How Do I Avoid Probate in Connecticut?

In Connecticut, a payable on death account, life insurance with a named beneficiary and a vehicle with a transfer on death designation pass outside probate, as does property in a revocable trust; what is left is the probate estate.

Mark what the owner holds

Connecticut law says how each asset passes at death. Mark what the owner holds and how each piece is titled to see which pass outside probate and what remains for the probate estate.

Examples:

General information about how each asset passes at death under state law, and what remains for probate, not legal or tax advice. The probate cost figures are the probate cost estimator’s, run at the size of the probate estate. Consult a licensed attorney for legal questions.

At a death in Connecticut, the sums in a joint account belong to the surviving owner unless the account says otherwise. On the pay on death designation: a deposits or share accounts in trust passes to the named beneficiary at the owner's death.

Connecticut's nonprobate-transfer statute names an insurance policy: the death benefit is paid to the beneficiary the owner designated, outside probate. A policy with no beneficiary, or one payable to the estate, is part of the probate estate.

An employer plan is governed by federal law: An employer retirement plan pays its death benefit to the beneficiary named in the plan's records, and federal law displaces a state rule that would redirect it. A married participant's spouse is the beneficiary unless the spouse consented in writing to another. An IRA is the state's: Connecticut's statute names an individual retirement account, so the balance is paid to the named beneficiary outside probate. A retirement account with no beneficiary named is part of the probate estate.

Survivorship title in Connecticut: In Connecticut a deed or will that runs to the owners and the survivor of them, to the owners as joint tenants with right of survivorship or "as joint tenants", or to two owners as tenants by the entirety creates a joint tenancy with right of survivorship. The owners may hold equal or unequal shares. In Connecticut, no statute authorizes a transfer on death deed. A home in the owner's name alone, with no survivor, deed beneficiary or trust, is part of the probate estate.

Connecticut titles a vehicle with a transfer on death designation: the vehicle passes to the named beneficiary at the owner's death without probate. The form is Beneficiary Designation for a Motor Vehicle. A vehicle in the owner's name alone is part of the probate estate.

Avoiding Probate in Connecticut

Probate reaches what a person owned in their own name alone at death, with no survivor, beneficiary or trust named to take it. That is the probate estate, and the will, or the intestacy statute where there is none, governs only that. In Connecticut an estate under $40,000 may be settled by PC-212 Affidavit in Lieu of Probate of Will/Administration instead of a full probate.

Survivorship title in Connecticut: In Connecticut a deed or will that runs to the owners and the survivor of them, to the owners as joint tenants with right of survivorship or "as joint tenants", or to two owners as tenants by the entirety creates a joint tenancy with right of survivorship. The owners may hold equal or unequal shares. A home that passes to the surviving owner is outside probate.

In Connecticut, no statute authorizes a transfer on death deed; a home in the owner's name alone is part of the probate estate. A home retitled to a revocable trust passes under the trust's terms; the deed used is Warranty Deed.

At a death, the sums in a joint account belong to the surviving owner unless the account says otherwise. On the pay on death designation: a deposits or share accounts in trust passes to the named beneficiary at the owner's death. Opening a Connecticut joint account payable to the survivor is evidence that the owners meant the survivor to take title, unless fraud, undue influence or contrary evidence shows otherwise. A deposit held in trust for another passes to the named beneficiary who survives the depositor.

In Connecticut a beneficiary designation in an insurance, annuity or endowment contract, or in a pension, profit-sharing or other retirement plan or an individual retirement account, is not subject to the law governing the transfer of property by will. The statute names an insurance policy, so the death benefit is paid to the named beneficiary outside probate. It names an individual retirement account too. An employer plan is federal: An employer retirement plan pays its death benefit to the beneficiary named in the plan's records, and federal law displaces a state rule that would redirect it. A married participant's spouse is the beneficiary unless the spouse consented in writing to another.

SimplyTrust Editorial·Updated November 1, 2026

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

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How Do I Avoid Probate in Connecticut?

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