Clear Money Guide
What this state guide covers
A quick view of the questions, practical details and source notes below.
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Updated August 3, 2026. Quick answer: Connecticut lets a small estate be settled with a sworn affidavit, usable not stated in the text we read, and it is filed with the court (or the office that holds probate authority). Real estate: no — personal property only.
The verdicts
| Instrument | a sworn affidavit |
|---|---|
| Wait after death | not stated in the text we read |
| Where it goes | filed with the court (or the office that holds probate authority) |
| Notarised? | Not required by the text we read |
| Reaches real estate? | No — personal property only |
| Authority | Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-273 |
What the statute actually says
This form may be used to settle a decedent’s estate using the small estates procedure under C.G.S. section 45a-273. The small estates procedure may be used only if both of the following conditions are met: (a) the decedent had no solely owned real estate and (b) the total value of all of the decedent’s personal property does not exceed $40,000. … The petition must be filed in the court for the probate district where the decedent resided. … The representations made in this affidavit are made under penalty of false statement.
— Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-273
The dollar limit
$40,000 — settlement of small estates without full probate (affidavit in lieu of administration), C.G.S. §45a-273: solely owned personal property only, no solely owned CT real property.
The form
There is an official free form. PC-212 — Affidavit in Lieu of Probate of Will/Administration — published by the state, free to download. You should not pay anyone for this form.
The waiting period is the part that voids transfers
Using the instrument before its waiting period has run is the most common way one of these fails. A bank can refuse it, and a transfer made on a defective affidavit can be unwound — with the person who signed it personally exposed, because these are sworn statements made under penalty of perjury. Wait the full period and count from the date of death.
What could not be verified
No waiting-period-after-death requirement appears on the form itself; jud.ct.gov (403 Forbidden) and cga.ct.gov (SSL certificate error) were both unreachable this session, so C.G.S. §45a-273’s statute text could not be independently checked for a waiting period. The form is signed under penalty of false statement, not before a notary.
When this route is the wrong one
- The estate is over the limit. Full administration applies, and using the small-estate route anyway does not make it valid.
- There is real estate and this route does not reach it. A house needs the instrument that can actually transfer title.
- Someone disputes it. These procedures assume agreement; a contested estate belongs in front of a judge.
- Debts exceed assets. Paying the wrong creditor first can make you personally liable.
Related: how the process works, step by step · affidavit versus summary administration.
General information drawn from state statutes and official court materials, not legal advice. Probate and small-estate procedure is STATE law and differs in every state; thresholds, waiting periods and forms change, and every figure here is sourced and dated. Using the wrong instrument, or using one before its waiting period has run, can make a transfer ineffective and can expose the person who signs the affidavit to personal liability. We are not a law firm and we sell no forms.
Whether the estate needs this affidavit at all is the prior question, and the answer is on when probate is required in Connecticut, which gives Connecticut’s qualifying value for the small-estate route and what that route does not reach.
Related: whether Connecticut requires the executor to post a bond.