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Connecticut estate administration

Connecticut probate: rules, process, costs, executor fees and deadlines

Small-estate limit: $40,000

This guide explains probate in Connecticut: Connecticut settles decedents' estates in the Court of Probate. Small estates up to $40,000 in solely owned personal property use an affidavit (§ 45a-273). Probate fees follow the statewide graduated § 45a-107 schedule (min $25/$150, max $40,000). Fiduciary compensation is 'reasonable' under Probate Court Rule 39; there is no statutory percentage schedule.

Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.

Answer first

Connecticut simplified probate route

Connecticut's small-estate settlement (C.G.S. § 45a-273) applies when the aggregate value of the decedent's solely owned tangible and intangible personal property, excluding property passing outside probate by operation of law, does not exceed $40,000 (gross), and the decedent left no solely owned Connecticut real property. The Probate Court will not issue its decree until 30 days after a copy of the affidavit is sent to the Department of Administrative Services.

Settlement of small estates (affidavit in lieu of administration)
1. Where and when
Private by design: entries stay in this browser.
2. What they left

Ownership determines whether an asset usually enters probate. Choose “Not sure” when title or beneficiary status has not been confirmed.

Asset 1

Asset 2

Your working estimate

Connecticut estate snapshot

Route check

More information is needed

Counted probate estate: not yet counted

A valid date of death is required before any waiting period can be tested.

Gross probate propertyNot yet counted
Court chargeMore information neededProbate fees for a decedent dying on or after July 1, 20162 asset entries have no value entered. A blank amount is not treated as zero, so the charge cannot be computed.Court charges only, for the proceeding named beside each figure. That proceeding is not always the route screened above.
Scheduled executor compensationMore information needed2 asset entries have no value entered.Connecticut has no statutory percentage schedule for fiduciary compensation; an executor or administrator is entitled to reasonable compensation, governed by Rule 39 (Section 39.1) of the Probate Court Rules of Procedure. The court reviews reasonableness rather than applying a fixed percentage.

This route check is general information, not legal advice. It does not test every eligibility condition, creditor issue, will provision, local fee, or asset-title fact.

What the reviewed rules establish

Simplified route

$40,000

Connecticut's small-estate settlement (C.G.S. § 45a-273) applies when the aggregate value of the decedent's solely owned tangible and intangible personal property, excluding property passing outside probate by operation of law, does not exceed $40,000 (gross), and the decedent left no solely owned Connecticut real property. The Probate Court will not issue its decree until 30 days after a copy of the affidavit is sent to the Department of Administrative Services.

Eligibility and caveats

Court cost

Tiered

Connecticut charges a statewide graduated probate fee under C.G.S. § 45a-107 (decedents dying on or after July 1, 2016), computed on the basis for fees (generally the greatest of the gross estate for succession-tax purposes, the inventory, the Connecticut taxable estate, or the gross estate for estate-tax purposes; the surviving-spouse share reduced by 50%). Bands: $25 up to $500; $50 for $501–$1,000; $50 plus 1% of the excess over $1,000 up to $10,000; $150 plus .35% of the excess over $10,000 up to $500,000; $1,865 plus .25% of the excess over $500,000 up to $2,000,000; $5,615 plus .5% of the excess over $2,000,000 up to $8,877,000; and a flat $40,000 at $8,877,000 and over. Minimum fee $25 ($150 if the basis is under $10,000 and a full estate is opened); maximum $40,000.

Filing-cost detail

Executor compensation

Court-reviewed

Connecticut has no statutory percentage schedule for fiduciary compensation; an executor or administrator is entitled to reasonable compensation, governed by Rule 39 (Section 39.1) of the Probate Court Rules of Procedure. The court reviews reasonableness rather than applying a fixed percentage.

Compensation detail

Creditor deadline

Not published

No creditor deadline is published here because the governing rule was not verified to this site’s primary-source standard.

Timeline and creditor details

Connecticut decision map

The four facts that change the Connecticut route

Use this map before opening a form or entering a number. It keeps the Connecticut amount test, time gate, court cost, and creditor record separate so one easy figure does not stand in for the whole administration.

QuestionRecorded Connecticut answerCarry into the case
What route is being screened?Settlement of small estates (affidavit in lieu of administration)Confirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route.
What property and basis count?personal probate property only; gross value for this route.Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately.
What is the amount screen?$40,000Use the counted property, not a bank-balance shortcut.
What is the time or deadline record?30 days after death; No deadline is recorded here: Connecticut runs a notice-to-creditors period plus separate rules for failure to present and for allowance/rejection of claims; a single number would conflate the publication/notice trigger with the outer limit.Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number.
What does the cost record establish?1 published schedule; the proceeding and value basis control the total.Ask the Probate Court about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings.
What does compensation use?Connecticut has no statutory percentage schedule for fiduciary compensation; an executor or administrator is entitled to reasonable compensation, governed by Rule 39 (Section 39.1) of the Probate Court Rules of Procedure. The court reviews reasonableness rather than applying a fixed percentage. The relevant base is the estate accounting.Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate.

Arithmetic illustration

See the Connecticut amount screen without mistaking it for a result

The recorded Connecticut ceiling is $40,000, and it is tested against personal probate property only, on a basis this site records as gross value for this route. Counted that way, $30,000 sits below the Connecticut figure and $50,000 sits above it. Both are comparisons to a published number rather than legal outcomes: two estates holding the same total can land on opposite sides of this line, because what Connecticut counts and how it values it are decided before the comparison is made.

Illustrative counted amountComparison to the Connecticut ceilingWhat it does not decide
$30,000Below $40,000Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties
$50,000Above $40,000Whether another statutory route or court process applies

Next evidence to collect

Start with the row that is still unknown, then take that question to the named court or source.

  1. Record the date of death, the county, and the exact proceeding or affidavit being considered.
  2. Classify each asset by title, beneficiary, trust, real-property status, and the value basis shown above.
  3. Open the official court material below and keep its form or schedule with the estate record.
  4. Do not distribute property until the route, creditor position, and required approvals are resolved.

Official material

Connecticut probate is heard in the Court of Probate (Probate Court). Form PC-212 is the statewide small-estate affidavit; the ctprobate.gov Fees & Calculators page implements the § 45a-107 schedule.

Source trail

Records used by this Connecticut map

Limits and unresolved costs

  • Eligibility also requires no solely owned Connecticut real property. Eligibility requires the decedent left no solely owned real property in Connecticut.
  • § 45a-107 is a base-plus-marginal schedule; applying the band 'amount' as a flat fee (ignoring the '+% of excess') would materially understate fees for large estates. Integrator must honor excessRate/excessOver.
  • Fiduciary-compensation 'reasonable' standard is characterized from Rule 39's caption plus the verified absence of any statutory schedule; the substantive rule text could not be extracted from the image-based PDF.
  • Attorney fees, bond premiums, publication, certified copies, tax work, and asset-sale costs are not included unless expressly shown.
  • Asset title, beneficiary designations, creditor claims, and will terms can change the route.
Use this as a starting point.

This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.

Continue

What Connecticut courts publish

The statutes on this page state the rule. These are the documents the court itself publishes. Every link is probed before release, and any link that stops resolving fails the build rather than staying on the page.

Limits on court material

  • Connecticut probate is heard in the Court of Probate (Probate Court). Form PC-212 is the statewide small-estate affidavit; the ctprobate.gov Fees & Calculators page implements the § 45a-107 schedule.

Primary sources

Each legal input links to the government source reviewed for this page. Source text can change; confirm the current rule before acting.