How to Complete and File Form PC-441: Connecticut Probate Final Account

Connecticut Probate Form PC-441, the Fiduciary’s Periodic or Final Account, is the document an executor, administrator, conservator, guardian, or testamentary trustee files with the Probate Court to show every dollar received, spent, and distributed during their administration. You complete it by reconciling your opening inventory against income earned, expenses paid, and distributions made, then file the signed original — with all schedules — at the probate district handling the case. The form is available at ctprobate.gov or from the clerk’s office.

When PC-441 Is the Right Form

Connecticut’s Probate Court Rules of Procedure distinguish a formal account from a simpler financial report. Fiduciaries generally file a financial report unless the court orders an account or the fiduciary chooses to file one.¹ For decedent’s estates, the financial report is PC-246; for conservatorships and guardianships, PC-442. PC-441 is the fuller accounting used when the court requires it, when the estate is complex, or when you want the added protection a formal account provides.

An executor or administrator must submit a final account or financial report when administration is complete.² Conservators, guardians, and testamentary trustees must also file periodic accounts at least once every three years, and more often if the court or governing instrument requires it.³

One shortcut: an executor or administrator can skip the formal account entirely if every beneficiary signs a written waiver.⁴ That happens most often in small estates where one or two family members inherit everything.

Records to Pull Together First

PC-441 forces you to account for every dollar in and out, so most of the real work is the preparation. Before you write anything on the form, assemble:

Your fiduciary information and the probate case number assigned when the estate opened.
The initial inventory on Form PC-440, filed within two months of your appointment. Every asset and value listed there must reconcile with what appears on PC-441.⁵
Bank and investment statements covering the accounting period, showing interest, dividends, and capital gains.
Receipts for administration expenses: court filing fees, attorney fees, appraisals, funeral costs, debts paid, and taxes.
Closing statements from any real property sales. The form requires these as attachments.⁶
Documentation of every distribution already made, plus your plan for the final distribution.

Fiduciaries who keep clean records from the first day of administration finish the form in a fraction of the time it takes to reconstruct transactions from memory at the end.

Filling In the Form

The form follows the flow of the money: what came in, what went out, what’s left. Assets are reported at fiduciary acquisition value, which for a decedent’s estate is generally the fair market value at date of death.⁶ If any section runs out of room, use PC-180 as a continuation sheet.

Assets and Income Received

Begin with the total value from your initial inventory. Add any assets received after that inventory was filed, with supporting schedules. Then record all income the estate earned during the accounting period: interest, dividends, rental income, refunds. Report gains on sales on a separate schedule and attach closing statements for any real property sold. Note any upward adjustments to the fiduciary acquisition value of assets still held.

Payments, Distributions, and Assets on Hand

List all administration expenses — attorney fees, court costs, appraisal and accounting fees, and other management costs — on an attached schedule. Report losses realized on sales, again attaching closing statements for real property. Note any downward value adjustments. Then list each distribution to or for the benefit of a named beneficiary, with a schedule for each.

The final section reports assets still on hand, shown at both fiduciary acquisition value and current fair market value. For a final account, attach a schedule of proposed distribution and reserve. This tells the court how you plan to divide what remains and whether any amount is being held back for outstanding obligations such as unpaid taxes.⁶

The account must balance. Total assets and income received, minus all payments and distributions, must equal the assets on hand.⁷ If it doesn’t reconcile, find the discrepancy before filing. The clerk will catch it, and correcting a rejected filing costs time.

What Your Signature Certifies

Every fiduciary who signs PC-441 certifies that the account is true and complete, under penalty of false statement.⁶ Intentionally making a false written statement to mislead a public servant on a form carrying that warning is a Class A misdemeanor under Connecticut law,⁸ punishable by up to 364 days of imprisonment and a fine of up to $2,000.⁹

The signature block also includes a certification that you sent copies of the account to all required parties, with each name and address listed. Confirm that list is complete and correct before you sign.

Sending Copies to Interested Parties

Before filing, send a copy of the complete account to each party and attorney of record.¹⁰ For a decedent’s estate, this typically means heirs-at-law, beneficiaries named in the will, and the Connecticut Department of Administrative Services if the decedent received certain state benefits.

Waivers can save weeks. A party with no objection can sign Form PC-245, Waiver of Right to Hearing Re: Account, telling the court no formal hearing is needed.¹¹ When every interested party waives and the court is satisfied with the accounting, the judge can approve it on the papers alone.

How to File the Completed Account

Submit the signed original PC-441 with all attached schedules to the Probate Court handling the estate. There are three ways to deliver it:

In person to the clerk’s office at your probate district.
By mail, ideally certified for proof of receipt.
Electronically, through the Connecticut Probate Courts eFiling system powered by TurboCourt. It is available to attorneys, self-represented parties, parties to a probate case, professional conservators, and certain state agencies, and it also handles service on other eFilers and delivery of court notices.¹²

The clerk reviews the account for math and completeness on receipt. Missing schedules or a total that doesn’t balance will come back for correction.

Probate Fees You’ll Owe

Probate fees are set by statute and uniform across Connecticut probate districts.¹³ For decedent’s estates, fees are a percentage of the gross estate value:

$0–$500: $25
$501–$1,000: $50
$1,001–$10,000: $50 plus 1% of the amount over $1,000
$10,001–$500,000: $150 plus 0.35% of the amount over $10,000
$500,001–$2,000,000: $1,865 plus 0.25% of the amount over $500,000
$2,000,001–$8,877,000: $5,615 plus 0.5% of the amount over $2,000,000
$8,877,001 and over: $40,000 (maximum fee)

Property passing to a surviving spouse reduces the fee basis by 50%. If the estate value is under $10,000 but a full estate was opened, the minimum fee is $150.¹⁴ The court calculates and collects fees as part of the final review, so build them into your proposed distribution reserve.

What Happens After You File

If no one objects and every interested party has waived a hearing, the judge reviews the account on the papers. When the court is satisfied, it issues a decree approving the account. For a formal account under PC-441, that decree releases the fiduciary from further liability for the transactions shown.¹⁵

If an interested party objects, the court schedules a hearing to examine the disputed items. Attorney and fiduciary fees are reviewed for reasonableness whether anyone objects or not.

Federal Tax Matters Before Final Distribution

PC-441 handles your accounting to the Probate Court, but federal tax obligations run on a separate track and should be resolved before you distribute what’s left. A fiduciary administering a decedent’s estate must file Form 1041, the U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts, for each year the estate remains open.¹⁶

File IRS Form 56 to notify the IRS of the fiduciary relationship, and file it again when the relationship ends at estate closing.¹⁷ If the estate requires Form 706 (the federal estate tax return), a federal estate tax lien automatically attaches to the gross estate, without any public recording. To clear the lien before distributing or selling property, submit Form 4422, Application for Certificate Discharging Property Subject to Estate Tax Lien.¹⁸

Distributing assets before federal tax liabilities are resolved can leave you personally liable. Size your proposed distribution reserve on PC-441 to cover any outstanding or anticipated tax obligations.

Records to Keep After the Court Approves the Account

The decree approving your account isn’t a signal to shred. Keep all estate records — bank statements, receipts, tax returns, correspondence, and the signed PC-441 with its schedules — for at least three to seven years after closing. Three years covers the standard IRS audit window. Seven provides a cushion for estates involving property sales, capital gains, or complex tax filings. Estates that funded ongoing trusts or that involved family disagreements warrant keeping records longer, since disputes can surface well after the court signs off.

1
Connecticut Probate Courts. Probate Court Rules of Procedure 2024 – Section 36.2
2
Connecticut Probate Courts. Probate Court Rules of Procedure 2024 – Section 30.19
3
Connecticut General Assembly. Connecticut General Statutes Chapter 801b – Section 45a-177
4
Connecticut Probate Courts. Probate Court Rules of Procedure 2024 – Section 30.22
5
Connecticut Probate Courts. Connecticut Probate Court – Inventory PC-440
6
Connecticut Probate Courts. Fiduciary’s Periodic or Final Account PC-441
7
Connecticut Probate Courts. Probate Court Rules of Procedure 2024 – Section 38.5
8
Justia Law. Connecticut Code 53a-157b – False Statement: Class A Misdemeanor
9
Justia Law. Connecticut Code 53a-42 – Fines for Misdemeanors
10
Connecticut Probate Courts. Probate Court Rules of Procedure 2024 – Section 36.5
11
Connecticut Probate Courts. List of Probate Court Forms
12
Connecticut Probate Courts. eFiling – Connecticut Probate Courts
13
Connecticut Probate Courts. Fees and Expenses Calculators
14
Justia Law. Connecticut Code 45a-107 – Fees for Settlement of Decedent’s Estate
15
Connecticut General Assembly. Connecticut General Statutes Chapter 801b – Section 45a-176
16
Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1041, U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts
17
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 56
18
Internal Revenue Service. Sell Real Property of a Deceased Person’s Estate