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Connecticut route screening

Connecticut small-estate limit: $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.

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

Threshold evidence and currency

What the reviewed source establishes

Currency: No later session-law supersession is recorded in the reviewed source set for this threshold. The edition/currentness label below is the basis for the published figure.

Controlling citation: C.G.S. § 45a-273 — 2026 Supplement.

Verbatim threshold text from that source:

If the aggregate value of a decedent's solely owned tangible and intangible personal property, excluding property that passes outside of probate by operation of law, does not exceed forty thousand dollars
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 Connecticut amount screen counts

The headline limit is not a count of everything the person owned. It is a test of the property and deductions named by this procedure. Classify title and beneficiary status first; property that transfers by a valid survivorship right, beneficiary designation, or funded trust follows its own transfer path.

This reviewed route is limited to personal probate property. A house or other real property is not transferred through this screen, even when the personal-property total is below $40,000. Open the deed and the receiving court’s real-property instructions before assuming the simplified procedure resolves the whole estate.

The reviewed value basis is gross for this route. The tool does not subtract a mortgage or other lien from the amount test unless the cited rule says to do so.

Timing and facts the threshold cannot answer

The reviewed route requires 30 days after death before the affidavit or petition can be used. That is a minimum timing condition, not a promise that the institution or court completes the transfer on that day.

What does not qualify for this route

  • An estate above $40,000 does not qualify for this value-based route, unless the separately described alternate route applies.
  • Real property is outside this route’s scope; the affidavit or statement does not transfer a house or other real estate.
  • Filing before 30 days have elapsed from death fails the reviewed timing condition.
  • A pending or completed personal-representative appointment, a will condition, creditor issue, or family-rights condition can disqualify the route even when the amount appears within the reviewed rule.

Move from the screen to the official Connecticut path

Assemble the death date, will status, asset titles, beneficiary confirmations, values, enforceable liens, family facts, and any prior court filing before signing anything. Then use the court publisher’s current artifact for the selected route.

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.

If the state publishes no statewide form, that is a finding—not a missing link. Contact the Probate Court or clerk in the proper county for its packet and current filing instructions rather than borrowing an unofficial form from another county.

Questions to resolve before relying on “likely qualifies”

  • 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.
  • Confirm deed, account title, beneficiary, and trust ownership from the actual records.
  • Confirm whether a will, prior appointment, creditor issue, or family allowance changes the route.
  • Confirm the official form, fee, copy count, and filing method with the receiving court or institution.
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.

Connecticut eligibility map

What the Connecticut simplified route still requires

The Connecticut threshold is one screen, not a complete legal conclusion. This map pairs the recorded ceiling with the property scope, deductions, date, and court artifact that have to be checked before relying on a likely-qualifies result.

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.

Eligibility inputs

The Connecticut screen is made of these inputs

A threshold is useful only when the amount is measured the way the source describes. Keep this table with the asset worksheet so an empty or misclassified field cannot look like a confirmed qualification.

InputRegistry record
Threshold$40,000
Property scopepersonal probate property only
Value basisgross value for this route
Waiting period30 days after death
Required extra factsNone listed in the registry

Case-file context

Keep the Connecticut answer with its neighboring conditions

A route answer is easier to use when the facts that can change it stay in the same record. These are the reviewed Connecticut descriptions adjacent to this page\'s main question; they are not a substitute for the source quotations or the receiving court\'s instructions.

Cost context

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.

1 published schedule; the proceeding and value basis control the total.

Compensation context

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.

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.

Deadline context

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.

  • 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.

Court-material note: 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.

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

Use the calculator for arithmetic, then verify title, timing, and the receiving court's form.

  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

Controlling source

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

Continue in Connecticut