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Right to Request an Accounting: Beneficiaries have the right to request a formal accounting from the executor. This accounting should provide a detailed overview of the estate's assets, income, expenses, and distributions.

Beneficiaries are entitled to request bank statements from the executor by making an informal written request for them. Some executors may attach bank statements to their accountings for added transparency without beneficiaries having to ask, but it's usually not a requirement for them to do so.

As an executor, you must provide a formal accounting at least once a year, but beneficiaries can request an informal probate accounting in California at any time. When they do, you must produce it. Because of this, maintaining thorough and accurate records of the estate's finances is crucial.

Any Rhode Island estate larger than $15,000 is subject to probate regardless of whether the deceased had a will. The probate process verifies who will control and inherit assets from the estate. If the decedent died intestate, the assets will go to the next of kin — the closest surviving blood relatives.

First and foremost, there are a number of asset types that typically do not pass through probate. This includes life insurance policies, bank accounts, and investment or retirement accounts that require you to name a beneficiary.

Create living trusts In a living trust, the trust is the owner of the assets and not you. Thereby, assets in the trust can skip probate. This is often the best choice for a large estate or if there are many beneficiaries. Another advantage of living trusts is that they ensure privacy, unlike creating a will.

In Rhode Island, you can make a living trust to avoid probate for virtually any asset you own—real estate, bank accounts, vehicles, and so on. You need to create a trust document (similar to a will), naming someone to take over as trustee after your death (called a "successor trustee").

What Are Rhode Island's Small Estate Laws? If a person dies with less than $15,000 of personal property, probate may be shortened under the "small estate" provision.

If you are in possession of a will of a deceased person, you must either file it with the appropriate court or deliver it to the person named in the will as executor, as under Rhode Island law the will is to be filed within 30 days after death.