Connecticut Probate Types: Small Estate Affidavit vs Full Administration
Connecticut runs every estate through one of the 54 probate districts, and the first question is whether the estate can be settled on an affidavit or has to open a full administration.
Compare eligibility, timing, court involvement, and local verification points
How to Compare Connecticut Probate Types
Connecticut has no county probate court. It abolished county government in 1960, and probate is heard by the 54 probate districts of Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-2, each serving one or more of the state’s 169 towns. The district that hears an estate is the one serving the town where the decedent resided at death, and the judge of probate is elected by the voters of that district. Six Regional Children’s Probate Courts also appear in the official court locator, but they hear children’s matters rather than decedents’ estates.
Two facts decide which path an estate takes: whether the decedent owned Connecticut real property in their own name, and how much solely owned personal property there is. Solely owned personal property of $40,000 or less with no solely owned Connecticut real property can be settled on an affidavit under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-273, with no fiduciary appointed. Anything else opens a full administration on form PC-200. The choice changes the paperwork and the timeline, not the fee: Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-107 charges the same value-based fee on all proceedings in the settlement of a decedent’s estate, and Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-392 requires a Connecticut estate tax return either way.
Small Estate Affidavit vs Full Administration at a Glance
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| Category | Small Estate Affidavit | Full Administration | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where it is filed | The PC-212 affidavit is filed in the Probate Court for the decedent’s district, and the court decides who is paid without appointing anyone | The PC-200 petition is filed in the same court, but the court admits the will or grants administration and qualifies a fiduciary | Small Estate Affidavit |
| Cost to open | The affidavit pays the same § 45a-107 value scale, which at the $40,000 ceiling is $255 and at the bottom is the $25 minimum | A full estate pays the same scale with a $150 minimum, so a $250,000 estate pays $990 and a $1,000,000 estate pays $3,115 | Small Estate Affidavit |
| Who can use it | The affidavit is limited to solely owned personal property of $40,000 or less, with no solely owned Connecticut real property | Full administration has no dollar cap and is the only route for a house, a larger estate, or a contested will | Full Administration |
| Authority granted | The decree tells each holder to release a named asset, and there are no fiduciary certificates to show anyone else | Letters testamentary or letters of administration, with fiduciary certificates, are what banks, brokers and the Department of Motor Vehicles ask to see | Full Administration |
| Bond | No probate bond, because no fiduciary is appointed | The court takes a probate bond from an administrator in an intestate estate, and may require one of an executor for cause under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-289 | Small Estate Affidavit |
| Timeline | About 1 to 3 months, with a 30-day hold while the Department of Administrative Services is notified | About 8 to 14 months, because the 150-day creditor period and the six-month estate tax return both have to run | Small Estate Affidavit |
| Filings that still apply | A Connecticut estate tax return is still due six months from death, and claims still get paid in the § 45a-365 order | The same return is due, plus an inventory on form PC-2407 within two months of qualification and a final account or financial report | Small Estate Affidavit |
Main Connecticut Probate Options
| Probate Type | Threshold | Filing Fee | Timeline | Real Estate | Attorney | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Affidavit in Lieu of Probate of Will/Administration Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-273 (form PC-212) | Solely owned tangible and intangible personal property of $40,000 or less, excluding property that passes outside probate by operation of law, and NO solely owned Connecticut real property at death. | No separate small-estate fee. The § 45a-107 value scale applies, from a $25 minimum up to $255 at the ceiling | About 1 to 3 months. The court may not decree until 30 days after it sends a copy to the Department of Administrative Services | No. Any solely owned Connecticut real property closes the route | No | Small estates of bank accounts, a vehicle and household goods where nobody needs court-issued authority |
Full Administration (Probate of Will or Letters of Administration) Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 45a-283, 45a-286 and 45a-303 (form PC-200) | No dollar cap. The default path whenever the affidavit route is unavailable, which includes any estate holding solely owned Connecticut real property. | The § 45a-107 value scale, with a $150 minimum where a full estate is opened and a $40,000 maximum for a death on or after July 1, 2016 | About 8 to 14 months, including the 150-day creditor-claim period that runs from the appointment of the first fiduciary | Yes | No statutory requirement; counsel is common where there is real estate, a business, or a disagreement | Any estate with a house, with more than $40,000 of solely owned personal property, or that needs a fiduciary with court-issued authority |
Ex Parte Administrator for Small Benefits Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-274 | Medical, insurance or health benefits or other intangible personal property of $1,000 or less owned by or payable to the decedent or the estate. | The § 45a-107 value scale, which at this size is the $25 minimum | About a month | No | No | A single small insurance or benefit payment left in the decedent’s name with nothing else to settle |
Ancillary Administration Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 45a-287 and 45a-288 (form PC-201) | A decedent who lived outside Connecticut but owned Connecticut real property or tangible personal property. | The § 45a-107 value scale, measured on the Connecticut property under § 45a-107(b)(6) | About 6 to 12 months | Yes | Counsel is usual, because a second state proceeding runs alongside the home-state one | A nonresident decedent whose Connecticut house or land has to be transferred |
Insolvent Estate Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 45a-376 to 45a-383 (form PC-204) | The estate’s assets are not enough to pay claims, expenses and taxes. | The § 45a-107 value scale on the estate value, with the $150 full-estate minimum | About 9 to 18 months | Yes | Counsel is strongly advised, because creditors are being paid in a statutory order and shortfalls invite objections | Estates where the debts, the last illness and the funeral outrun the assets |
Affidavit in Lieu of Probate of Will/Administration
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-273 (form PC-212)
Small estates of bank accounts, a vehicle and household goods where nobody needs court-issued authority
Threshold: Solely owned tangible and intangible personal property of $40,000 or less, excluding property that passes outside probate by operation of law, and NO solely owned Connecticut real property at death.
Filing Fee: No separate small-estate fee. The § 45a-107 value scale applies, from a $25 minimum up to $255 at the ceiling
Timeline: About 1 to 3 months. The court may not decree until 30 days after it sends a copy to the Department of Administrative Services
Real Estate: No. Any solely owned Connecticut real property closes the route
Attorney: No
Full Administration (Probate of Will or Letters of Administration)
Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 45a-283, 45a-286 and 45a-303 (form PC-200)
Any estate with a house, with more than $40,000 of solely owned personal property, or that needs a fiduciary with court-issued authority
Threshold: No dollar cap. The default path whenever the affidavit route is unavailable, which includes any estate holding solely owned Connecticut real property.
Filing Fee: The § 45a-107 value scale, with a $150 minimum where a full estate is opened and a $40,000 maximum for a death on or after July 1, 2016
Timeline: About 8 to 14 months, including the 150-day creditor-claim period that runs from the appointment of the first fiduciary
Real Estate: Yes
Attorney: No statutory requirement; counsel is common where there is real estate, a business, or a disagreement
Ex Parte Administrator for Small Benefits
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-274
A single small insurance or benefit payment left in the decedent’s name with nothing else to settle
Threshold: Medical, insurance or health benefits or other intangible personal property of $1,000 or less owned by or payable to the decedent or the estate.
Filing Fee: The § 45a-107 value scale, which at this size is the $25 minimum
Timeline: About a month
Real Estate: No
Attorney: No
Ancillary Administration
Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 45a-287 and 45a-288 (form PC-201)
A nonresident decedent whose Connecticut house or land has to be transferred
Threshold: A decedent who lived outside Connecticut but owned Connecticut real property or tangible personal property.
Filing Fee: The § 45a-107 value scale, measured on the Connecticut property under § 45a-107(b)(6)
Timeline: About 6 to 12 months
Real Estate: Yes
Attorney: Counsel is usual, because a second state proceeding runs alongside the home-state one
Insolvent Estate
Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 45a-376 to 45a-383 (form PC-204)
Estates where the debts, the last illness and the funeral outrun the assets
Threshold: The estate’s assets are not enough to pay claims, expenses and taxes.
Filing Fee: The § 45a-107 value scale on the estate value, with the $150 full-estate minimum
Timeline: About 9 to 18 months
Real Estate: Yes
Attorney: Counsel is strongly advised, because creditors are being paid in a statutory order and shortfalls invite objections
* Connecticut charges no flat fee to open a decedent’s estate. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-107 sets one statewide graduated fee on the value of the estate, from a $25 minimum to a $40,000 maximum for a decedent dying on or after July 1, 2016, with a $150 minimum where a full estate is opened. The $250 flat filing fee people find online comes from Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-106a, which by its own terms reaches only matters OTHER than a decedent’s estate. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-105 makes the schedule identical in all 54 probate districts, and the court invoices the fee after the estate tax return establishes the values rather than collecting it at filing.
Unfamiliar terms in the comparison? The Connecticut probate glossary defines them in plain language.
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