heard before contested matters under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-30.
What should I do if I need hearing assistance in Middletown Probate Court?
The town says the meeting location is handicapped accessible. If you need interpreter services for the hearing impaired, notify the Town Clerk's Office at least 48 hours before the Probate Court session.
Can an out-of-state child use the Rhode Island small estate process in Middletown?
It depends on whether there is a will. For an intestate estate, the voluntary administrator route under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-24-1 requires Rhode Island residence. If the will names the out-of-state child as executor, the voluntary executor route under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-24-2 may be available with a resident agent on PC-3.5 under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-24-2. Middletown's January 1, 2026 schedule lists a voluntary informal executor or administrator petition under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-24 at $39.00.
Shaped by the families we've helped
Thank you to the thousands of families who have trusted Sunset to help settle their loved ones' estates. This page is shaped by the questions they actually asked and the obstacles they actually hit — and that hard-won experience is what keeps it accurate, current, and genuinely useful to the families who come next.