Quick answer: the most common mechanical mistake is never recording a new deed into the trust's name for real estate. The most common Rhode Island-specific mistake is assuming a basic trust already shelters the estate from the state's low-threshold estate tax — it doesn't. See how the numbers change in the Rhode Island probate vs living trust calculator.
Signing ≠ funding
1. Real estate deed never recorded — the #1 mechanical mistake
Moving real estate into a trust requires a new deed, signed and recorded, naming the trust as owner. This is the step most often skipped. Left undone, that property remains a probate asset — subject to the full municipal probate court process, regardless of the trust document sitting in a drawer.
2. Assuming a basic trust beats the estate tax — Rhode Island's own risk
Because Rhode Island's $1,838,056 exemption is one of the lowest in the country, more ordinary families here brush up against it than in most states. A couple who assumes a standard revocable trust already protects that combined value is mistaken — only a QTIP, marital, or AB trust structure, built specifically for this purpose, actually shelters assets passing between spouses.
3. Financial accounts left titled individually
Bank and brokerage accounts don't join a trust automatically. Each one has to be retitled into the trust's name, or the institution needs a copy of the trust document plus a change-of-ownership form. Accounts opened after the trust was created are especially easy to forget.
4. Treating the small estate procedure as a safety net
Rhode Island's small estate procedure — $15,000 or less, personal property only, no real estate — is a genuine shortcut for modest, unfunded assets, but the threshold is narrow. It's not a backstop for a house or a sizeable account left outside the trust by mistake; those amounts require full probate in whichever municipal court applies, regardless of the unused trust document.
A local probate attorney can review your estate — many offer a free consultation.