Probate in Connecticut: do you need a lawyer, and what it costs

Settling an estate in Connecticut

What an executor deals with after the funeral: the will, the court, creditors, tax and closing the estate. Each fact links to the statute it comes from and shows the date we last read it.

Filing the original will

In Connecticut, if you hold the original will of the person who died, you must deliver it right away after learning of the death to the executor named in it or to the Probate Court for the district where they lived. Not doing so within 30 days can bring a fine of up to $1,000 or up to a year in jail.

Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 45a-282, 45a-283Read the statute · cga.ct.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Which court handles probate

In Connecticut, probate is handled by the Probate Court for the probate district where the person who died was domiciled (their permanent home). If they lived out of state, it can be opened in a district where they last lived or owned property in Connecticut.

Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 45a-283, 45a-303, 45a-287Read the statute · cga.ct.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Creditors' deadline to make claims

In Connecticut, the Probate Court publishes a newspaper notice to creditors within 14 days after the executor or administrator (called the fiduciary) is appointed. Creditors who present claims within 150 days of that appointment are protected; after that, the fiduciary is not responsible for money already paid out in good faith. The fiduciary can also mail a notice giving a creditor at least 90 days, after which the claim is barred, and all claims are cut off two years after the death.

Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 45a-354, 45a-356, 45a-357, 45a-375Read the statute · cga.ct.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Estate inventory

In Connecticut, the executor or administrator (called the fiduciary) must file a signed inventory of everything the person who died owned, valued at fair market value, with the Probate Court within two months after qualifying. The court can extend this to no more than four months.

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-341Read the statute · cga.ct.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

The order estate debts are paid

In Connecticut, debts of the estate are paid in a set order: funeral expenses first, then the costs of settling the estate, then last illness bills, then taxes and debts owed to the state and the United States, then recent wages owed to workers, then other preferred claims, then everything else in proportion.

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-365Read the statute · cga.ct.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

State estate and inheritance tax

Connecticut has an estate tax but no inheritance tax. For deaths on or after January 1, 2026, no tax is due if the Connecticut taxable estate is $15 million or less, but every estate must still file a Connecticut estate tax return within six months of the death.

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-391(c)(4), (g)(9)Read the statute · cga.ct.govchecked Oct 5, 2026effective Jan 1, 2026

Closing an estate

In Connecticut, the executor or administrator (called the fiduciary) closes the estate by filing a final financial report or, in some cases, a full account with the Probate Court once the estate is settled, and sending copies to everyone involved. If the estate is still open a year after appointment, the fiduciary sends the court a status update. After the court approves the final report, the remaining property is distributed, and if the court asks, the fiduciary files an affidavit of closing within 30 days after everything is handed out.

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-175; Conn. Probate Court Rules of Procedure §§ 30.19, 30.21, 36.2, 36.3, 36.12Read the statute · ctprobate.govchecked Oct 5, 2026