Connecticut Probate, Estate and Trust Administration
Reviewed by Paul G. Holland, Jr., Holland Law Offices, LLC · Last Reviewed September 24, 2026.
Probate and Estate Administration Overview
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Settling an estate in Connecticut
Knowledge and expertise is required to settle estates in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Often family members or a surviving spouse is appointed as executor but is unfamiliar with estate administration, including the probate process. An experienced attorney can counsel family members and beneficiaries, treating them with respect, objectivity and independence to conflicts that can arise between siblings in the settlement of an estate. No matter how complex the estate, as an experienced trust and tax attorney, Paul Holland will work to finalize the settlement efficiently and explore solutions and tax-planning opportunities to benefit the estate and beneficiaries.
Working closely with your accountant and financial adviser, an experienced attorney like Paul Holland can bring specialized resources and services to ensure efficient estate settlement in compliance with probate procedures and tax codes. In estate settlement, there are critical filing dates with the probate court and taxing authorities. In addition, post-mortem tax planning can often add value to the process by suggesting techniques that will provide tax benefits to the estate and ultimate beneficiaries.
If you have been named executor
If you have been appointed executor of an estate, you should be aware of the significant responsibility and unique challenges of this role. As an executor, you will serve as the legally appointed representative who will ensure that the probate process is followed, the taxing authorities are satisfied, and the provisions in a decedent’s Will are carried out. Given these complexities, consider whether you would benefit from hiring an experienced attorney to advise you in your role as executor.
Estate services include:
- Meeting with family members and other advisors during the estate settlement process
- Collecting, inventorying and safeguarding assets
- Arranging for appraisals of assets
- Determining the retention or sale of assets and providing ongoing management of retained assets
- Arranging for the payment of bequests
- Coordinating the preparation and filing of all required tax forms and returns
- Identifying claims against the estate and satisfying or disallowing such claims
- Coordinating the distribution of assets
- Overseeing the preparation and filing of federal and state estate and income tax returns
- Supervising the preparation of all required reports to finalize and close the estate
If you are a successor trustee
When a revocable trust was properly funded prior to death, most of the estate passes outside the Probate Court, but the work still has to be done. A successor trustee takes over management of the trust, gathers and values its assets, pays valid debts and taxes, keeps beneficiaries informed, and distributes the trust as its terms direct. We advise successor trustees across New London County through each step, working alongside the family’s accountant and financial advisor.
Probate and estate administration FAQs
No. Assets in a properly funded revocable trust, and assets passing by beneficiary designation or joint ownership, transfer outside the court. What remains in the deceased person’s individual name is what generally goes through probate.
Locate and value the assets, notify beneficiaries and creditors, file with the Probate Court and the taxing authorities, pay valid debts and taxes, then distribute what remains under the will. The role carries personal responsibility.
Disputes usually come from surprise rather than bad faith — nobody knew what the plan was. An attorney acting with objectivity and independence can often settle it before the estate ends up in litigation between siblings.
Appointed executor? Start here
If you have been named executor of a Connecticut estate, the first filings come due quickly. We work with executors and families across New London County to settle estates efficiently — and to keep the process from becoming a source of conflict.
Call 860-415-0075 or request a consultation .