We are often asked how long it takes to settle an estate in Connecticut. The answer depends in large part upon which of the following three categories the estate falls into: a full estate, an affidavit estate, or a tax purposes only (TPO) estate.

Full estates are further divided into two subsets: testate and intestate. Testate describes an estate in which the deceased person (decedent) left a valid will that has been admitted into probate. Intestate describes an estate in which the decedent left no will, resulting in the estate passing to the decedent’s legal heirs under Connecticut’s intestacy statute.¹

Before describing the three types of estates in detail, we first need to discuss the Connecticut estate tax return because this return is required for all estates regardless of type.

The Connecticut Estate Tax Return

Connecticut’s estate tax exemption now matches the federal estate tax exemption ($13,610,000 in 2024, dropping to approximately $7,000,000 in 2026).² When the total gross estate for a Connecticut estate tax purposes is under this amount, no Connecticut estate tax is due.

Even when no tax is due, however, a Connecticut estate tax return must still be filed within six months of death with the probate court having jurisdiction over the estate. When Connecticut estate tax is due, this return is filed with the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services.  In both cases, probate fees³ are assessed with reference to this return.

For non-taxable estates, once the tax return is processed by the Probate Court and probate fees are paid, the Court issues its Opinion of No Tax. If the decedent had an interest in real estate, whether as sole owner, joint owner or as the grantor of a living trust that held real estate in Connecticut, the Court will also issue a Certificate Releasing Liens, removing the automatic inchoate liens that automatically attached to that real estate at the decedent’s death.  

In Connecticut, there are two liens that need to be released, one for probate fees and the other for Connecticut estate tax. The certificate releasing these liens gets filed on the land records where the property is located and removes the cloud on title created by these automatic inchoate liens. This must be done before the property can be sold.

For taxable estates that exceed the Connecticut estate tax exemption, the Connecticut estate tax return is filed with the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services. A federal estate tax return, Form 706, is also filed with the IRS.  If the decedent owned an interest in real estate in Connecticut, once the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services (CT DRS) fully processes the estate tax return and the Connecticut estate taxes are paid, a Certificate Releasing Connecticut Estate Tax is obtained from the CT DRS. Connecticut probate fees are assessed based on the Connecticut estate tax return and once they are paid, a separate Certificate Releasing Probate Fee Lien is issued by the Probate Court.

As discussed above, both certificates releasing lien, the one from CT DRS releasing the Connecticut estate tax lien and the one from the Probate Court releasing the probate fee lien, get recorded on the land records where the property is located.  It is worth noting that these inchoate liens on real property in Connecticut need to be released in this fashion regardless of whether the Connecticut taxable estate is above or below the Connecticut estate tax exemption and regardless of whether the decedent was a Connecticut resident or nonresident.⁴

Having discussed the Connecticut estate tax return, we can now turn to an overview of the Connecticut probate process and the three types of estates.

1. TPO (tax purposes only) Estates

This is an estate where no property passes through probate because nothing was solely owned by the decedent. All assets, accounts and policies either had a joint owner, a beneficiary or were held in trust.

These types of estates usually take the shortest amount of time to settle. If the decedent had a Last Will and Testament, it gets filed with the Probate Court for information purposes only. As outlined above, if the total gross estate for Connecticut estate tax purposes is under the Connecticut estate tax exemption, a Connecticut Estate Tax Return is filed with the Probate Court.

If the value of the estate exceeds this amount, this return is instead filed with the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services. Either way, once the estate receives tax clearance, it may then be distributed.

2. Small Estate Affidavit⁵

This is an estate where the decedent owned personal property having a total value under $40,000 and held no solely owned interest in real estate. For these small estates, Connecticut has a simplified and expedited probate process.

Under this small estate procedure, an Affidavit is filed listing the decedent’s solely owned assets, funeral expenses, expenses associated with settling the estate, taxes, and the decedent’s debts. By approving this Affidavit, the Court authorizes the transfer of assets to reimburse the person who paid the expenses and debts. If these expenses or debts are not yet paid, the Court will order direct payment to the person(s) entitled to payment.

If assets exceed expenses and debts, a Request for Order and Distribution is filed requesting that the Court issue a personal property decree authorizing the property to be transferred to the beneficiaries under the will.  If there is no will, the decree directs the transfer of this property to the heirs at law under Connecticut’s intestacy statute.

3. Full Estate⁶

This is an estate where the decedent either held solely owned real property, solely owned personal property having a total value over $40,000, or where property over $40,000 will be payable to the decedent’s estate (e.g., an IRA or life insurance policy with no beneficiary named). Full estates involve a more extensive probate process that begins with the proposed fiduciary petitioning the Probate Court within 30 days of the decedent’s death.

The fiduciary’s appointment initiates a 150-day period for creditors to present any claims against the estate. Typically, it is during this statutory claims period that the inventory and estate tax return are filed. Once this 150-day claims period expires, the fiduciary has 60 days to file a Return of Claims listing the claims that were presented and whether they were allowed or disallowed. Soon thereafter, a financial report is filed reporting assets, income, gain/loss, expenses, and distributions.

Once approved by the Probate Court, the fiduciary distributes the estate in accordance with the approved Financial Report’s proposed distribution schedule which follows the provisions of the will or adheres to the laws of intestacy if there is no will. Once all final expenses have been paid, the fiduciary files an Affidavit of Closing to conclude the estate proceedings.^7,8

Trust Settlement

If there is a funded trust, regardless of the type of estate, the settlement process will include compliance with the Connecticut Uniform Trust Code and preparation of a detailed trust accounting and Receipt, Release, and Refunding Agreements to be sent to the trust beneficiaries on behalf of the Trustee.

Conclusion

The amount of time it takes to settle an estate in Connecticut is largely dependent upon which of the above categories that estate falls into. In addition, the complexity of the estate’s assets, potential disputes, the Probate Court’s processing time, and the client’s responsiveness, or lack thereof, to the requests of counsel and staff for information will impact this as well.

Regardless of the type of estate you are responsible for settling, the first step toward a successful outcome is retaining experienced and efficient probate counsel such as Heritage Law to guide you through the process.  If you need assistance settling an estate in Connecticut, we are here to help. You can contact us by clicking on this link:  https://heritagelawct.com/contact/

See the articles below for a more in-depth discussion of the estate settlement process in Connecticut:

¹See “What Happens When There is No Will in Connecticut” for a more detailed explanation of Connecticut’s laws of intestacy:  https://heritagelawct.com/what-happens-when-there-is-no-will-in-connecticut/

² See “2024 Estate Tax Information” for a more detailed explanation of Connecticut’s estate tax.  https://heritagelawct.com/2024-estate-tax-information/

³ See “Probate Fees in Connecticut” https://heritagelawct.com/connecticut-probate-court-fees/ which contains a link to a free and convenient online probate fee calculator.

⁴See “Ancillary Probate in Connecticut”  https://heritagelawct.com/ancillary-probate/

⁵See “Small Estate Settlement in Connecticut” https://heritagelawct.com/small-estate-settlement-in-connecticut/ for further details.

⁶ See “The 10 Steps to Settling a Probate Estate in Connecticut” https://heritagelawct.com/10-steps-to-settling-a-probate-estate-in-connecticut/  for further details.

⁷See “Connecticut Probate FAQ” https://heritagelawct.com/connecticut-probate-faq/ 

⁸See “Probate Court Forms for Connecticut” https://heritagelawct.com/probate-court-forms-for-connecticut/