Connecticut executor and estate paperwork checklist

This is an organizer, not legal advice. An estate attorney or the county probate/surrogate office answers questions about your situation.

The first 30 days

Work down the list; nothing you tick is saved or sent. The steps are general, the dates come from the official pages.

1. Order certified death certificatesThrough the funeral director or the vital records office. Order several: banks, insurers, pension plans and the court may each want one.
2. Make sure Social Security knowsFuneral homes generally report the death. If not, call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778). A surviving spouse, or some children if there's no spouse, may get a one-time $255 payment.
3. Track down the willCheck the home, a safe deposit box and the lawyer who drafted it. Leave the original exactly as you found it and work from copies.
4. Check the will for a self-proving affidavitLook for a notarized statement by the witnesses attached to the will; this state allows one (see below).
5. Secure the home, car and mailLock up, keep the insurance in force, photograph valuables and forward the mail to yourself.
6. Pause before paying creditors or dividing keepsakesWho may act, and in what order bills get paid, depends on the route. Ask before you spend or distribute anything.
7. Stop using the person's power of attorneyA power of attorney ends at the principal's death, so an agent under it can't act for the estate.
8. List what the person owned and owedNote how each asset is held: in the person's name alone, jointly, or with a named beneficiary. Accounts with a beneficiary or joint owner usually pass outside the will.
9. Check the total against $40,000The official page's small estate figure. Leave out anything the page says isn't counted.
10. Start the estate ledgerRecord every dollar in and out with a receipt: funeral costs, bills paid, money collected.
11. Once you have authority: EIN and an estate accountThe IRS says you need an EIN before filing the estate's Form 1041, which is due if the estate has more than $600 of gross income in a year.

Sources for the federal steps: Social Security Administration: When someone dies · IRS: Deceased taxpayers, filing the estate income tax return (Form 1041) · power of attorney: Power of attorney at a real estate closing.

The small estate route

• ConfirmedSmall estate limit

  Personal property in the person's name alone up to $40,000. Solely owned real estate in the state rules the procedure out; survivorship real estate doesn't, and survivorship assets over $40,000 don't count against the limit.

  "the total value of all of the decedent's personal property does not exceed $40,000"

  Sources: Connecticut Probate Courts form PC-212, Affidavit in Lieu of Probate of Will/Administration (rev. 07/23); Connecticut Probate Courts: User guide, administration of decedents' estates (PDF), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedReal estate

  Real estate in the person's name alone takes the estate out of this procedure.

  Sources: Connecticut Probate Courts form PC-212, Affidavit in Lieu of Probate of Will/Administration (rev. 07/23); Connecticut Probate Courts: User guide, administration of decedents' estates (PDF), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedWaiting period after the death

  No waiting period: the Probate Courts' form PC-212 asks for the date of death and that no estate petition is pending, and sets no minimum time before filing.

  Source: Connecticut Probate Courts form PC-212, Affidavit in Lieu of Probate of Will/Administration (rev. 07/23), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedNotary or oath

  The official form doesn't call for a notary. Signed under penalty of false statement; the form has no notary block.

  "The representations made in this affidavit are made under penalty of false statement."

  Source: Connecticut Probate Courts form PC-212, Affidavit in Lieu of Probate of Will/Administration (rev. 07/23), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedWhere the paperwork goes

  Through a court office. Filed with the probate court for the district where the person lived, with a copy of the death certificate; the judge authorizes the transfers.

  "The petition must be filed in the court for the probate district where the decedent resided."

  Sources: Connecticut Probate Courts form PC-212, Affidavit in Lieu of Probate of Will/Administration (rev. 07/23); Connecticut Probate Courts: User guide, administration of decedents' estates (PDF), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedOfficial form

  PC-212, Affidavit in Lieu of Probate of Will/Administration. Filed with PC-212CI (confidential information) and, if assets remain after expenses and claims, PC-212A (request for order of distribution).

  Source: Connecticut Probate Courts form PC-212, Affidavit in Lieu of Probate of Will/Administration (rev. 07/23), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedSimplified court procedure

  Affidavit in lieu of probate of will or administration: The small estate procedure itself: a probate court process, not a document handed to a bank.

  Sources: Connecticut Probate Courts form PC-212, Affidavit in Lieu of Probate of Will/Administration (rev. 07/23); Connecticut Probate Courts: User guide, administration of decedents' estates (PDF), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedSurviving spouse

  The surviving spouse can be the petitioner; if there is none, a next of kin.

  "The petitioner is the surviving spouse of the decedent."

  Sources: Connecticut Probate Courts form PC-212, Affidavit in Lieu of Probate of Will/Administration (rev. 07/23); Connecticut Probate Courts: User guide, administration of decedents' estates (PDF), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedWorth knowing

  The probate courts' guide says a Connecticut estate tax return is required for a small estate too.

  Sources: Connecticut Probate Courts form PC-212, Affidavit in Lieu of Probate of Will/Administration (rev. 07/23); Connecticut Probate Courts: User guide, administration of decedents' estates (PDF), checked November 2026

The will at probate

When the will goes to the court, these signing rules are what it is checked against.

• ConfirmedWitnesses the will needed

  Signed in front of two witnesses, who sign in the testator's presence (Nolo, citing Conn. Gen. Stat. 45a-251).

  "in front of two witnesses"

  Source: Nolo (secondary source): How to Make a Will in Connecticut (Nolo, updated September 2025), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedSelf-proving affidavit

  Allowed. Per Nolo (citing 45a-285), the testator and witnesses sign an affidavit before a notary.

  Source: Nolo (secondary source): How to Make a Will in Connecticut (Nolo, updated September 2025), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedIf the will is handwritten

  Not recognized, per Nolo's Connecticut page (updated September 2025).

  "Connecticut doesn't permit holographic wills"

  Source: Nolo (secondary source): How to Make a Will in Connecticut (Nolo, updated September 2025), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedA witness who inherits

  A witness who, or whose spouse, gets a gift under the will could lose it (Nolo, citing 45a-258).

  Source: Nolo (secondary source): How to Make a Will in Connecticut (Nolo, updated September 2025), checked November 2026

Documents to gather

• Pension, Social Security and benefit letters
• Safe deposit box location and keys
• Certified death certificates
• The original will and any codicils
• Deeds and mortgage statements
• Vehicle titles and registrations
• Recent bank, brokerage and retirement statements
• Life insurance policies and annuities
• The last few years of tax returns
• Recent bills, loan and credit card statements
• The official small estate form: PC-212, Affidavit in Lieu of Probate of Will/Administration

Who to notify

Pension or employer, Social Security (if the funeral home hasn't), Banks and credit unions, Brokerage and retirement accounts, Life insurance companies, Utilities and phone, Landlord or mortgage servicer, Credit card companies. Write once to each, enclose a death certificate copy, and record the reply.

Documents needed abroad

• ConfirmedA death certificate needed abroad

  Apostilles for this state's documents come from the Connecticut Secretary of the State, Authentication and Apostille Unit. $40 per document (child adoption documents $15), from the office's order form updated June 2021. Vital records: Certified copies from a town clerk or the Department of Public Health, Vital Records Unit.

  Source: Connecticut Secretary of the State, Authentication and Apostille Unit, checked November 2026

Where to ask

An estate attorney or the county probate/surrogate office answers questions about your situation. Official pages for Connecticut:

• Connecticut Probate Courts form PC-212, Affidavit in Lieu of Probate of Will/Administration (rev. 07/23)
• Connecticut Probate Courts: User guide, administration of decedents' estates (PDF)
• Affidavit in Proof of Will and/or Codicil, form PC-210 (rev. 1/19), Connecticut Probate Courts

General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. We are not lawyers, and MCC Solutions is not a law firm. An estate attorney or the county probate/surrogate office answers questions about your situation. Facts checked November 2026.

Common questions

Related: Executor guide by state · Small estate affidavit details · Will signing requirements · Apostille steps · Estate paperwork help