Connecticut Probate and Intestate Succession: What Happens Without a Will (2026)

Connecticut probate cases are handled by one of 54 local Probate Districts, each with its own elected judge, rather than a single centralized court. When a Connecticut resident dies without a valid will, Conn. Gen. Stat. §45a-437 and §45a-439, not personal wishes, decide who inherits and how much.

Information last verified on 2026-07-16. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

How Probate Works in Connecticut

Connecticut's probate system is structured differently from most states: instead of one statewide court, probate matters are handled by 54 local Probate Districts, each headed by its own elected Probate Judge serving a four-year term, plus 6 Regional Children's Probate Courts that handle child-specific matters like guardianship and adoption. The Office of the Probate Court Administrator, along with a Probate Assembly, Budget Committee, and Rules Committee, coordinates the districts statewide, but each district functions as an independent local court. Connecticut has not adopted the Uniform Probate Code, so it does not use the "informal" versus "formal" terminology common in UPC states. Instead, decedents' estate administration runs under one regular process codified in Conn. Gen. Stat. Title 45a, Chapter 802b (§§45a-273 through 45a-470), supplemented by a separate simplified track for estates small enough to qualify.

An interested party, typically the person named as executor in a will, or a close heir if there is no will, must apply to the Probate Court in the district where the decedent resided within 30 days of death. Once the court reviews the application, it issues a Decree Granting Administration appointing a fiduciary: an executor if one is named in a valid will, or an administrator if the person died intestate. From there, the fiduciary faces defined deadlines. Within 2 months of appointment, the fiduciary must record notice of the estate on the land records for any Connecticut real estate the decedent owned, and must file an inventory of the estate's assets with the court. Within 14 days of appointment, the fiduciary must publish notice to creditors, which starts the statutory claims period discussed further below. If Connecticut estate tax could apply, the estate's Connecticut estate tax return is due to the Probate Court within 6 months of death, regardless of whether any tax is actually owed. The probate decree appointing the fiduciary typically sets a final accounting deadline of about 1 year from the date of death, though complex or contested estates commonly take longer.

Intestate Succession in Connecticut: Who Inherits Without a Will

When a Connecticut resident dies without a valid will, Conn. Gen. Stat. §45a-437 sets the surviving spouse's share, and §§45a-438 and 45a-439 set out who inherits after that. Connecticut is a common-law, equitable-distribution state, not a community-property state, so the entire estate, not just a spouse's "half share" of jointly acquired property, is subject to these rules. The spouse's share depends heavily on whether the decedent's children are also the surviving spouse's children, and on whether the decedent left a surviving parent. Children, parents, siblings, and more distant relatives inherit in that general order once any spousal share is set aside.

Under Conn. Gen. Stat. §45a-437, the surviving spouse's share breaks down into four scenarios:

• If every surviving child (or descendant of a deceased child) is also a child of the surviving spouse, the spouse takes the first $100,000 of the intestate estate plus one-half of whatever remains, outright.
• If at least one surviving child is not the surviving spouse's child, for example a child from a prior relationship, the spouse's flat $100,000 set-aside disappears and the spouse instead takes one-half of the entire intestate estate.
• If there is no surviving child or other descendant, but a parent of the decedent survives, the spouse takes the first $100,000 plus three-quarters of the remaining balance.
• If there is no surviving descendant and no surviving parent, the spouse takes the entire intestate estate.

Whatever remains after the spousal share passes to the decedent's children in equal shares, with a deceased child's own children stepping into their parent's share by representation, under Conn. Gen. Stat. §45a-438.

If there is no surviving spouse and no surviving descendant, Conn. Gen. Stat. §45a-439 sets the remaining order: first equally to any surviving parents; if none survive, equally to siblings, with a deceased sibling's children (nieces and nephews) taking that sibling's share by representation; if no siblings or their descendants survive, to the next of kin in equal degree, computed under the civil-law method of computing degrees of kinship, with no further representation permitted among more distant collateral relatives. Half-blood relatives, for example a half-sibling, inherit equally alongside whole-blood relatives under Connecticut law.

One way to make sure your property goes to the people you actually choose, rather than following Connecticut's intestate succession order, is to have a valid will in place. recordinglaw.com's free Connecticut Last Will and Testament Generator can help you create one, with no account required.

Small Estate and Simplified Probate in Connecticut

Connecticut's small estate procedure, governed by Conn. Gen. Stat. §45a-273, lets an interested party skip full estate administration when the decedent's solely owned property, tangible and intangible personal property valued at fair market value, does not exceed $40,000, and the decedent owned no Connecticut real estate in their sole name. Property that already passes outside probate by operation of law, such as jointly held accounts or assets with a named beneficiary, is excluded from that $40,000 calculation, which often makes more estates eligible than the raw estate value might suggest. Qualifying survivors use the Affidavit in Lieu of Probate of Will or Administration, Probate Court form PC-212, instead of opening a full administration.

This affidavit is filed with the Probate Court in the district where the decedent lived, and once accepted it lets the affiant present it directly to banks, transfer agents, and other institutions holding the decedent's assets to have them released, without the months-long inventory, creditor-notice, and accounting process that full administration requires. Because the $40,000 threshold only counts solely-owned personal property and specifically excludes any Connecticut real estate held solely in the decedent's name, a person who owned a home outright typically cannot use this simplified track for that property, even if their other assets are modest.

Connecticut Estate Tax

Connecticut is one of roughly a dozen states, along with the District of Columbia, that levies its own state-level estate tax separate from the federal estate tax. For decedents dying in 2026, Connecticut's estate tax exemption is $15 million per person, aligned with the federal basic exclusion amount for the same year, with a flat 12% rate applied only to the portion of the taxable estate above that threshold. Connecticut does not have a separate inheritance tax. Unlike the federal estate tax, Connecticut's exemption is not portable between spouses, so each spouse has their own separate $15 million exemption rather than being able to use a deceased spouse's unused amount.

Because the exemption is so high, the Connecticut estate tax affects only a small share of estates, generally larger estates involving significant real estate, business interests, or investment holdings. Even so, every estate going through Connecticut probate administration must file a Connecticut estate tax return with the Probate Court within 6 months of the decedent's death, whether or not tax is ultimately owed. The Connecticut Department of Revenue Services administers collection once the Probate Court processes the filing.

Do You Need a Probate Attorney?

A probate attorney is worth engaging in Connecticut when the estate is likely to be contested, includes a business interest or Connecticut real estate with title complications, involves a blended family with children from outside the marriage, a scenario that directly changes the spousal share under §45a-437, or is large enough to raise real Connecticut or federal estate tax questions. For a straightforward estate that qualifies for the $40,000 small estate affidavit, many Connecticut residents handle the process themselves using form PC-212 and their local Probate District's guidance. For the full picture of how probate works across the country, see recordinglaw.com's Probate by State guide.

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about probate and intestate succession in Connecticut as of the verification date above. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is not a substitute for advice from a probate attorney licensed in Connecticut, particularly for a contested estate, a business interest, a blended family, or an estate large enough to raise Connecticut or federal estate tax questions. Figures, thresholds, and program details change; verify current details directly with the Connecticut Probate Court or the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services before relying on any figure here.

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Last updated: 2026-07-16. Figures and statutes cited reflect their in-force version as of 2026-07-16.

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