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Connecticut Creditor Claims
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Connecticut Creditor Claims

Connecticut's 150-day creditor window starts when the first fiduciary is appointed, not at death and not at publication. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-356 sets it.

By Settled Editorial

Connecticut gives creditors 150 days to present a claim, and the clock starts on the day the Probate Court appoints the first fiduciary. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-356(a) fixes that anchor. Not the date of death, not the date the newspaper notice runs. If a page tells you Connecticut runs a four-month window, or a year from first publication, it is describing another state.

The second Connecticut fact matters just as much, and almost nobody states it. That 150-day period does not kill a late claim. It protects the fiduciary who already paid out. This guide walks through the appointment clock, the notice the court publishes, the optional notice a fiduciary can send that truly does bar a creditor, how a claim gets presented and rejected, the deadlines that follow a rejection, the two-year outer limit, and what a creditor can still reach after the money is gone. Read it alongside the Connecticut executor duties guide, the Connecticut debt payment priority guide, and the Connecticut probate timeline. Confirm any date that touches your estate with the Probate Court for your district or a licensed Connecticut attorney.

The 150-Day Clock Starts at Appointment

Section 45a-356(a) reads: if a claim is not presented on or before the day which is 150 days from the date of the appointment of the first fiduciary, no fiduciary is chargeable for assets the fiduciary paid or distributed in good faith in satisfaction of lawful claims, expenses, or taxes, or to any beneficiary, before that claim was presented.

Section 45a-353(h) defines the "first fiduciary" as the fiduciary first appointed by the Probate Court to administer the estate. So the clock is tied to a court decree that a family can point to on a calendar, which is why a Connecticut estate that opens six months after the death still has its full 150 days ahead of it.

Two events do not move the date. Section 45a-356(a) says the period is not interrupted or affected by a failure of publication or a defective publication of the § 45a-354 newspaper notice, nor by the death, resignation, or removal of a fiduciary. One event does pause it: time during which no fiduciary is in office does not count as part of the period.

The subsection also defines good faith for you. A payment or distribution counts as made in good faith unless the creditor can prove the fiduciary had actual knowledge of the claim when the money went out. A fiduciary who knows about a debt and pays a beneficiary anyway loses the shield. Section 45a-356(b) adds a separate carve-out: a fiduciary is never chargeable for assets paid under a widow's allowance or family allowance the Probate Court ordered.

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What the 150 Days Actually Does, and What It Does Not

Read § 45a-356 next to the Massachusetts or New York equivalents and the difference jumps out. Connecticut's routine window is an exoneration provision. It answers the question "when can the fiduciary safely stop worrying," not the question "when does the debt disappear."

Section 45a-372(a) makes the point in the other direction. Except as provided in § 45a-357(b) and § 45a-375, a creditor's failure to present a claim to the fiduciary does not impair the right to sue the beneficiaries under § 45a-368. The debt survives the 150 days. What changes is who the creditor has to chase and how much that person can be made to pay.

QuestionConnecticut answerStatute
When does the routine window openAppointment of the first fiduciary§ 45a-356(a), § 45a-353(h)
How long does it run150 days§ 45a-356(a)
Does missing it bar the claimNo, it exonerates the fiduciary for good-faith payments§ 45a-356(a), § 45a-372(a)
What actually bars a claimThe fiduciary's own notice, or the outer limit§ 45a-357(b), § 45a-375(c)
Outer limit2 years from the date of death§ 45a-375(c)
Suit after a rejection120 days from the rejection§ 45a-363(b)

The Court Publishes the Notice, Not the Fiduciary

Section 45a-354(a) puts the publication duty on the Probate Court. The court causes newspaper notice to be published at least once, within 14 days after the appointment of the first fiduciary, telling anyone with a claim to present it to the fiduciary. The notice states the fiduciary's name and the address for claims, that claims should be presented promptly, and that failing to present promptly may cost the creditor the right to recover.

Section 45a-353(j) defines newspaper notice as publication in a paper that circulates broadly in the probate district where the estate is in settlement. Connecticut has no county probate court, so the paper is chosen against the district, and each of the 54 probate districts of § 45a-2 covers one or more towns. Use the Connecticut probate court directory to confirm which district holds your estate.

If publication fails or comes out defective, § 45a-354(b) lets the court order supplemental publication at its discretion. That fixes the notice. It does not restart the 150 days, because § 45a-356(a) says so expressly.

The State Gets Its Own 90-Day Notice

Connecticut runs a separate track for public aid. Section 45a-355 requires the application for admission of a will or for administration to state whether the decedent, or the decedent's spouse or children, received aid or care from the state, including care from the Department of Veterans Affairs. When the application says yes, the Probate Court mails a copy by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the Department of Administrative Services or the Department of Veterans Affairs, or both.

The consequence is a real bar rather than an exoneration. If the department fails to present its claim to the fiduciary within 90 days from the date of that mailing or the date of the fiduciary's appointment, whichever is later, it is forever barred from recovering on the claim from the fiduciary, the estate, or any creditor or beneficiary. The answer on the application is what triggers that mailing, and the certified-mail receipt is what fixes the date the department's clock started. For what the state can recover and how the claim is limited, see Connecticut Medicaid estate recovery.

The Notice That Really Does Bar a Creditor (§ 45a-357)

A Connecticut fiduciary who wants certainty sends the optional notice. Section 45a-357(a) lets the fiduciary give written notice, at any time, to any person the fiduciary has reason to believe may have a claim. The notice sets a date, which cannot be less than 90 days from the date of the notice, and warns that a creditor who does not present by that date is forever barred from recovering from the fiduciary, the estate, or any creditor or beneficiary. It has to carry the name and address of the fiduciary who will receive the claim.

Section 45a-357(b) delivers the bar. A creditor notified under subsection (a) who misses the stated date loses the claim outright. A creditor who does present in time cannot increase the claim after the period expires, so the amount stated is the ceiling.

There is one narrow escape. Under § 45a-357(c), a creditor who through no fault of its own missed the date may apply to the Probate Court within 180 days from the date of the notice. After a hearing on notice and for cause shown, the court may extend the time by no more than 30 days from the date of the order. The court cannot use that extension to push a claim past the date the applicable statute of limitations, including the period established under § 45a-375, would otherwise have expired.

Section 45a-357(a) closes with a protection for the fiduciary: no liability to any creditor, beneficiary, or other person for the decision to use or to skip this notice. Sending it is a judgment call, and it is the one routine step that converts the § 45a-356 exoneration into an actual bar, which is why it matters most where a distribution is going out early.

Presenting a Claim (§ 45a-358)

Every claim goes to the fiduciary in writing. Section 45a-358(a) also lets the fiduciary require proof by affidavit that the claim is justly due, that payments made on it have been credited, and that the creditor knows of no offsets and holds no security except what the affidavit describes.

Delivery and timing are spelled out. Under subsection (d), a claim may be presented by personal delivery or by regular, certified, or registered mail with postage prepaid. Under subsection (e), a hand-delivered claim is presented on the date the fiduciary actually receives it, and a properly mailed claim is presented on the date of mailing, so long as it goes to the fiduciary's address as given in the § 45a-354 newspaper notice, in a § 45a-357 notice, or in the Probate Court's records. Mail it to a stale address and the mailing date stops helping you.

Two more rules catch people out. When the fiduciary lives outside Connecticut, subsection (b) lets a creditor file the claim with the judge of probate for the district where the estate is in settlement, and the court forwards a copy. And under subsection (c), no creditor may enforce payment against assets in the fiduciary's hands, in any court, unless the claim was presented this way. Suing first and presenting later does not work in Connecticut.

Unmatured, contingent, and unliquidated claims get their own procedure. Section 45a-359 lets either the claimant or the fiduciary petition the Probate Court, which holds a hearing and either orders no reserve or orders the fiduciary to hold a reserve it finds reasonable, capped at the difference between the claim and the value of any security the creditor can reach. The order discharging the fiduciary from personal liability on that claim is the point of the exercise, and the fiduciary's remaining job is to maintain the reserve the court set.

Allowance, Rejection, and Silence (§ 45a-360)

The fiduciary has three permitted responses under § 45a-360(a): give notice rejecting all or part of the claim, give notice allowing it, or pay it. Subsection (b) requires a rejection notice to state its reasons, while preserving the fiduciary's right to raise other defenses later.

Silence has a deadline. Under subsection (c), if the fiduciary does not reject, allow, or pay within 90 days from the date of presentation, the claimant may give notice demanding action. If 30 more days pass with nothing, the claim is deemed rejected when that 30-day period expires. That demand notice is what converts silence into a deemed rejection, and the deemed rejection is what starts the suit clock.

Within 60 days after the 150-day period ends, § 45a-361 requires the fiduciary to file a return and list of claims with the Probate Court, signed under penalty of false statement. It lists everyone notified under § 45a-357 and every claim presented inside the 150 days, showing whether and to what extent each was allowed or rejected. That filing is the paper record of the claim phase, and it belongs in the Connecticut probate accounting file for the estate.

After a Rejection: 120 Days, or 30 Days to the Court

A creditor cannot sue until a claim has been rejected in whole or in part, which is what § 45a-363(a) says. Once the rejection lands, two clocks start.

Section 45a-363(b) gives 120 days from the date of the rejection to commence suit, or to file a timely application under § 45a-364. Miss both and the creditor is barred from recovering from the fiduciary, the estate, or any creditor or beneficiary, except for the part of the claim that was not rejected. The section also handles a creditor who dies mid-window: if the creditor dies within 30 days of the rejection and before filing, that creditor's own fiduciary gets 120 days from the date of death to sue or to file the § 45a-364 application, and a creditor who dies more than 30 days but within 120 days of the rejection leaves a fiduciary 120 days from the death to sue.

The Probate Court route is faster and shorter. Under § 45a-364(a), a creditor may apply within 30 days from and including the date of rejection, asking the court either to hear and decide the claim or to refer it to a probate magistrate or attorney probate referee. The court has discretion, and it notifies the applicant and the fiduciary within 15 days of receiving the application. Under § 45a-107(f), that application carries a $50 fee payable to the court, and if the claim is allowed the court may order the fiduciary to reimburse the fee from the estate. If the court denies the application, § 45a-364(b) gives the creditor 120 days from and including the date of denial to commence suit.

The Two-Year Outer Limit (§ 45a-375)

Section 45a-375 is the backstop that keeps a Connecticut estate from staying exposed forever, and it is the provision most often confused with the 150-day window.

  • Subsection (c). No claim may be presented and no suit commenced against the fiduciary, the estate, or any creditor or beneficiary except within two years from the date of the decedent's death, or the date the claim's own statute of limitations would otherwise expire, whichever comes first.
  • Subsection (d). For a claim that arises after the death, the same two-year cap runs from the date the claim arose.
  • Subsection (a). If the debtor dies within 30 days before the claim's limitation period would have run out, the creditor gets 30 days from the appointment of the fiduciary to present.
  • Subsection (b). Presenting a claim before the limitation period expires suspends the running of that period until the claim is rejected under § 45a-360, at which point the creditor moves to § 45a-363.

Read those together and Connecticut's real answer emerges. The 150 days decides who the creditor can still collect from. The two years decides whether the claim exists at all.

When the Money Is Already Distributed (§§ 45a-368 to 45a-374)

A creditor who arrives after distribution sues the people who received the assets. Section 45a-368(a) makes a beneficiary liable in the Superior Court, up to the fair market value on the date of distribution of the assets received, for administration expenses, claims, funeral expenses, and estate taxes not already recovered. For real estate left by a specific devise in the will, or passing under the laws of descent and distribution, the date of distribution is the date of death.

Section 45a-368(b) gates that action. The plaintiff has to show the obligation cannot be satisfied out of assets still in the fiduciary's hands, cannot be satisfied by suing people ranked ahead of this beneficiary, and cannot be satisfied by enforcing a lien or security interest against assets the will disposed of by a specific gift or against life-insurance proceeds payable to a named beneficiary.

Section 45a-369(a) sets the order in which beneficiaries answer: distributees, then residuary beneficiaries, then beneficiaries of general dispositions, then beneficiaries of specific dispositions of personal property, then beneficiaries of specific dispositions of real property, then transfer-on-death beneficiaries. A beneficiary who received assets that secured a debt of the decedent pays that debt ahead of everyone else under subsection (c), and a testator's expressed or implied intent to prefer certain beneficiaries can rearrange the order under subsection (e).

Two limits keep the exposure fair. Section 45a-370 caps each beneficiary at a ratable obligation, measured by the value of what that beneficiary received against everything passing to beneficiaries in the same order of liability, and no judgment may exceed it. Section 45a-373 allows suit against one or more beneficiaries while holding each to that same ratable share. Section 45a-374 protects a good-faith purchaser who bought from a beneficiary for value before any notice of pendency was recorded against real property.

Section 45a-371 extends the § 45a-356 idea to a beneficiary who holds in a fiduciary capacity, such as a trustee or conservator. That beneficiary-fiduciary is not chargeable for assets paid or distributed in good faith before a claim reached it, with the same actual-knowledge test. Someone who received those assets without giving full consideration is liable as if that person were the original beneficiary.

Paying Claims in Order (§ 45a-365)

Once claims are in, § 45a-365 ranks them:

  1. Funeral expenses.
  2. Expenses of settling the estate.
  3. Claims due for the last sickness of the decedent.
  4. All lawful taxes and all claims due the state of Connecticut and the United States.
  5. Claims due any laborer or mechanic for personal wages earned for the decedent within the three months immediately before the death.
  6. Other preferred claims.
  7. All other claims, allowed in proportion to their amounts.

Funeral expenses coming first is a Connecticut signature, and § 45a-366 adds that the funeral and last-illness expenses of a married person are paid from that person's estate, and from the surviving spouse when the estate cannot cover them. The Connecticut debt payment priority guide works through the seven classes with examples.

A fiduciary's own claim gets extra scrutiny. Section 45a-367 blocks payment of any personal claim of the fiduciary until the Probate Court approves it after newspaper notice and a hearing, unless the court waives that for cause. A secured personal claim may be paid out of the security after approval. The unsecured part waits for approval and for the 150-day period of § 45a-356(a) to run.

Medicaid and the State's Claim (§ 17b-95)

Connecticut's Medicaid claim rides the ordinary claim process, with a priority written into the Social Services title. Section 17b-95(a) gives the state a claim against the estate of any former Medicaid beneficiary for amounts paid on that person's behalf that the state has not been reimbursed for and is required to recover under federal law. The claim reaches only so far as the amount the surviving spouse, parent, or dependent children would otherwise take is not needed for their support, and money in an ABLE account under § 3-39k is excluded to the extent federal law allows.

Section 17b-95(b) sets the priority. The state's claim outranks all unsecured claims except last-sickness expenses up to $375, funeral and burial expenses under §§ 17b-84 and 17b-131, and administrative expenses including probate fees, taxes, and fiduciary fees on the sliding schedule in that subsection. Anything paid out of the estate above those limits has to be repaid, and the state may recover it in a civil action with interest at six percent from the date of demand.

One change is easy to miss. Since July 1, 2022, § 17b-93(a) bars the state from recovering properly paid cash assistance or medical assistance, by lien or by estate claim, unless federal law requires the recovery. Liens and claims filed before that date are deemed released where recovery is not federally required.

Insolvent Estates Run a Different Clock (§§ 45a-376 to 45a-383)

When an estate cannot pay everyone, Connecticut switches procedures and the creditor window changes anchor.

Section 45a-376 puts the Probate Court in charge of the finding. The court publishes notice of the alleged insolvency in a newspaper with general circulation in the probate district, notifies the interested persons it directs, holds a hearing, and decrees whether the estate is insolvent. Section 45a-377 applies the same process when a fiduciary represents the estate insolvent partway through settlement.

Section 45a-378 then does what § 45a-356 does not. Within 14 days after the determination of insolvency, the court publishes notice that any creditor who does not present by a date 150 days from the determination is forever barred from recovering from the fiduciary, the estate, or any creditor. The fiduciary separately notifies every creditor it actually knows about, no later than 30 days before that period expires. Subsection (c) makes the bar explicit and stops a creditor from increasing a presented claim afterward. Subsection (d) allows an application to the court within 60 days after the period ends, and the court may grant up to 30 more days for cause.

The rest follows quickly. A secured creditor participates only for the excess of the claim over the fair market value of the security unless it files a written election to relinquish that security, and § 45a-379(b) gives the creditor 30 days to object to the fiduciary's valuation. Section 45a-380 requires the fiduciary's report of all claims presented, a Probate Court hearing within 30 days of that filing with notice to every claimant, and an order distributing assets under § 45a-365. An aggrieved creditor may appeal under §§ 45a-186 to 45a-193 or proceed under § 45a-364, and the order of distribution is stayed while that plays out. Section 45a-382 shuts down new suits against the fiduciary of an insolvent estate and abates pending ones, with judgment creditors presenting their judgments instead. If the estate turns out solvent, § 45a-381 returns it to the ordinary track.

Section 45a-383 is the shortcut. When the assets, setting aside what may be set out to the surviving spouse and the support allowance, will not be more than enough to cover funeral expenses, settlement expenses, last-sickness expenses, and lawful taxes and claims due Connecticut and the United States, the court may ascertain those amounts after notice and hearing and order the estate settled without the insolvency procedures of §§ 45a-376 to 45a-382.

The Small-Estate Affidavit Still Answers to Creditors

Connecticut's affidavit in lieu of administration under § 45a-273 skips the fiduciary, not the debts. It is open when the decedent's solely owned personal property, excluding what passes outside probate by operation of law, does not exceed $40,000 and the decedent owned no solely owned Connecticut real property at death.

The affidavit itself has to state whether the decedent received aid or care from the state and list all claims, expenses, and taxes due in the § 45a-365 categories, marking which have been paid and by whom. Under § 45a-273(c) the court sends a copy to the Department of Administrative Services and cannot issue a decree for 30 days. The court then determines who gets paid under § 45a-365, except that state aid is reimbursed under §§ 4a-12 and 17b-95. If the claims exceed the value of the assets, the court still orders payment in that order, and the insolvency procedures of §§ 45a-376 to 45a-383 are not required.

Are Connecticut Families Liable for the Debts?

Usually not. A decedent's solo debts belong to the estate, and a relative owes them only after co-signing, holding a joint account, or agreeing to pay. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau publishes the same answer for collectors who call surviving family members.

Connecticut adds two wrinkles worth remembering. Section 45a-366 makes a surviving spouse responsible for the funeral and last-illness expenses of a married decedent when the estate cannot cover them. And a relative who received a distribution is a beneficiary for purposes of § 45a-368, which means a late creditor can reach that person up to the ratable share described in § 45a-370. Two facts decide that exposure: what each person received, and the date it was distributed.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do creditors have to present a claim against a Connecticut estate?

One hundred fifty days from the date the Probate Court appoints the first fiduciary. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-356(a) counts from that appointment, not from the date of death and not from the newspaper notice. The court publishes its notice within 14 days after the appointment under § 45a-354, so the clock is already running when the notice appears.

Does the 150-day period destroy a late claim in Connecticut?

No, and this is where most pages get Connecticut wrong. Section 45a-356(a) says no fiduciary is chargeable for assets paid or distributed in good faith before the claim arrived. It shields the fiduciary rather than extinguishing the debt. A late creditor can still pursue the people who received the money under § 45a-368, subject to the two-year outer limit in § 45a-375(c).

Who publishes the notice to creditors in Connecticut?

The Probate Court does. Under § 45a-354(a) the court causes newspaper notice to be published at least once, within 14 days after the appointment of the first fiduciary, naming the fiduciary and the address for claims. Section 45a-356(a) adds that a failed or defective publication does not interrupt the 150-day period.

Can a Connecticut fiduciary force a creditor to a hard deadline?

Yes. Section 45a-357(a) lets a fiduciary send written notice to anyone the fiduciary believes may have a claim, setting a date at least 90 days out. A creditor who misses that date is forever barred under § 45a-357(b), which the routine 150-day period never does on its own.

What happens after a Connecticut fiduciary rejects a claim?

The creditor has two routes. Section 45a-363(b) allows suit within 120 days of the rejection. Section 45a-364(a) allows an application to the Probate Court within 30 days of the rejection to hear the claim or refer it to a probate magistrate or attorney probate referee, and § 45a-107(f) charges the creditor a $50 fee for that application.

What if the fiduciary never answers a presented claim?

Section 45a-360(c) covers the silence. If the fiduciary does not allow, reject, or pay a claim within 90 days of presentation, the claimant may send notice demanding action. If another 30 days pass with no response, the claim is deemed rejected and the 120-day suit clock in § 45a-363(b) starts.

Does Connecticut Medicaid get paid before other estate creditors?

Yes, within limits. Section 17b-95(b) gives the state's Medicaid claim priority over all unsecured claims except last-sickness expenses up to $375, funeral and burial expenses, and administrative expenses including probate fees, taxes, and fiduciary fees on the schedule in that subsection.

Related Guides

Every estate carries its own facts. Check the dates that matter to yours with the Probate Court for your district or a licensed Connecticut attorney, and use the Connecticut probate hub for the rest of the series.

Sources:

It is not legal advice.

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Settled Estate is not a law firm and does not give legal advice.

Information current as of August 1, 2026

Settled Estate is not a law firm, and this content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Probate laws and procedures in Connecticut can change. Consult with a qualified attorney for advice specific to your situation. Full disclaimer.

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