Forms for Heirs and Beneficiaries in Connecticut

In Connecticut, heirs put their identity on the land records with a recorded affidavit of facts affecting title that states who the heirs are; once recorded it is prima facie evidence of the facts stated.

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3 forms for Connecticut

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Affidavit of Heirship

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Small Estate Affidavit

In Connecticut, the Small Estate Affidavit (Affidavit in Lieu of Probate of Will/Administration, PC-212) covers estates with personal property of $40,000 or less, 30 days after death, filed with the court.

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Letter of Instruction

Prepare the letter a bank or insurer requests during estate settlement, addressed to its claims department.

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Connecticut's recorded instrument, Affidavit of facts relating to title or interest in real estate, rests on the general recording statute for affidavits of facts affecting title to land. What a recorded affidavit does, in the statute's words: if recorded, and if the affiant is dead or otherwise not available to testify in court, the affidavit or a certified copy of it is admissible as prima facie evidence of the facts stated in it, so far as those facts affect title to real estate, in any action involving the title to that real estate or any interest in it. It is evidence of the facts it states, not a deed; it does not itself transfer title, and a purchaser, lender or title company decides whether to rely on it.

Who may sign, in the statute's words: any person having knowledge of the facts or competent to testify concerning them in open court. The statute names no witness requirement. Title companies commonly ask that the affiant be someone other than an heir, or that two people who know the family sign; the office relying on the affidavit sets what it will accept. It states: Facts relating to the matters named in § 47-12a(b) (for an heirship affidavit: death, relationship, family history, heirship, marital status, identity of parties) that may affect title to real estate in Connecticut; A description of the land, title to which may be affected by the facts stated in the affidavit; The name of the person appearing by the record to be the owner of the land at the time the affidavit is recorded.

In Connecticut, estates with personal property of $40,000 or less use the Small Estate Affidavit (Affidavit in Lieu of Probate of Will/Administration, PC-212), 30 days after death, a court filing short of full probate. Real property cannot pass through the affidavit; an estate that includes real estate uses a separate process. An estate over the limit does not qualify, and no affidavit is prepared for it.

30 days after the death. The affidavit states that the period has passed, so it cannot be signed earlier.

The state's intestacy statute sets the order: the surviving spouse and children first, then parents, siblings, and more distant relatives, with shares that differ by state. The Who Inherits Calculator applies your state's order and shows each person's share.

Forms for Heirs and Beneficiaries in Connecticut

What an heir receives, and the paperwork it takes, depends on how the property was held. A named beneficiary on a life insurance policy, retirement account, or payable on death account claims it directly from the institution on its own form, with the death certificate. Property in the estate passes through probate to the people named in the will, or to the heirs the state's intestacy statute names when there is no will. Where the estate is small enough, the heirs collect it themselves with a small estate affidavit, and where real property has to pass without an administration, an affidavit of heirship records who the heirs are.

In Connecticut, estates under $40,000 qualify for a simplified procedure and larger ones go through probate, and a simple estate closes in 6 months to 12 months. Connecticut levies an estate tax above $15,000,000 and no inheritance tax.

SimplyTrust Editorial·Updated September 24, 2026

Legal Sources

Data sourced from Connecticut statutes and official state code. How we research.