CT Probate Form PC-246: Financial Report for a Decedent’s Estate

Form PC-246, the Connecticut probate financial report for a decedent’s estate, is the document an executor or administrator files to show the court every dollar the estate received, every bill it paid, and every distribution made or still to be made. For most estates it takes the place of a formal administration account, and the court will not close the estate until an accurate one is on file. This walks through what goes on each part of the form, how to submit it, what the court does next, and the situations where a different form applies instead.

What the Form Does and Who Files It

PC-246 is titled “Financial Report/Decedent’s Estate.” A fiduciary can use it in place of a formal account unless the court has specifically ordered an account or the Probate Court Rules of Procedure require one under Section 36.3.¹ The probate court’s authority to review the report comes from Connecticut General Statutes Section 45a-175, which gives probate courts jurisdiction over both interim and final accounts of executors and administrators.²

Conservators, guardians, and testamentary trustees do not use PC-246. Those fiduciaries render periodic accounts at least once every three years under Section 45a-177 on different forms.³

What to Gather Before You Start

You can download the current form from the Connecticut Probate Courts website.⁴ Before filling in numbers, pull together your bank statements, brokerage reports, real estate closing documents, appraisals, receipts for administration expenses, and the return of claims. Every figure on PC-246 should tie back to a document you can produce. A discrepancy between the form and your records is the fastest way to trigger questions from the court or objections from beneficiaries.

The top of the form asks for the probate court name, district number, estate name, and the name, address, and telephone number of each fiduciary. If an attorney is representing the fiduciary, their contact information goes there too.¹

Reporting What the Estate Received

The first substantive section captures everything that came into the estate. You report the total from the inventory, any additional assets discovered after the inventory was filed, income broken down by category (interest, dividends, rent, and other), and the net gain or loss on the sale of assets. If real property was sold, attach a copy of the settlement statement from the closing. Cash advances anyone made to the estate to cover claims or expenses are reported separately, along with whether the person expects reimbursement.¹

Reporting Payments, Expenses, and Taxes

Payments are broken into categories. Funeral expenses come first. Administration expenses follow, itemized as: fiduciary fees, fiduciary disbursements, attorney’s fees, attorney’s disbursements, accounting expenses, probate court fees and expenses, the probate bond premium, and the cost of publishing notices. If an expense doesn’t fit those categories, list it separately and attach a second sheet if you need more room.¹

Taxes have their own section: property taxes by town, Connecticut income and estate taxes, and federal income and estate taxes. Below the tax lines, you report the total claims figure as shown on Form PC-237, the Return of Claims and List of Notified Creditors.¹

A quick note on fiduciary fees. Connecticut does not set executor or administrator compensation by statute; fiduciaries are entitled to reasonable compensation based on the size of the estate, the responsibility involved, the work done, the results achieved, and how promptly the estate was settled. Inflated fees are a common source of beneficiary objections, and the fee is taxable income to the fiduciary. Know what you can defend before you write the number down.

Reporting Distributions

Distributions are the section that most often needs a second pass. Every distribution must be itemized and listed at fair market value on the date of distribution. For each distributee, list their name, the fair market value of what they received, a description of the assets distributed, and, if there is a will, the specific section of the will that provides for that distribution. Proposed distributions that haven’t been made yet go on the form in the same format, listed separately. If you are holding assets in reserve, the form has a section for that.¹

How to File and Serve the Report

You can submit PC-246 to the probate district in person, by mail, or through Connecticut’s electronic filing system. The eFiling system, powered by TurboCourt, lets filers initiate cases, file documents in pending cases, serve documents on other eFilers, and view the court’s file.⁵

You must also send a copy of the financial report to each interested party and their attorney.¹ Skipping that step can result in the court rejecting the filing or an interested party later claiming they were denied a chance to review the numbers.

Probate Court Fees

Connecticut probate fees for decedent’s estates are calculated on a sliding scale under Section 45a-107, using the greatest of the gross estate for estate tax purposes, the inventory value, or the Connecticut taxable estate. These fees cover overall administration, not the PC-246 filing on its own. For decedents who died on or after July 1, 2016:

Up to $500: $25
$501 to $1,000: $50
$1,000 to $10,000: $50 plus 1% of the amount over $1,000
$10,000 to $500,000: $150 plus 0.35% of the amount over $10,000
$500,000 to $2,000,000: $1,865 plus 0.25% of the amount over $500,000
$2,000,000 to $8,877,000: $5,615 plus 0.50% of the amount over $2,000,000
$8,877,000 and over: $40,000

When a full estate was opened but the basis for fees is under $10,000, the minimum fee is $150.⁶ Accounting fees left unpaid for more than 30 days accrue interest at 0.5% per month.⁷

What Happens After You File

When the court receives a final account, Section 45a-179 requires the court to set a hearing date, give notice to the fiduciary and all interested persons, and examine the account. The court can examine the fiduciary under oath, and if it finds the account correct, it accepts and allows it. For interim accounts, Section 45a-178 gives the court discretion over what notice to provide and the authority to adjust and allow the account.⁶

For certain accounts, the court may use the streamline notice procedure under Section 8.6 of the Probate Court Rules of Procedure. The court notifies interested parties of their right to request a hearing, giving at least ten days’ notice, and if nobody requests one by the deadline, the court can approve the filing without a hearing.⁸ If an objection comes in, a full hearing is scheduled where the parties present evidence and testimony.

Once the court issues a decree allowing the account, the fiduciary gains meaningful legal protection. The decree confirms that the financial management during that period was proper and limits exposure to later claims about those same transactions. An approved account also cannot be selected for a later audit under Section 45a-181.²

When PC-246 Is Not the Right Form

Two situations call for a formal administration account on Form PC-241 (or the short form, PC-242) rather than PC-246: when the court has ordered the fiduciary to file a formal account, and when an account is required under Section 36.3 of the Probate Court Rules of Procedure.¹ Formal accounts are more detailed and run through the full hearing process under Section 45a-179.⁶ If you have a court order directing a formal account, do not substitute PC-246. The court ordered the full account for a reason, often a dispute among beneficiaries, unusual complexity, or a concern about how assets have been managed.

There is also a small-estate shortcut. If the decedent owned no real estate solely in their name and the total personal property is $40,000 or less, Connecticut allows a simplified procedure using Form PC-212, an Affidavit in Lieu of Probate.⁹ Estates that qualify bypass formal probate, so there is no PC-246 to file. If you are unsure whether the estate meets the threshold, the probate court clerk can usually tell you based on the asset information you provide.

Closing the Estate: PC-213

After the court accepts the financial report and you complete distributions, file Form PC-213, the Affidavit of Closing. This is a sworn statement that all money and property in the fiduciary’s control has been paid out and distributed to the people entitled to it and that the estate is fully administered and settled. File it within 30 days after completing distribution of all assets on hand at the end of the accounting period.¹⁰ The 30-day window is easy to miss, particularly when final distributions involve transferring real estate or waiting on a tax clearance letter. Put it on your calendar as soon as the last distribution goes out.

Consequences of a Bad Filing

An inaccurate financial report, or failure to file one at all, has consequences beyond a delayed closing. Under Section 45a-242, the probate court can remove any fiduciary who neglects to perform the duties of their trust, wastes the estate’s assets, or persistently fails to administer the estate effectively.¹¹ The court can act on its own or on a petition from any interested person or from the surety on the fiduciary’s probate bond.

A fiduciary who causes financial harm to the estate through mismanagement, undocumented expenditures, self-dealing, or excessive compensation also faces personal liability. The probate court can surcharge the fiduciary, meaning the fiduciary pays from their own funds to restore the estate to the position it would have been in without the breach. A court-approved account is the single strongest defense against that kind of claim, because it locks in the court’s review and acceptance of the numbers for the period covered.

1
Connecticut Probate Courts. PC-246 Financial Report Decedent’s Estate
2
Justia Law. Connecticut Code Title 45A – Section 45a-175
3
Justia Law. Connecticut Code Title 45A – Section 45a-177
4
Connecticut Probate Courts. List of Probate Court Forms
5
Connecticut Probate Courts. eFiling
6
Connecticut General Assembly. Connecticut General Statutes Chapter 801b – Probate Court Procedures
7
Connecticut Probate Courts. Fees and Expenses Calculators
8
Connecticut Probate Courts. Probate Court Rules of Procedure 2024
9
Connecticut Probate Courts. Affidavit in Lieu of Probate of Will/Administration PC-212
10
Connecticut Probate Courts. Affidavit of Closing
11
Justia Law. Connecticut Code Title 45A – Section 45a-242