North Central Connecticut Probate Court Guide

Note: Connecticut probate fees are set by statute and are UNIFORM in all 54 probate districts under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-105, so this district charges the same amounts as the other 53. The two numbers above are MINIMUMS, not the cost of probate. There is no flat fee to open a Connecticut decedent's estate: § 45a-107 charges a graduated fee on the GREATEST of the inventory, the gross estate for estate or succession tax purposes, or the Connecticut taxable estate, which reaches assets that pass outside probate, with any portion passing to a surviving spouse counted at half. For a decedent dying on or after July 1, 2016 the bracket table in § 45a-107(b)(2) reads: $0 to $500, $25; $501 to $1,000, $50; $1,000 to $10,000, $50 plus 1% of all in excess of $1,000; $10,000 to $500,000, $150 plus .35% of all in excess of $10,000; $500,000 to $2,000,000, $1,865 plus .25% of all in excess of $500,000; $2,000,000 to $8,877,000, $5,615 plus .5% of all in excess of $2,000,000; $8,877,000 and over, $40,000. The floor is $25, or $150 where a full estate is opened and the basis is under $10,000 (§ 45a-107(b)(3)), and the cap is $40,000. Section 45a-107 keeps five date-of-death bands alive at once and the January 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016 band is UNCAPPED, so never apply this table to an earlier death. The $250 flat filing fee in § 45a-106a expressly does NOT apply to a decedent's estate. The court invoices the fee after the Connecticut estate tax return establishes the values rather than collecting it at filing; an unpaid invoice accrues interest at 0.5% per month and becomes a lien on the decedent's Connecticut real property under § 45a-107b. Official schedule and calculators: https://www.ctprobate.gov/fees-expenses-calculators. Confirm the exact amount with this district's Probate Court before filing.