The new Connecticut Probate Court Rules of Procedure went into effect on July 1, 2013. Prior to the new Rules, procedures to settle estates varied greatly from town to town because each Probate Court often followed different local customs. Now, with the advent of the new rules, estate attorneys can count on uniform procedures in each Probate Court.
The new rules were created as part of the 2011 overhaul of the probate court system, which consolidated the number of courts from 117 to 54.
One effect of the consolidation is an increased workload for each court, which often extends the waiting period before the court appoints an executor following a person’s death. We advise our clients to use life insurance, joint bank accounts, and transfer-on-death accounts to assure prompt access to funds after death in order to pay funeral expenses or allow continuous support of their family.
After the executor is appointed, the new rules continue to impose the same obligations on the executor to file an Inventory of Assets, a List of Claims Made and Debts Paid, and a Final Account itemizing assets and income received and expenses paid. However, the new rules impose a more burdensome notice requirement. Executors are now required to send copies of those documents to all beneficiaries named in the Will. Notice may make sense for individuals or charitable organizations who are residuary beneficiaries, but the new rules require beneficiaries of specific bequests (even relatively minor cash gifts) to receive a copy even if their bequests have been paid. Moreover, if a charity is a beneficiary under the Will, the Connecticut Attorney General’s Office must also receive notice of the court proceedings as well.
One way to reduce the need for court notices is to use a pourover Will. A pourover Will says that all of the estate’s property goes to the Trustee of a Revocable Trust. The Trustee can be the same person as the Executor under the Will. Thus, notices in the probate proceeding only go to one person and that is usually the same person filing the Inventory, List of Claims, and Final Account. No notice has to be given to the Attorney General’s Office for charitable bequests. No notice is required to a long list of beneficiaries. The Executor/Trustee remains in control of the estate and can decide when and how to give notice to interested parties. If you want to spread your wealth to many people and charities without complicating your estate, use a pourover Will. Your Executor will appreciate it.
