Connecticut Will and Trust Laws: Witness Rules, Living Trusts (2026)

Under Connecticut law, any person 18 or older and of sound mind may make a will (C.G.S. 45a-250), and a will or codicil "shall not be valid to pass any property unless it is in writing, subscribed by the testator and attested by two witnesses, each of them subscribing in the testator's presence" (C.G.S. 45a-251). Section 45a-251 has no notary alternative to the two witnesses, and a notary or commissioner of the Superior Court may not acknowledge a will or trust remotely (3-95b(i), 51-85a(g)). Living trusts are governed by the Connecticut Uniform Trust Code, sections 45a-499a to 45a-500s, effective January 1, 2020.

Connecticut also has a strict interested-witness rule: a gift in a will to a subscribing witness, or to the witness's spouse, is void unless the will is legally attested without that witness or the beneficiary is an heir of the testator (45a-258). For how other states compare, see wills and trusts laws by state.

Information last verified on 2026-10-19. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Connecticut statutes on making, signing, proving, changing and revoking wills (C.G.S. Chapters 802a and 802b of Title 45a, with the remote-acknowledgment limits in sections 3-95b and 51-85a) and on revocable living trusts under the Connecticut Uniform Trust Code (Chapter 802c). It does not cover what happens when someone dies without a will or how estate administration works (see Connecticut probate), small-estate procedures (see the Connecticut small estate affidavit page), powers of attorney (see Connecticut power of attorney laws), or taxes. A living will is a health-care directive, not a will; see the Connecticut advance directive tool.

What makes a will valid in Connecticut?

Section 45a-250 sets capacity: "Any person eighteen years of age or older, and of sound mind, may dispose of his estate by will." Section 45a-251 sets the form:

"A will or codicil shall not be valid to pass any property unless it is in writing, subscribed by the testator and attested by two witnesses, each of them subscribing in the testator's presence; but any will executed according to the laws of the state or country where it was executed may be admitted to probate in this state and shall be effectual to pass any property of the testator situated in this state." (C.G.S. 45a-251)

The elements are:

• Writing. The will must be in writing.
• Testator's signature. The testator subscribes the will.
• Two witnesses. Two witnesses attest it, "each of them subscribing in the testator's presence."

Section 45a-251 does not offer acknowledgment before a notary as a substitute for the witnesses; the two attesting witnesses are required for every will executed under Connecticut law.

Wills signed in another state or country

The same section accepts outside wills: "any will executed according to the laws of the state or country where it was executed may be admitted to probate in this state and shall be effectual to pass any property of the testator situated in this state" (45a-251).

Interested witnesses: a gift to a witness can be void

Connecticut penalizes a witness who takes under the will. Section 45a-258 provides:

"Every devise or bequest given in any will or codicil to a subscribing witness, or to the husband or wife of such subscribing witness, shall be void unless such will or codicil is legally attested without the signature of such witness, or unless such devisee or legatee is an heir to the testator. The competency of such witness shall not be affected by any such devise or bequest." (C.G.S. 45a-258)

The will itself stays valid and the witness remains competent; what fails is the gift to the witness or the witness's spouse, unless one of the two exceptions applies.

Does a Connecticut will need to be notarized? Proof by witness affidavit

No notary appears in section 45a-251. Connecticut's version of a self-proving will is the witness affidavit in section 45a-285, titled "Proof of will out of court":

"Any or all of the attesting witnesses to any will may, at the request of the testator or, after his decease, at the request of the executor or any person interested under it, make and sign an affidavit before any officer authorized to administer oaths in or out of this state, stating such facts as they would be required to testify to in court to prove such will." (C.G.S. 45a-285)

The affidavit "shall be written on such will or, if that is impracticable, on some paper attached thereto," and "The sworn statement of any such witness so taken shall be accepted by the Court of Probate as if it had been taken before such court" (45a-285). The section is written for the witnesses; it does not call for the testator to sign the affidavit, and it sets no form of words beyond the facts the witnesses would testify to.

Are handwritten (holographic) or oral wills valid in Connecticut?

No. Section 45a-251 requires every will to be "in writing, subscribed by the testator and attested by two witnesses," and Chapter 802a, which runs from section 45a-250 to section 45a-267, contains no exception for a handwritten will. A will written entirely in the testator's hand and made in Connecticut is valid only if it is also attested by two witnesses who subscribe in the testator's presence.

An oral will fails the writing requirement in section 45a-251, and Chapter 802a contains no oral-will section.

The one route for a will that does not meet Connecticut's rule is the out-of-state clause in section 45a-251: a will executed according to the laws of the state or country where it was executed may be admitted to probate in Connecticut. Chapter 802a also contains no provision that lets a court excuse a defect in how a will was signed or witnessed.

Electronic wills and remote witnessing

Connecticut has no electronic-will statute. Chapters 802a and 802b contain no electronic-will or remote-witnessing section, and section 45a-251 requires the witnesses to subscribe "in the testator's presence."

During the COVID-19 emergency, Executive Order No. 7Q (March 30, 2020) temporarily provided that "Any witnessing requirement for a Last Will and Testament may be done remotely through the use of Communication Technology if it is completed under the supervision of a Commissioner" of the Superior Court, and that "The supervising Commissioner shall certify that he or she supervised the remote witnessing." Under the same order, only an attorney admitted in Connecticut and in good standing could remotely administer a self-proving affidavit under section 45a-285. That emergency order is no longer in effect; today section 45a-251 requires the witnesses to subscribe in the testator's presence.

Connecticut's remote-notarization laws expressly exclude wills and trusts. Section 3-95b(i) provides that "No record shall be acknowledged remotely pursuant to subsection (b) of this section in (1) the making and execution of a will, codicil, trust or trust instrument," and that "The performance of any such acknowledgment in connection with any of the acts described in this subsection shall be ineffective for any purpose and shall constitute a violation of section 51-88." Section 51-85a(g) applies the same prohibition to remote acknowledgments by a commissioner of the Superior Court.

Changing or revoking a Connecticut will

Methods of revocation

Section 45a-257 limits how a will can be revoked: "Except as provided by sections 45a-257a to 45a-257d, inclusive, a will or codicil shall not be revoked in any other manner except by burning, cancelling, tearing or obliterating it by the testator or by some person in the testator's presence by the testator's direction, or by a later will or codicil."

The exceptions in sections 45a-257a to 45a-257d deal with marriage, children born or adopted after the will, and divorce, described below. Sections 45a-257a to 45a-257c apply only to wills executed on or after January 1, 1997 (45a-257f).

Divorce, dissolution and annulment

For a will executed on or after January 1, 1997 (45a-257f), section 45a-257c provides: "If, after executing a will, the testator's marriage is terminated by dissolution, divorce or annulment, the dissolution, divorce or annulment shall revoke any disposition or appointment of property made by the will to the former spouse, any provision conferring a general or special power of appointment on the former spouse, and any nomination of the former spouse as executor, trustee, conservator, guardian or other fiduciary, unless the will expressly provides otherwise."

The section has limits on both ends:

• Remarriage. "If provisions of the will of the testator are revoked solely by this section, such provisions shall be revived by the testator's remarriage to the former spouse."
• Separation. "A decree of separation which does not terminate the status of husband and wife is not a dissolution or divorce for the purposes of this section."
• Older wills. Sections 45a-257a to 45a-257c apply only to wills executed on or after January 1, 1997 (45a-257f). A will executed from October 1, 1967 through December 31, 1996 is governed by the 1995 revision of section 45a-257 "concerning the revocation of a will by marriage, divorce, annulment, dissolution or birth or adoption of a minor child" (45a-257e). The official history note to section 45a-257 describes that earlier rule as providing for implied revocation of a will by marriage, divorce, annulment, dissolution, birth or adoption, so for an older will any of those events may have revoked it.

Section 45a-257c speaks of provisions made "by the will." Life insurance and retirement-plan beneficiary designations sit outside will law: under section 45a-347, a designation made under the terms of an insurance, annuity or endowment contract, or a pension, profit-sharing, retirement or similar plan, "shall not be subject to any statute or law governing the transfer of property by will, even though such designation is revocable by the person who made it."

Homicide

Under section 45a-447(a), a person finally adjudged guilty, as principal or accessory, of any of the homicide and other crimes that section lists, or found not guilty of one by reason of mental disease or defect, "shall not inherit or receive any part of the estate" of the deceased victim, whether by intestacy or "as devisee or legatee, or otherwise under the will," or "receive any property as beneficiary or survivor of the deceased victim," and is considered to have predeceased the victim.

Limits on what a Connecticut will can do

Spouse's statutory share. Under section 45a-436(a), a surviving spouse may elect "a statutory share of the real and personal property passing under the will of the deceased spouse." The statutory share "means a life estate of one-third in value of all the property passing under the will, real and personal, legally or equitably owned by the deceased spouse at the time of his or her death, after the payment of all debts and charges against the estate." It is a life estate, not outright ownership.

The deadline is in section 45a-436(c): the surviving spouse must, "not later than one hundred fifty days after the mailing of the decree admitting the will to probate, file a notice, in writing, of his or her intention to take the statutory share with the Probate Court before which the estate is in settlement," or be "barred of such statutory share."

The share is not available where a written contract made before or after the marriage gave the spouse a provision in lieu of it (45a-436(f)), or where the spouse, without sufficient cause, abandoned the decedent and continued the abandonment until death (45a-436(g)). A gift to the spouse in the will is taken in lieu of the share unless the will says otherwise, but the spouse may still elect the share instead (45a-436(b)).

Spouse married after the will. For a will executed on or after January 1, 1997 (45a-257f), under section 45a-257a, if a testator fails to provide by will for a surviving spouse who married the testator after the will was executed, the spouse "shall receive the same share of the estate the surviving spouse would have received if the decedent left no will," unless it appears from the will that the omission was intentional, or the testator provided for the spouse by a transfer outside the will intended to be in lieu of a testamentary provision.

Child born or adopted after the will. For a will executed on or after January 1, 1997 (45a-257f), under section 45a-257b(a), and subject to the exceptions in subsection (b), a child born or adopted after the will (including a child born as a result of assisted reproduction) whom the will fails to provide for receives a share. If the testator had no child living when the will was executed, the share equals what the child would have received had the testator died intestate, "unless the will devised or bequeathed all or substantially all of the estate to the other parent of the omitted child and that other parent survives the testator and is entitled to take under the will." The section's other rules cover testators who already had children. The intestate shares are explained on the Connecticut probate page.

No-contest clauses. In Salce v. Cardello (Conn. 2023), the Connecticut Supreme Court held that "an in terrorem clause violates public policy when its application would interfere with the Probate Court's exercise of its statutorily mandated supervisory responsibilities over the administration of an estate and its superintendence of the fiduciary's statutory obligations." The case involved no-contest clauses in both a will and a trust. The court stressed that this exception "protects only those challenges to the actions of a fiduciary that are brought in good faith," and it left open the continuing force of the older good-faith and probable-cause exception.

Other rules that shape a Connecticut will

• Gifts to a relative who dies first. Under section 45a-441, "When a devisee or legatee, being a child, stepchild, grandchild, brother or sister of the testator, dies before him, and no provision has been made in the will for such contingency, the issue of such devisee or legatee shall take the estate so devised or bequeathed."
• Simultaneous death. Section 45a-440(a) provides that when title to property depends on priority of death "and there is no sufficient evidence that the persons have died otherwise than simultaneously, the property of each person shall be disposed of as if he had survived," except as the section provides. Under 45a-440(e), the section does not apply to wills, living trusts, deeds or insurance contracts that provide for distribution otherwise.
• Delivering the will after death. Any person holding a will must deliver it "forthwith, after he has knowledge of the death of the testator," to a named executor or to the judge or clerk of the probate court with jurisdiction (45a-282(a)). Neglect for thirty days after learning of the death is punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 or imprisonment of not more than one year, or both (45a-282(b)).
• The executor's 30 days. Under section 45a-283, a person who knows he or she is named executor must apply for probate of the will within thirty days after the testator's death, as that section provides, and neglect is punishable by a fine of not more than $250. Probate procedure itself is on the Connecticut probate page.

Revocable living trusts in Connecticut

The trust code

Section 45a-499a provides that "This section and sections 45a-499b to 45a-500s, inclusive, may be cited as the 'Connecticut Uniform Trust Code'." It was enacted by Public Act 19-137, effective January 1, 2020. Section 45a-499c(24) defines "revocable," as applied to a trust, as "revocable by the settlor without the consent of the trustee or a person holding an adverse interest."

Creating a trust

Under section 45a-499w(a), "A trust is created only if:" the settlor has capacity to create a trust; the settlor indicates an intention to create the trust; the trust has a definite beneficiary or is a charitable trust, a trust for the care of an animal, or a trust for a noncharitable purpose; and the trustee has duties to perform. None of those requirements is a witness or a notary. Under 45a-499w(d), the settlor's power to create or contribute to a trust may be exercised by an agent under a power of attorney "only to the extent expressly authorized to create or contribute property to a trust," or by a conservator of the estate as authorized by the court. Powers of attorney are covered on the Connecticut power of attorney laws page.

Connecticut does not require a written instrument for every trust. Section 45a-499bb provides that, except as required by a provision of the general statutes outside the trust code sections it names, "a trust need not be evidenced by a written trust instrument, but the creation and terms of an oral trust, other than a charitable trust, may be established only by clear and convincing evidence."

The remote-acknowledgment bar in sections 3-95b(i) and 51-85a(g) covers trusts too: it reaches "the making and execution of a will, codicil, trust or trust instrument."

Revocable by default, with a date limit

Section 45a-499oo(a) provides: "Unless the terms of a trust expressly provide that the trust is irrevocable, the settlor may revoke or amend the trust. This subsection shall not apply to (1) a trust created under an instrument executed before January 1, 2020; (2) charitable pledges; or (3) other charitable gifts in which the charitable interest has otherwise vested."

How to revoke or amend, and when a will can do it

Section 45a-499oo(c)(2) covers a trust whose terms provide no method of revocation or amendment, or whose method is not expressly made exclusive:

"the settlor may revoke or amend the trust by (A) executing a later will or codicil that has been admitted to probate and that expressly refers to the trust or expressly devises specifically identified items of real or personal property that would otherwise have passed according to the terms of the trust; or (B) any other method manifesting clear and convincing evidence of the settlor's intent, provided (i) a written revocable trust may be amended only by a later written instrument; and (ii) a written revocable trust may be revoked only by a later written instrument or by the burning, cancellation, tearing or obliteration of the revocable trust by the settlor or by some person in the settlor's presence and at the settlor's direction." (C.G.S. 45a-499oo(c)(2))

Two points follow. A will can change a revocable trust only if it "has been admitted to probate" and expressly refers to the trust or expressly devises specifically identified trust property. And a written revocable trust cannot be amended orally: the "other method" route still requires a later written instrument to amend it.

While the trust is revocable and the settlor has capacity to revoke it, "rights of the beneficiaries are subject to the control of, and the duties of the trustee are owed exclusively to, the settlor" (45a-499pp(b)).

Certification of trust

Under section 45a-499zzz(a), instead of furnishing a copy of the trust instrument to a person other than a beneficiary, the trustee may furnish a certification of trust stating, among other things, that the trust exists and the date the instrument was executed, the settlor's identity, the acting trustee's identity and address, the trustee's powers, whether the trust is revocable and who may revoke it, and the trust's taxpayer identification number. A person who relies on the certification "without knowledge that the representations contained in the certification are incorrect is not liable to any person for so acting" (45a-499zzz(f)).

After the settlor dies: notice and the contest deadline

Under section 45a-499kkk(b)(3), within sixty days after the trustee learns that a formerly revocable trust has become irrevocable, "whether by the death of the settlor or otherwise," the trustee must notify the qualified beneficiaries of the trust's existence, the settlor's identity, the right to request a copy of the trust instrument and the right to a trustee's report. Under 45a-499kkk(h), this duty does not apply to a revocable trust that became irrevocable before January 1, 2020.

Under section 45a-499qq(a), a person may bring a proceeding to contest the validity of a trust that was revocable at the settlor's death within the earlier of "(1) One year after the settlor's death; or (2) One hundred twenty days after the date on which the trustee sent the person a copy of the trust instrument and a notice informing the person of the trust's existence, of the trustee's name and address, and of the time allowed for commencing a proceeding."

Pour-over wills

A pour-over will leaves property to the trustee of a trust. Section 45a-260, the Uniform Testamentary Additions to Trusts Act, provides that "A will may validly devise or bequeath property to the trustee or trustees of a trust established or to be established" during the testator's lifetime by the testator, "regardless of the existence, size, or character of the corpus of the trust. The devise or bequest shall not be invalid because the trust is amendable or revocable, or because the trust was amended after the execution of the will or after the testator's death."

The limit is in 45a-260(c): "Unless the testator's will provides otherwise, a revocation or termination of the trust before the testator's death shall cause the devise or bequest to lapse." Under 45a-260(d), the section applies to a will executed on or after October 1, 1994, and to an earlier will if the testator was living on that date.

A related rule in section 45a-259: "The reference in a will or codicil to a trust document by which a devise or bequest is made to such trust shall not thereby cause such trust or such part of the assets thereof distributed to it by such devise or bequest to be subject to the jurisdiction of the probate court in which such will or codicil is admitted to probate."

Connecticut wills and trusts at a glance

Recent changes

• Salce v. Cardello (2023). The Connecticut Supreme Court limited enforcement of no-contest clauses against good-faith challenges to a fiduciary's conduct; see the limits section.
• Connecticut Uniform Trust Code (Public Act 19-137). Took effect January 1, 2020, with the revocable-by-default rule limited to trusts created under instruments executed on or after that date.
• Remote acknowledgment laws. Section 3-95b, enacted by Public Act 23-28 and amended by Public Act 24-97, and section 51-85a(g), from Public Act 24-108, allow some records to be acknowledged remotely but exclude wills, codicils, trusts and trust instruments.
• Omitted children. Public Act 21-15, effective January 1, 2022, amended section 45a-257b (which applies to wills executed on or after January 1, 1997, under 45a-257f); it now names children born as a result of assisted reproduction.

Making a will in practice

The site's free Connecticut will-maker tool can help draft a basic will. Whatever produces the document, signing must follow section 45a-251: in writing, subscribed by the testator, and attested by two witnesses who each subscribe in the testator's presence, with section 45a-258 in mind when choosing witnesses. Complex estates, blended families, business interests or tax questions are reasons to consult a lawyer licensed in Connecticut. The tool is not legal advice.

For members of the armed forces, a military testamentary instrument under 10 U.S.C. 1044d is exempt from state formalities and has the same legal effect as a will executed under the law of the state where it is presented for probate (see the wills and trusts hub for the federal layer).

Related pages

• Wills and trusts laws by state
• Connecticut probate
• Connecticut small estate affidavit
• Connecticut power of attorney laws

This article provides general legal information about Connecticut law on wills and revocable trusts as of 2026-10-19. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Connecticut or the probate court for your district.

Last updated: 2026-10-19.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many witnesses does a will need in Connecticut?

Two. A will must be in writing, subscribed by the testator and attested by two witnesses, each subscribing in the testator's presence (C.G.S. 45a-251).

Can a beneficiary witness a will in Connecticut?

The will stays valid, but a gift to a subscribing witness or the witness's spouse is void unless the will is legally attested without that witness or the beneficiary is an heir of the testator (45a-258).

Does a will have to be notarized in Connecticut?

No. Section 45a-251 requires two witnesses, not a notary. The witnesses may sign an affidavit before any officer authorized to administer oaths, which the Probate Court accepts as if taken in court (45a-285).

Is a handwritten will valid in Connecticut?

Only if it is also attested by two witnesses who subscribe in the testator's presence (45a-251). Connecticut has no exception for an unwitnessed handwritten will, though a will validly executed under the law of the place where it was made may be probated in Connecticut.

Can I sign a will online or with remote witnesses in Connecticut?

Connecticut has no electronic-will statute, and section 45a-251 requires the witnesses to subscribe in the testator's presence. A remote acknowledgment by a notary or commissioner in making a will or trust is ineffective for any purpose (3-95b(i), 51-85a(g)). A 2020 emergency order (Executive Order No. 7Q) that allowed remote witnessing of wills under a commissioner's supervision is no longer in effect.

Does divorce revoke a will in Connecticut?

For a will executed after December 31, 1996, divorce, dissolution or annulment revokes the will's gifts to and nominations of the former spouse unless the will expressly provides otherwise, and remarriage to the former spouse revives them (45a-257c). Older wills and beneficiary designations follow other rules; see the divorce section.

Can a spouse be left out of a will in Connecticut?

A surviving spouse may elect a statutory share, a life estate in one-third in value of the property passing under the will, by filing written notice within 150 days after the mailing of the decree admitting the will to probate (45a-436). The share is unavailable in some cases, such as a contract in lieu of it or abandonment without sufficient cause; see the limits section.

Is a living trust revocable in Connecticut?

For a trust created under an instrument executed on or after January 1, 2020, yes, unless its terms expressly make it irrevocable (45a-499oo(a)). That default does not apply to older instruments or to charitable pledges and vested charitable gifts.

Can a will change a living trust in Connecticut?

Only in narrow cases. If the trust sets no exclusive method, a later will or codicil can revoke or amend it only if the will has been admitted to probate and expressly refers to the trust or expressly devises specifically identified trust property (45a-499oo(c)(2)).

How long do you have to contest a revocable trust in Connecticut?

The earlier of one year after the settlor's death or 120 days after the trustee sent a copy of the trust instrument and the statutory notice (45a-499qq(a)).