How to Complete and File the Connecticut Probate Inventory Form (PC-440)

Connecticut Probate Court Form PC-440 is the inventory a fiduciary files to report every asset in a decedent’s estate, conservatorship, or guardianship of a minor’s estate. You must file it with the probate court within two months of your appointment, listing each asset at fair market value and signing under penalty of false statement. The rest of this guide walks through what to include, how to value it, how to file, and what the numbers on the form trigger downstream.¹

Where to Get the Form

PC-440 is a downloadable PDF on the Connecticut Probate Courts website at ctprobate.gov. In January 2022 the courts introduced Form PC-2407, “Inventory/Decedents’ Estates,” as a newer version specifically for decedent’s estates. If you are administering a decedent’s estate, check with your probate district about which version they prefer. For conservatorships and guardianships of a minor’s estate, PC-440 remains the designated form.¹

What Belongs on a Decedent’s Estate Inventory

The rule for a decedent’s estate is narrow: list assets the decedent owned solely, valued at the date of death. Leave off real property located outside Connecticut, jointly owned property with survivorship rights, and anything that passes by beneficiary designation. Connecticut General Statutes § 45a-347 backs that exclusion for insurance policies, retirement plans, IRAs, and similar arrangements when a beneficiary has been named.²¹

Assets that typically go on the form include:

Connecticut real property owned solely by the decedent, with a complete copy of the recorded deed attached.
Checking, savings, CDs, and brokerage accounts held in the decedent’s name alone.
Vehicles, jewelry, furniture, art, collectibles, and other tangible personal property.
Business interests: sole proprietorships, partnership shares, closely held stock.
Any fractional interest the decedent held in an asset.

What stays off: joint tenancy property with a right of survivorship, payable-on-death and transfer-on-death accounts, life insurance proceeds paid to a named beneficiary, and retirement accounts with designated beneficiaries. These transfer automatically outside probate.

Conservatorships and Guardianships Work Differently

If you are filing PC-440 for a conservatorship or guardianship of a minor’s estate, the scope widens. You include jointly owned property, property passing by beneficiary designation, beneficial interests such as trust property, and real property located outside Connecticut. Values are measured as of the date of the conservator’s appointment rather than a date of death.¹

How to Value Each Asset

Connecticut law requires the fiduciary to appraise inventoried property at fair market value as of the date of death, and it gives you flexibility in how you get there. You can hire one or more disinterested appraisers, or use any other method you consider appropriate, including the municipality’s assessed value for tax purposes.²³

The assessed-value shortcut is convenient for real estate, but assessed values in many Connecticut towns lag behind actual market prices. For vehicles, recognized guides like Kelley Blue Book or NADA work well. For ordinary household goods and furniture, a reasonable good-faith estimate of resale value is typically enough. Higher-value items such as art, antiques, and significant jewelry may warrant a professional appraisal, particularly for larger estates that could face federal estate tax scrutiny. For federal estate tax purposes the IRS expects a qualified appraiser — someone with verifiable education and experience in that specific type of property and no disqualifying relationship with the estate.⁴

Digital assets like cryptocurrency should be valued at the fair market price on the date of death using a recognized exchange. Because crypto prices move sharply within hours, document the exact time and source you used.

Filling In the Form

The form opens with identifying information: the probate district, the estate or conservatorship name, and the docket number. Enter the fiduciary’s full name and contact details. The court files the inventory against the docket number, so errors here delay processing.

Real Property

For each Connecticut parcel, the form asks for the property address, the decedent’s interest, the fair market value, the balance of any unpaid mortgage, and the net value of the interest. If the mortgage balance exceeds the fair market value, report the net value as zero. Report both the full market value and the net figure. Attach a complete copy of the recorded deed for every property listed.¹

Bank and Investment Accounts

List each account separately with the name of the financial institution and the last four digits of the account number. Report the exact balance as of the date of death, including accrued interest through that date. Contact each bank or brokerage directly for a date-of-death statement; the balance on the closest monthly statement is usually not precise enough.¹

Personal Property and Other Assets

Describe each item and give its fair market value. Group ordinary household goods sensibly rather than itemizing every dish. Break out anything with meaningful individual value.

The Deadline and How to File

The fiduciary must file the completed inventory with the probate court that has jurisdiction over the estate within two months of qualifying, meaning two months after the court accepts the fiduciary’s bond or otherwise formally appoints them. If you need more time, the court can extend the deadline to a maximum of four months from qualification, but only for cause shown. File the extension request as soon as you know you will miss the two-month date, not on the last day.³²

You have two filing options. The Connecticut Probate Courts operate an eFiling system powered by TurboCourt, open to attorneys, self-represented parties, professional conservators, and certain state agencies. You can also mail or hand-deliver the completed form to your regional probate court.⁵

Signing Under Penalty of False Statement

The fiduciary signs the inventory under penalty of false statement, certifying that everything listed is complete and accurate. Knowingly making a false written statement on a form that carries this notice is a Class A misdemeanor under Connecticut law.⁶ Beyond the criminal exposure, a fiduciary who neglects to file the inventory or otherwise mismanages the estate can be removed. Connecticut General Statutes § 45a-242 authorizes the probate court to remove any fiduciary who neglects the duties of the trust or fails to administer the estate effectively.⁷

How the Inventory Drives the Probate Fee

The numbers you report determine the probate court fee. For decedent’s estates, Connecticut charges a sliding-scale fee under § 45a-107 that starts at $25 for estates of $500 or less and rises to a $40,000 cap at $8,877,000 and above. In the middle brackets, the fee runs $150 plus 0.35% of the amount over $10,000 for estates up to $500,000, and $1,865 plus 0.25% of the amount over $500,000 for estates up to $2,000,000.⁸

One point catches fiduciaries off guard: the fee basis is the largest of several figures, including the gross estate for succession tax purposes, the inventory total with supplements, the Connecticut taxable estate, or the gross estate for estate tax purposes. A modest inventory can still produce a larger fee if a tax return reports a higher figure. Conservatorship and guardianship estates use a separate accounting fee structure under § 45a-108a rather than the settlement schedule.⁸⁹

When You Find Assets After Filing

Discovering additional property after filing is routine. A forgotten bank account surfaces, a safety deposit box is opened, a tax refund arrives. When new property comes to light, or when a previously reported value turns out to be wrong, file a supplemental inventory with the same probate court. It follows the same format and carries the same penalty-of-false-statement signature. Because the probate fee is calculated on the inventory total including supplements, any addition will feed into the final fee.⁸

How Your Values Affect Taxes and Heirs

The inventory itself does not go to the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services. The estate and gift tax return, Form CT-706/709, is what goes to DRS, with a copy filed at the probate court.¹⁰ But because the inventory sets your asset values on the record, any gap between what you put on PC-440 and what shows up on the tax return will draw attention.

The values also affect the heirs. Under IRC § 1014, most inherited assets receive a stepped-up basis equal to their fair market value at the date of death, so the number on PC-440 effectively becomes the heir’s cost basis if they later sell. Understating values to trim the probate fee can leave heirs with a lower basis and a bigger capital gains bill later.

1
Connecticut Probate Courts. Connecticut Probate Court Form PC-440 – Inventory
2
Connecticut General Assembly. Connecticut Code Chapter 802b – Decedents Estates
3
Justia. Connecticut Code 45a-341 – Inventory to Be Filed
4
International Society of Appraisers. What Is a Qualified Appraiser
5
Connecticut Probate Courts. eFiling
6
Justia. Connecticut Code 53a-157b – False Statement
7
Justia. Connecticut Code 45a-242 – Removal of Fiduciary
8
Connecticut Probate Courts. Connecticut Code 45a-107 – Fees and Expenses for Settlement of Decedents Estate
9
Connecticut Probate Courts. Fees and Expenses Calculators
10
CT.gov. Estate and Gift Tax Information