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Woonsocket Probate Court, RI Probate Information
Quick facts
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Court | Woonsocket Probate Court, the probate court of the city of Woonsocket. |
| Where to file | Office of the City Clerk, Woonsocket City Hall, 169 Main Street, Woonsocket, RI 02895. The city clerk is the clerk of the probate court under R.I. Gen. Laws 8-9-6. |
| Mailing | Call the clerk before mailing an original will or time-sensitive estate settlement papers. The available court directory points to Woonsocket City Hall, 169 Main Street, Woonsocket, RI 02895. |
| Phone | (401) 767-9247. A separate court directory lists (401) 767-9248, so call before relying on either number for a deadline. |
| Fax | (401) 765-0022. Call before sending time-sensitive filings by fax. |
| No role email is published in the materials available for this page. Reach the probate clerk by phone. | |
| Clerk counter hours | Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. These are clerk counter hours, not the court's sitting schedule. |
| Court sessions | Call the clerk for the current Woonsocket sitting date and time. Rhode Island law requires every probate court to have local administrative rules that include the dates and times it is in session (R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-29). |
| Filing fee | 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 (R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-21). The fee figures in section 33-22-21 have been unchanged since at least 1996. Ask the clerk for Woonsocket's own records and advertising charges before you file. The one percent is recalculated against the inventory and the difference is billed or refunded. |
| Forms | Rhode Island PC forms are statewide and free through the Secretary of State under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-16. Ask the clerk whether Woonsocket requires any local checklist. |
| Filing method | Rhode Island statutes assume paper filing: a petition must be in writing and signed, the original will has to reach the court, and the fee is paid before filing with a written receipt (R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-1, 33-24-2, and 33-22-21). |
| Case information | Rhode Island's state Judiciary case information system does not index municipal probate courts. Call the Woonsocket clerk for probate files kept by the city clerk under R.I. Gen. Laws 8-9-7. |
| Attendance options | Call the clerk before making travel plans or scheduling a hearing. |
| Website | Woonsocket city probate page. If the page displays an access screen, use the phone number above. |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
Before you file in Woonsocket, make a practical estate settlement list: bank accounts, vehicles, retirement accounts, life insurance, debts, real property, and any asset titled only in the decedent's name. Rhode Island's opening fee is tied to the personal-property estimate you put on the petition, so the asset list matters from day one (R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-21).
Sunset can search more than 2,300 institutions for accounts and assets, then help organize what belongs in the probate packet for the Woonsocket Probate Court. That early asset work makes estate settlement faster and reduces the chance of paying the wrong provisional fee at filing.
Which court handles jurisdiction
File where the decedent lived. If the decedent's home was in Woonsocket, the Woonsocket Probate Court is the court, and no other Rhode Island probate court has jurisdiction over the estate (R.I. Gen. Laws 8-9-9). If the decedent lived in another Rhode Island city or town, that municipality's own probate court is the place to file.
Rhode Island has no county probate courts and no county government. The Woonsocket Probate Court is the court for the city of Woonsocket and for no other municipality (R.I. Gen. Laws 8-9-9). Woonsocket is in Providence County, which matters in one respect only: an appeal from a decree of this court goes to the Superior Court for that county (R.I. Gen. Laws 33-23-1), and the Superior Court sits in four divisions statewide, with Providence and Bristol counties served together.
The jurisdiction process
- Identify the assets and debts before choosing a filing path. The personal-property estimate on the petition drives the provisional fee under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-21.
- Get the Rhode Island PC forms from the Secretary of State. The forms are statewide and free to the public under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-16. Ask the Woonsocket clerk whether a local checklist is also required.
- Prepare the opening papers. For an intestate estate, the statewide Administration Petition is PC-1.1 and its face cites R.I. Gen. Laws 33-8-8. If there is a will, use the statewide will petition and be ready to deliver the original will to the court.
- File with the Office of the City Clerk at Woonsocket City Hall, 169 Main Street, Woonsocket, RI 02895. The city clerk is the clerk of the probate court under R.I. Gen. Laws 8-9-6.
- Pay the fee before the petition is filed. For a petition to probate a will or grant administration, Rhode Island charges one percent of the personal property under the court's jurisdiction, with a floor of $30 and a ceiling of $1,500, under figures unchanged since at least 1996 (R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-21). Ask the clerk for Woonsocket's records charge and any advertising cost required under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-11.
- Use notice or waiver correctly. Most matters that require notice use newspaper advertising under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-11, but interested parties may be able to sign a waiver under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-5 or 33-22-15. A complete waiver can reduce both cost and travel.
- Ask the clerk for the current hearing date. Rhode Island law requires Woonsocket's local administrative rules to state when the court is in session (R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-29). Uncontested matters are heard before contested matters, and a special session for a contested matter carries no added court charge (R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-30).
- After the court appoints you, order certificates of appointment from the probate clerk. Rhode Island sets the charge for every certificate of appointment in the current statutory schedule at five dollars, and the fee figures in R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-21 have been unchanged since at least 1996. A bank, transfer agent, and motor-vehicle office may each ask for its own certificate.
- File the inventory within 90 days after appointment unless the probate court allows more time. The inventory requirement is in R.I. Gen. Laws 33-9-1, and the one percent fee under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-21 is recalculated when the inventory shows the actual personal-property value.
- Resolve taxes and close the estate. Before the Woonsocket Probate Court will allow the final account, it must see that the Rhode Island estate tax has been paid, extended, or determined not to apply (R.I. Gen. Laws 44-23-36). In practice, that can mean filing Form RI-706 with the Division of Taxation and obtaining a Notice of No Tax Due for the probate court, even when no tax is owed under R.I. Gen. Laws 44-22.
Forms and documents
Probate forms at the Woonsocket 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 (R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-16). They are numbered in the PC series and downloadable at sos.ri.gov.
The Woonsocket Probate Court uses the same statewide forms as every other Rhode Island probate court. A few forms are issued by the court rather than published online, so ask the clerk if you cannot find one, and ask whether Woonsocket has a local filing checklist in addition to the statewide set.
| Need | Common form | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Open an intestate estate | PC-1.1 Administration Petition | The form's face cites R.I. Gen. Laws 33-8-8 and includes the personal-estate estimate used for the opening fee under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-21. |
| Use the voluntary informal administrator route | PC-1.10 | Used for the small estate route under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-24-1, when the statutory limits and residency rule are met. |
| Use the voluntary informal executor route | PC-1.9 | Used when a will names an executor and the estate qualifies under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-24-2. |
| Appoint a Rhode Island resident agent | PC-3.5 | Needed when an out-of-state executor uses the R.I. Gen. Laws 33-24-2 route and must appoint a resident agent. |
| Save advertising cost when everyone agrees | PC-9.1 Waiver or Advertising | Advertising is governed by R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-11, and waiver practice is tied to R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22. |
| Appeal a decree | PC-9.3 Claim of Appeal | The claim of appeal starts the two-step appeal process under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-23-1. |
| Close a completed estate | PC-7.3 Affidavit of complete administration | This filing is one of the $30 filings in the current statutory schedule under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-21, with fee figures unchanged since at least 1996. |
Recent updates
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely Woonsocket path | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse with a co-owned home | Start by identifying what was jointly owned and what was in the decedent's name alone. If a probate filing is needed in Woonsocket, file with the city clerk at City Hall. If all interested parties sign a waiver under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22, the family may avoid some advertising under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-11 and reduce travel. | Sunset helps build the asset list, separate jointly owned assets from probate assets, and prepare the estate settlement packet for the Woonsocket Probate Court. |
| Out-of-state adult child with a 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 the affiant to be a Rhode Island resident. If the child is named executor in a will, the R.I. Gen. Laws 33-24-2 voluntary informal executor route may work with a resident agent, using PC-3.5 under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-24-2. Filing is by paper with the Woonsocket city clerk. | Sunset helps determine whether the estate is small enough for R.I. Gen. Laws 33-24, identifies accounts before filing, and connects the family with local help if a Rhode Island resident agent or attorney is needed. |
| Parent settling a predeceased child's estate, home must be sold | A sale of real estate generally requires full probate authority, and the statewide real-estate petition is PC-4.2. Rhode Island also places a statutory lien on real property at death, and clearing the estate tax position matters before closing the sale and before the final account is allowed (R.I. Gen. Laws 44-23-12 and 44-23-36). | Sunset helps find accounts, organize real-property and debt information, prepare documents for the Woonsocket filing, and connect the family with a vetted probate attorney for the sale and tax-lien steps. |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it provides | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Woonsocket Probate Court official city page | The city probate page. If it displays an access screen, call the clerk at (401) 767-9247. | Woonsocket probate page |
| Rhode Island Secretary of State Open Meetings entry for Woonsocket Probate Court | State government page for the Woonsocket Probate Court as a public body, including a contact phone. | Open Meetings entry |
| Rhode Island Secretary of State probate forms | Statewide PC probate forms, free under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-16. | Probate forms |
| Rhode Island Superior Court | Information about the Superior Court that hears a probate appeal under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-23-1, with Providence and Bristol counties served together. | Superior Court |
| Rhode Island Division of Taxation estate tax | Estate tax return, lien discharge, Form RI-706, Form T-77 for real property, and Form T-79 for securities under R.I. Gen. Laws 44-22 and 44-23. | Estate tax |
When to hire an attorney
Consider a Rhode Island probate attorney if the estate includes real property, a disputed will, a contested fiduciary appointment, creditor issues under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-11-5, a bond or surety question under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-17, an estate tax filing under R.I. Gen. Laws 44-22 and 44-23, or an appeal under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-23-1. Sunset connects to a vetted attorney.
How Sunset helps
Find the accounts and assets. Sunset searches for financial accounts, insurance, retirement assets, and other property so the family can begin estate settlement with a clearer inventory and a better filing-fee estimate under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-21.
Generate the probate packet. Sunset organizes the information needed for the statewide Rhode Island PC forms and helps prepare a packet for filing with the Woonsocket city clerk.
Find a local probate attorney. If the estate needs court strategy, real-estate sale authority, a tax lien discharge, or help with a contested matter, Sunset can connect the family with a vetted Rhode Island probate attorney.
Sunset is free for families. Families can use Sunset to organize estate settlement, find assets, and understand next steps without paying Sunset.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I file probate if the person lived in Woonsocket?
File with the Woonsocket Probate Court through the Office of the City Clerk at Woonsocket City Hall, 169 Main Street, Woonsocket, RI 02895. The city clerk is the clerk of the probate court under R.I. Gen. Laws 8-9-6, and the Woonsocket Probate Court has jurisdiction for the city of Woonsocket under R.I. Gen. Laws 8-9-9.
What phone number should I use for the Woonsocket Probate Court?
Use (401) 767-9247 as the primary phone. A separate court directory lists (401) 767-9248, so call before relying on a number for a filing deadline or hearing question.
Can I file a Woonsocket probate case online?
Plan on paper filing. Rhode Island probate statutes assume written, signed petitions, delivery of the original will when a will is involved, and payment before filing with a written receipt from the clerk (R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-1, 33-24-2, and 33-22-21).
When does the Woonsocket Probate Court meet?
Call the clerk for the current sitting date and time. Rhode Island law requires every probate court to have local administrative rules stating the dates and times it is in session (R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-29), and the clerk is the best local contact before you travel.
How much does it cost to open probate in Woonsocket?
For a petition to probate a will or grant administration, Rhode Island charges one percent of the decedent's personal property under the court's jurisdiction, with a minimum of $30 and a maximum of $1,500, under fee figures unchanged since at least 1996 (R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-21). That amount is provisional because it is based on the estimate you submit, then revised against the inventory. Ask the clerk for Woonsocket's added records and advertising charges under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-11 before filing.
Are there Woonsocket probate forms?
Use the statewide Rhode Island PC forms. They are published free by the Secretary of State under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-16 at sos.ri.gov. Ask the Woonsocket clerk whether the court also wants a local checklist.
Can I look up a Woonsocket probate matter online?
Rhode Island's state Judiciary case information system does not index municipal probate courts. Probate files are kept locally by the city clerk of Woonsocket under R.I. Gen. Laws 8-9-7, so call the clerk for access instructions.
Do I have to travel to Woonsocket for probate?
Call the clerk before making travel plans. If every interested party signs a waiver under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22, some matters may avoid advertising under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-22-11 and may be simpler to schedule, but the clerk must tell you how Woonsocket will handle your filing.
Can an out-of-state child use the Rhode Island small estate process in Woonsocket?
It depends on whether there is a will. For an intestate estate, R.I. Gen. Laws 33-24-1 requires the voluntary administrator to be a Rhode Island resident. If a will names an out-of-state executor, the voluntary informal executor route under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-24-2 may be available if the executor appoints a resident agent using PC-3.5 under R.I. Gen. Laws 33-24-2.
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.