Spousal Elective Share Requirements in Connecticut

At a glance

Requirements one by one

A life estate in net will property

Connecticut calls the right a statutory share. Section 45a-436(a) defines it as a “life estate of one-third in value” of real and personal property passing under the will, after estate debts and charges are paid.

That is not outright ownership of one-third. The protected interest lasts for the surviving spouse's life. It is also not an augmented-estate system: the statutory text reaches property passing under the will and does not list survivorship assets, beneficiary designations, revocable trusts, insurance, or other nonprobate transfers.

The 150-day filing clock

The spouse must file written notice of the intention to take the statutory share in the Probate Court where the estate is being settled. The deadline is 150 days after mailing of the decree admitting the will to probate. It does not run merely from death, the date of the decree, or appointment of the first fiduciary.

Section 45a-436(c) makes the consequence explicit: if the notice is not timely filed, the spouse is barred from the statutory share. The section states no extension or withdrawal procedure.

Representative election and abandonment

A conservator or guardian of the spouse's estate may file only with approval of the Probate Court that appointed the representative. Approval follows notice and a hearing.

Abandonment is a separate eligibility bar. Under § 45a-436(g), a spouse who, without sufficient cause, abandoned the decedent and continued the abandonment until death loses both the statutory share and the intestate share.

Setting out the share, waiver, and will gifts

The estate fiduciary normally sets out the statutory share. The Probate Court may instead appoint distributors on its own motion or on an interested person's application. The life estate may be composed of personal property, real property, or both.

A written contract made before or after marriage prevents the statutory share when one party received from the other a provision intended to replace it.

A will gift to the spouse is presumed to be in lieu of the statutory share unless the will expressly says or clearly shows otherwise. Electing the statutory share therefore ordinarily gives up that will provision. If the court has awarded a support allowance, the spouse cannot take the statutory share until the allowance period ends.

What trips people up

• One-third describes the property supporting a life estate. It is not an outright one-third distribution.
• Only testamentary property enters the statutory base. Section 45a-436 does not create an augmented estate.
• The mailing date starts the clock. The decree's entry date may be different.
• A support allowance changes timing. The share cannot be taken until the allowance period expires.

Common questions

Does marriage length change the share? No. Section 45a-436 gives the same one-third life estate without a duration schedule.

Can a conservator or guardian elect? Yes, but only with approval after notice and hearing from the Probate Court that appointed the representative.

Can a will gift be added to the statutory share? Yes, if the will expressly states or clearly shows that result. Otherwise the will gift is presumed to replace the statutory share.

Who chooses the assets supporting the life estate? The fiduciary does, or the Probate Court may appoint distributors. The statute allows personal property, real property, or both.

Statutes and sources

• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-436 — one-third life estate, testamentary base, debts and charges, will-gift effect, 150-day filing deadline, representative approval, support-allowance timing, distribution, written-contract waiver, and abandonment bar. Official Connecticut General Statutes Chapter 802b (accessed 2026-08-02).