Connecticut Probate Final Accounting: Form PC-241 and Closing the Estate

After months of managing creditors, navigating tax filings, and waiting out the statutory windows, the final accounting is what gets the Connecticut Probate Court to close the estate and discharge you from your duties. It is the last major administrative task — and it requires getting the numbers right.

What the Final Accounting Is

The final administration account is a complete financial reconciliation of everything that happened with the estate's money during your tenure as executor or administrator. It shows the court and all beneficiaries:

• Every asset that came into the estate (the opening inventory)
• Every payment made out of the estate (debts, taxes, administrative expenses, distributions)
• The net balance remaining and how it will be distributed

Connecticut uses Form PC-241 for standard final accounts and Form PC-242 for simplified accounts in certain smaller or less complex estates. Both serve the same function — transparency and court approval before final distribution.

When You Can File the Final Accounting

You cannot file the final account until all major obligations are resolved:

The creditor window must be closed. The standard 150-day creditor period (from your appointment date) must have run its course, and all claims must be addressed. If you used Form PC-234 to shorten known creditors' windows to 90 days, those deadlines must also have passed.

The DAS review period must be complete. The Department of Administrative Services has up to 90 days from your petition filing to evaluate the estate for Medicaid recovery. Do not include final distributions in your accounting until that period is closed and any DAS claims are resolved.

Taxes must be settled. The CT-706 NT must have been filed and the probate fee paid. The decedent's final income tax return and any estate fiduciary income tax return (Form 1041) must be complete. Outstanding tax obligations that remain unpaid create liability that cannot be distributed away.

All assets must be liquidated or valued. You cannot present a clean final account if you still have assets pending sale, appraisal, or transfer.

What Goes Into the Account

A properly prepared final account includes:

Charges (what came in):

• The estate inventory value (from Form PC-440, as of the date of death)
• Any income earned by estate assets during administration (interest, rent, dividends)
• Proceeds from the sale of estate assets

Credits (what went out):

• Funeral and burial expenses (highest statutory priority)
• Estate administration expenses: probate court fees, attorney fees (if any), executor/administrator fees, filing fees, bond premiums
• Medical expenses of the last illness
• State and federal taxes paid
• Creditor claims paid
• Any interim distributions to beneficiaries (if approved by the court during administration)

Balance remaining: What is left after all charges and credits, which is the amount available for final distribution to beneficiaries.

The final account must balance. Every dollar that came in must be accounted for as either still in the estate or paid out for a documented purpose. Unexplained discrepancies will prompt court inquiry.

Executor Fees and Administrator Compensation

Connecticut law allows executors and administrators to receive reasonable compensation for their services, payable from the estate before distributions to beneficiaries. The amount is not fixed by statute — "reasonable" is determined by the court based on the complexity of the estate and the work performed.

In practice, many family executors waive fees entirely, particularly in smaller estates where taking a fee would create income tax complications without much practical benefit. If you intend to claim a fee, include it as a credit in the final account and be prepared to justify the amount.

Giving Beneficiaries Notice

Before the court approves the final account, all beneficiaries are entitled to receive notice and an opportunity to review it. They may:

• Request a hearing before the Probate Court if they have questions or objections
• File Form PC-245 (Waiver of Right to Hearing) to consent to the account without a hearing

The waiver route is faster. If all beneficiaries sign PC-245, the court can approve the account without scheduling a hearing date, which eliminates additional weeks from the timeline.

If a beneficiary contests the account — challenging a particular expense, questioning an asset valuation, or disputing the distribution scheme — the court schedules a hearing to resolve the dispute. This can add months to the closing process.

Court Approval and Distribution

Once the court approves the final account, it issues a Decree Approving Account and Directing Distribution. This is your authorization to make the final distributions — transfer accounts, write checks, or deed property to beneficiaries as specified.

Do not make distributions before receiving this decree. The account approval and the distribution must be properly sequenced to avoid any confusion about whether the estate's obligations have been satisfied.

The Closing Affidavit

After all final distributions are complete, you file an Affidavit of Closing with the Probate Court. This document confirms that the distributions were made as directed by the court's decree and that no estate assets remain to be administered.

Filing the Affidavit of Closing is the act that formally closes the estate file and legally discharges you from your duties as executor or administrator. Your fiduciary obligations end here.

How Long Does This All Take?

In a straightforward Connecticut estate with an uncontested will, cooperative beneficiaries, and no DAS recovery claim, the entire administration from petition to closing typically runs 12 to 18 months. The creditor window (150 days), the tax deadlines (6 months for CT-706 NT), and the court's processing time for each filing account for most of that duration.

Contested estates, complex asset structures, or DAS recovery disputes can extend the timeline by years.

The Connecticut Probate Process Guide includes a complete chapter on the final accounting process — with a line-by-line breakdown of Form PC-241, a template for presenting the account to beneficiaries, and guidance on calculating executor compensation. If you are in the final stretch of a Connecticut estate administration, the guide maps the remaining steps to the closing affidavit.

See more Connecticut guides →