Connecticut Estate Checklist | Small Estate Map

Which procedure

Your name (optional)

Papers most holders ask for Certified copies of the death certificate Your photo ID The will, if there is one Recent statements for each account, car and property

Papers for this procedure: Affidavit in Lieu of Probate of Will/Administration (small estates procedure) Copy of the death certificate with the Social Security number blacked out Form PC-212CI (Confidential Information) with the person's Social Security number Form PC-212A (Request for Order of Distribution) with the names and addresses of all heirs and any will beneficiaries, if assets are more than the expenses and claims, or if someone who paid expenses waives repayment List of each solely owned asset with account or vehicle identification (VIN) number and fair market value List of funeral, administration and last-illness expenses, taxes and other debts, showing who paid any of them

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Your checklist

Affidavit in Lieu of Probate of Will/Administration (small estates procedure)

You file an affidavit listing the person's solely owned assets and debts with the Probate Court. After at least 30 days, the court issues a decree that tells each holder to pay creditors, transfer assets to the heirs, or transfer them to you to sell. There is usually no hearing.

Limit

Up to $40,000

The person's solely owned personal property cannot be worth more than $40,000, and the person cannot have owned any Connecticut real estate in their name alone.

What counts

The total market value of the person's solely owned tangible and intangible personal property, not counting property that passes outside probate by operation of law (such as joint or beneficiary property). The person must have owned no real estate in Connecticut in their name alone.

Waiting period

The court sends a copy of the affidavit to the state Department of Administrative Services and cannot issue its decree until 30 days after that. The procedure also applies only if no will is presented for probate and no application for administration is filed within 30 days after the death.

Who can use it

The surviving spouse; if there is no spouse, any next of kin; if there are none, or they refuse, any person the court finds has a sufficient interest, including a person or business owed a claim, expense or tax (such as a funeral home).

Court or where to file

Probate Court for the probate district where the person lived at death.

Notary

Signed under penalty of false statement; no notary is required.

Papers to attach

Copy of the death certificate with the Social Security number blacked out
Form PC-212CI (Confidential Information) with the person's Social Security number
Form PC-212A (Request for Order of Distribution) with the names and addresses of all heirs and any will beneficiaries, if assets are more than the expenses and claims, or if someone who paid expenses waives repayment
List of each solely owned asset with account or vehicle identification (VIN) number and fair market value
List of funeral, administration and last-illness expenses, taxes and other debts, showing who paid any of them

Steps

Confirm the person had no Connecticut real estate in their name alone and that their solely owned personal property is $40,000 or less.
Fill in form PC-212, listing every solely owned asset and every expense and debt, and whether the person or their spouse or children ever received aid or care from the State of Connecticut.
Attach the redacted death certificate, PC-212CI and, if needed, PC-212A.
File it with the Probate Court for the district where the person lived and pay the fee.
Wait at least 30 days while the court notifies the Department of Administrative Services.
Receive the court's decree and certificates, and give them to each bank, the DMV or other holder to transfer or pay the assets as ordered.

Fee

The Probate Court fee is set by statute from the value of the estate: $25 for $0 to $500; $50 for $501 to $1,000; $50 plus 1% of the amount over $1,000 for $1,000 to $10,000; and $150 plus 0.35% of the amount over $10,000 for $10,000 to $500,000 (deaths on or after July 1, 2016). The part of the value passing to a surviving spouse counts at half. The minimum fee is $25.

If you can't pay

If you cannot pay, you can ask the Probate Court to waive the fees with form PC-184 (Request/Order - Waiver of Fees), signed under penalty of false statement.

Debts and responsibility

Anyone who receives a transfer or payment under the decree is liable for its value for any estate, succession or transfer tax, and to any executor or administrator appointed later.

What the bank or holder must do

A bank, registrar or other holder that pays or transfers under the court's decree is discharged from liability to anyone, to the extent of what it paid or transferred. As a condition, the holder may ask for appropriate waivers, a bond of indemnity and a receipt.

Forms

Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. secs. 45a-273, 45a-275, 45a-107, 45a-111

Source: Official page

Death certificates in Connecticut

Follow the Department of Public Health's current instructions for ordering a certified copy of a Connecticut death certificate. For the small estate affidavit, the court asks for a copy with the Social Security number blacked out.

Law: form PC-212

Where to get it: Connecticut Department of Public Health, State Vital Records Office, or the town clerk / registrar of vital statistics
Official page: Official page

Car or vehicle title after a death in Connecticut

To transfer a vehicle from a person who died, make an appointment at a DMV hub or branch office. Bring the title assigned by the executor, administrator or person authorized by the court, a certified probate document showing that authority (for a small estate, the PC-212B petitioner's probate certificate stating that transfer of ownership is allowed, or a PC-264/PC-264S decree for transfer of personal property without probate), an application for registration and title, a Connecticut insurance card, the latest registration certificate and ID. No sales tax is due on a transfer to an immediate family member (parent, sibling, child or spouse) if the vehicle was registered in the person's name for at least 60 days.

Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. secs. 14-16(b), 45a-273

Source: form H-13B

Agency: Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)
Form: Form H-13B Application for Registration and Title (with the Probate Court's certificate or decree)
Fee: Regular DMV title and registration fees apply; see the DMV fee pages.
Transfer-on-death title: A sole individual owner can name a beneficiary on the vehicle's registration certificate, signed with a witness who is not the beneficiary. The beneficiary must apply to the DMV no later than 60 days after the owner's death, with the registration certificate naming them, the death certificate, proof of identity, the title and a completed application with fees.

Source: Official page

Surviving spouse in Connecticut

The surviving spouse has first right to file the small estate affidavit. For Probate Court fees, the value of property passing to the spouse counts at half. Connecticut has no separate, higher small estate limit for a spouse.

Related pages

Free help in Connecticut

A court self-help center or a legal aid office can check whether the estate qualifies, free of charge or at low cost.