The recent changes in Connecticut probate laws that took effect on July 1, 2015, simplify some aspects and clarify other aspects of the probate process. In this blog post, I explain an important change in the probate notification process and what it means for Executors of estates.
When someone dies, many people have an interest in the probate proceedings. Beneficiaries under the will, intestate heirs (those people who would inherit if there was no will) and creditors of the decedent all care about what happens to the decedent’s property. Whenever a charity is a beneficiary, the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Connecticut also has an interest in the probate proceedings. Consequently, it is not uncommon to have up to 30 different parties with potential interest in the probate process.
The Connecticut Probate Rules of Procedure used to require notification by regular mail of every document filed in court to all parties. A party is any person who has a legal or financial interest in the probate court proceeding.
This universal notification requirement led to a lot of extra, unnecessary paperwork. For instance, the Executor had to send notifications to people who no longer had an interest in the estate. Let’s say the decedent left $10,000 to their church and the Executor disburses that money to the church prior to filing the Inventory. Under the old law, you still had to send the church a copy of the Inventory, the estate tax return, and the financial reports even after the charity has already been paid its bequest. You could also have a creditor who the Executor pays in full or a creditor whose claim the Executor barred pursuant to state statute. Nevertheless, the Executor had to continue sending to those creditors a copy of the all the documents filed in the probate court. With all the extra paperwork and mailing costs, you can understand why people dread going through probate.
Now under the new Probate Rules of Procedure, the court may remove a person from the list of persons to whom the court will give notice of future proceedings. A party removed from the notice list can request special notice; if granted, the party would return to the notice list. This new provision allows Executors to remove a beneficiary or creditor who has been paid in full from the notice list. Executors can also remove creditors with barred claims from the notification list.
In another good change, after sending a copy of the decree admitting a will to probate and the notice, the court is not required to give notice of subsequent proceedings to the decedent’s heirs or beneficiaries under any purported will not admitted to probate. Thus, intestate heirs do not have to receive notice once the Will is admitted to probate. The Executor is also excused from the requirement of sending copies of the Inventory, Financial Report, or Affidavit of Closing to any beneficiary of a specific bequest who has acknowledged, in writing, receipt of the bequest. The Executor only has to file a copy of the acknowledgement with the court. These reductions in the paperwork burden save the Executor time and the estate money.
As probate lawyers and probate judges continue to operate under the Rules of Procedure, they find more ways to simplify probate for Executors. One of the best improvements this year are the new notification rules.
