On July 12, 2019, Governor Ned Lamont signed
House Bill 7104, An Act Concerning the Adoption of the Connecticut Uniform Trust Code. It became Public Act 19-137 (CUTC). It will be effective January 1, 2020.
The doctor said at your last visit, “I’m sorry. There is nothing more we can do. You will not live long. I hope your affairs are in order.” Depression sets in as you realize that your life will end soon. A sense of urgency pervades your thoughts and those around you. If you’re like most people, you have a Will and Revocable Trust but they were probably done 20 years ago when the kids were young. You know that you need to see an estate planning attorney because you don’t have much time left.
Life is a constantly evolving journey. Laws change. People change. Relationships change. Finances change. Children come along, attend college, become adults, have their own children, and grow into their golden years. Unfortunately, the language in a Will stays the same and may fail to accomplish your goals if not updated to parallel the evolutions of your life.
After a parent, relative or friend dies, you may be surprised to learn that you were chosen to be the Executor of his or her estate. You might think of your appointment as an honor, a mark of trust and an indicator of how highly the decedent valued your relationship. In truth, being chosen as an Executor can also feel like a burden, an obligation you might not want to tackle for any number of reasons.
When a person dies, the State of Connecticut assesses a probate court fee based on the value of all property the decedent owned at death. Due to the budget crisis in Connecticut, the Connecticut General Assembly stopped funding the probate court system from general revenues. To help the probate courts become self-supporting, the legislature passed Public Act 15-5. This new law creates an inchoate lien to ensure payment of probate court fees. A lien is an encumbrance on real estate that a seller must pay before the sale of the real estate.
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.
Section 30 of the Connecticut Probate Court Rules of Procedure now requires a report called an Affidavit of Closing. While this may sound like extra paperwork, it’s actually a good thing for all involved because it ensures that what was supposed to be done actually got done.
In Connecticut, we have many estates in which the decedent has a million dollars or more but there is nothing for the court to administer. How can that happen? First you need to know that the Probate Court only administers property passed from the decedent to the beneficiary by a Will or by the laws of intestacy. “Intestacy” is the legal term for when someone dies without a Will. There are 4 situations where assets do not need to go through the probate process. These are when:
An Executor of a Will manages the administration of a deceased person's estate. One of the Executor's main jobs during probate is to pay people or institutions who are owed money by the deceased person. Those people or institutions are called “creditors.”
