Connecticut: Spousal Elective Share Requirements
The short answer
Connecticut gives a surviving spouse a life estate—not outright ownership—in one-third of the net real and personal property passing under the deceased spouse's will. The written notice of election is due within 150 days after the decree admitting the will to probate is mailed. A will gift is normally treated as replacing the statutory share unless the will says or clearly shows otherwise.
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This is the general rule in Connecticut. Ask about your specific facts and see which parts of current Connecticut law apply, with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law and system | Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-436; testamentary statutory-share system granting a life estate, not an augmented estate |
|---|---|
| Eligible spouse and who may elect | Surviving spouse; abandonment without sufficient cause continuing to death bars statutory/intestate shares; conservator/guardian of estate may elect with appointing Probate Court's approval after notice/hearing (§ 45a-436(c), (g)) |
| Share amount and marriage length | Life estate in 1/3 in value of net property passing under will; no marriage-length scale (§ 45a-436(a)) |
| Estate base and nonprobate transfers | Real/personal property passing under will and legally/equitably owned at death; no augmented-estate or listed nonprobate-transfer reach (§ 45a-436(a)) |
| Deductions, exclusions, and valuation | Calculate after all estate debts and charges; § 45a-436 states no separate exclusion list or valuation-date formula (§ 45a-436(a)) |
| Deadline, extensions, and withdrawal | Written notice due ≤150 days after mailing of decree admitting will to probate; late filing bars share; no extension or withdrawal procedure stated (§ 45a-436(c)) |
| Filing, service, and court procedure | File written notice of intent with Probate Court where estate is in settlement; fiduciary or court-appointed distributors set out share as personalty, realty, or both (§ 45a-436(c), (e)) |
| Waiver and agreement requirements | No statutory share where written pre- or postmarital contract gave either party a provision intended in lieu of share (§ 45a-436(f)) |
| Payment sources and recipient liability | Fiduciary or Probate Court distributors set out life estate from testamentary property; no nonprobate-recipient contribution rule (§ 45a-436(e)) |
| Effect of election and other spousal rights | Will gift presumed in lieu unless will expressly/clearly makes it additional; election replaces will provision; support allowance delays taking share until allowance period expires (§ 45a-436(b), (d)) |
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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).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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