Connecticut editionIn your inbox within a minute30-day money-back promise
The End of Life Plannerby Valoren

General information · not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.

Free · general informationConnecticut

The small estates procedure in Connecticut

Where Connecticut law lets a smaller estate be settled without full probate, these are the official words on how: who may use the route, what it covers and what the paperwork must say. Whether a particular estate fits is for the court, the bank or company holding the asset, or an attorney in Connecticut; nothing on this page decides it.

  • Every fact dated, in the official words
  • Each state’s own law

Every quotation checked October 24, 2026

The free first-week checklist

Pages taken from the planner, by email: who to phone first, and a blank records sheet.

We use your email address to send the checklist and those emails, and for nothing else. We do not sell it. We first send one email asking you to confirm your address. Privacy notice

Every quotation on this page is the official body’s own words, as they stood on the day we read them. The date is beside each one.

The statute: the value limit, solely owned real estate, who may file the affidavit, and in which court

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 and the decedent had no solely owned real property in this state at the time of his or her death: (1) The decedent's surviving spouse; or (2) if there is no surviving spouse, any of the decedent's next of kin

file an affidavit signed under penalty of false statement in the Probate Court in the district in which the decedent resided.

Connecticut · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · Conn. Gen. Stat. §45a-273(a)

When the procedure may be used, and the court’s wait before it issues its decree

Sections 45a-273 and 45a-274 shall apply only to estates of decedents for whom no will is presented for probate or no application for administration is filed within thirty days after death.

On receipt of an affidavit, the court shall send a copy of the affidavit to the Department of Administrative Services. The court shall not issue a decree until thirty days after the date on which a copy of the affidavit was sent to the department.

Connecticut · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · Conn. Gen. Stat. §45a-275; §45a-273(c)

The court’s form, by name: its two conditions, and the death certificate to attach

Affidavit in Lieu of Probate of Will/Administration

The small estates procedure may be used only if both of the following conditions are met: (a) the decedent had no solely owned real estate and (b) the total value of all of the decedent’s personal property does not exceed $40,000.

Attach a copy of the decedent’s death certificate (with the social security number redacted).

Connecticut · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · Connecticut Probate Courts form PC-212 (rev. 07/23)

The court’s decree, and what it lets the holder of an asset do

The court shall issue a decree authorizing each holder or registrant of an asset of the decedent to: (1) Transfer the asset directly to specified persons or entities; (2) pay amounts from the asset to specified persons or entities; or (3) transfer the asset to the person filing the affidavit, to be sold and the proceeds paid to specified persons or entities.

Connecticut · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · Conn. Gen. Stat. §45a-273(d)

The same page for other states

Friends on a desert patio at sunset, with a saguaro in the distance
Friends sharing breakfast at a sunny patio table among citrus trees
Three generations peeling potatoes at a kitchen table while snow falls outside
FAQ

Common questions

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 and the decedent had no solely owned real property in this state at the time of his or her death: (1) The decedent's surviving spouse; or (2) if there is no surviving spouse, any of the decedent's next of kin

file an affidavit signed under penalty of false statement in the Probate Court in the district in which the decedent resided.

Connecticut · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · Conn. Gen. Stat. §45a-273(a)

Affidavit in Lieu of Probate of Will/Administration

The small estates procedure may be used only if both of the following conditions are met: (a) the decedent had no solely owned real estate and (b) the total value of all of the decedent’s personal property does not exceed $40,000.

Attach a copy of the decedent’s death certificate (with the social security number redacted).

Connecticut · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · Connecticut Probate Courts form PC-212 (rev. 07/23)

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 and the decedent had no solely owned real property in this state at the time of his or her death: (1) The decedent's surviving spouse; or (2) if there is no surviving spouse, any of the decedent's next of kin

file an affidavit signed under penalty of false statement in the Probate Court in the district in which the decedent resided.

Connecticut · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · Conn. Gen. Stat. §45a-273(a)

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 and the decedent had no solely owned real property in this state at the time of his or her death: (1) The decedent's surviving spouse; or (2) if there is no surviving spouse, any of the decedent's next of kin

file an affidavit signed under penalty of false statement in the Probate Court in the district in which the decedent resided.

Connecticut · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · Conn. Gen. Stat. §45a-273(a)

Affidavit in Lieu of Probate of Will/Administration

The small estates procedure may be used only if both of the following conditions are met: (a) the decedent had no solely owned real estate and (b) the total value of all of the decedent’s personal property does not exceed $40,000.

Attach a copy of the decedent’s death certificate (with the social security number redacted).

Connecticut · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · Connecticut Probate Courts form PC-212 (rev. 07/23)

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 and the decedent had no solely owned real property in this state at the time of his or her death: (1) The decedent's surviving spouse; or (2) if there is no surviving spouse, any of the decedent's next of kin

file an affidavit signed under penalty of false statement in the Probate Court in the district in which the decedent resided.

Connecticut · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · Conn. Gen. Stat. §45a-273(a)

Sections 45a-273 and 45a-274 shall apply only to estates of decedents for whom no will is presented for probate or no application for administration is filed within thirty days after death.

On receipt of an affidavit, the court shall send a copy of the affidavit to the Department of Administrative Services. The court shall not issue a decree until thirty days after the date on which a copy of the affidavit was sent to the department.

Connecticut · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · Conn. Gen. Stat. §45a-275; §45a-273(c)

The court shall issue a decree authorizing each holder or registrant of an asset of the decedent to: (1) Transfer the asset directly to specified persons or entities; (2) pay amounts from the asset to specified persons or entities; or (3) transfer the asset to the person filing the affidavit, to be sold and the proceeds paid to specified persons or entities.

Connecticut · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · Conn. Gen. Stat. §45a-273(d)

For anyone who would rather their family found it all in one place than went looking.

A couple. A parent. An adult child and a parent, doing it together. One sitting starts it; keep it current, and tell someone where it is.

A man on the telephone with the planner's pages open on the table