August 21, 2026
A version of this call reaches us about four months after the funeral. Somebody’s mother died, the house has sat empty since, and three siblings in three states have each been quietly waiting for one of the other two to deal with it.
Nobody in the family wants the house. And here is the part that surprises almost everyone: none of them can sell it yet.
That isn’t a problem so much as a sequence. Most of the frustration around an inherited house comes from not knowing the order Connecticut does this in.
Anyone holding the original will has to deliver it to the Probate Court in the district where the decedent lived within 30 days of the death, and ordinarily files the Petition/Administration or Probate of Will, form PC-200, at the same time.
The court then appoints a fiduciary — an executor if a will names one, an administrator if not. The Probate Court Administrator’s user guide puts the usual timeline at two to four weeks.
Until that appointment exists, nobody has the legal power to sign a deed. Not the oldest sibling, not the person named in the will, not the one who’s been paying the water bill. Being named executor and being the executor are two different things, and the difference is a court decree.
There’s no shortcut when a house is involved. Connecticut’s simplified small estate affidavit is only available when solely owned assets total $40,000 or less and do not include real estate.
This is the one that catches families off guard.
A fiduciary can convert most personal property to cash on their own authority. Real estate is different. Per the Probate Court user guide, the fiduciary “must obtain permission from the Probate Court to sell, mortgage or otherwise convey real estate, unless specifically authorized to do so under the terms of the will.”
Two possible worlds:
The first question worth asking a probate attorney is simply: does this will contain a power of sale? The answer moves your timeline more than anything else on this page.
Several deadlines started on the date of death or the date of appointment, whether or not anyone knew about them.
That last one is the deadline families miss most often, because it sounds like it only applies to wealthy estates. It applies to all of them.
Connecticut probate fees are set by statute — § 45a-107 — and calculated on the value of the estate whether or not it’s ever administered in a Probate Court.
For decedents dying on or after July 1, 2016, the bracket most families land in is $10,000 to $500,000: $150 plus 0.35% of everything above $10,000. On a house valued at $300,000 with nothing else significant in the estate, that’s $150 + (0.0035 × $290,000) = about $1,165. Fees are capped at $40,000, and property passing to a surviving spouse counts at half value.
Interest accrues at 0.5% per month if the court’s invoice goes unpaid for 30 days, or if the estate tax return is late.
You don’t have to know whether you’re selling to do these, and all three get harder the longer they wait.
We buy inherited houses. So take the following with the appropriate amount of salt, and then check it.
A cash offer is below retail. It has to be. What you get in exchange is real — no commission, no repairs, no cleanout, no showings with three heirs coordinating access from three time zones, no buyer whose financing collapses in week six, and a closing date the estate picks. For an estate that needs certainty and a date, that trade is often worth it.
But if the house is clean, financeable, and the estate isn’t under time pressure, listing it on the open market will almost certainly net more. We’d rather say that on the phone than have you work it out afterward.
Two disclosures so you can weigh our opinion properly. Sean Wilder is a licensed real estate broker in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island — but when Turning Point is buying, we are the buyer, not your agent. We don’t represent you, our interest is opposite yours, and that goes in writing before anyone signs. Sean also owns a real estate brokerage, so there’s a business on the listing side too. Check our arithmetic instead of taking our word for it, and get a second opinion from a brokerage with no connection to us — or sell the house yourselves.
We are not attorneys and this is not legal advice. An estate holding real property is worth an hour with a Connecticut probate attorney and a call to a CPA.
Turning Point Properties is registered with the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection as a real estate wholesaler, registration REW.0000005 — the fifth wholesaler registration the state issued. We buy along the I-91 corridor from Hartford County up into Hampden County, Massachusetts.
Send us the address and what’s owed on it. We’ll tell you within a day whether a cash sale actually beats listing it — and if it doesn’t, we’ll say so.
Can I sell an inherited house in Connecticut before probate is finished? Often yes, but not before a fiduciary is appointed, and generally not without either a power of sale in the will or the Probate Court’s approval. The estate doesn’t have to be fully settled first.
How long does it take to get appointed executor in Connecticut? The Probate Court Administrator’s user guide puts it at roughly two to four weeks, though a court can appoint a temporary administrator sooner in an emergency.
Can we use the small estate procedure? Not if there’s a house. The affidavit is limited to estates of $40,000 or less in solely owned assets that do not include real estate.
Is a Connecticut estate tax return required if the estate is small? Yes. A return is required for every decedent’s estate whether or not tax is due, six months from the date of death.
Who pays the mortgage, taxes, and insurance while the estate is open? Typically the fiduciary, from estate assets, as expenses of administration. If the estate has no cash, raise that with the attorney early.
What if the heirs don’t agree on selling? That’s a legal question with real consequences, and it belongs in front of a probate attorney. The Probate Court is where the disagreement gets resolved.
Turning Point Properties LLC is a real estate investment company in Enfield, Connecticut, registered with the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection as a real estate wholesaler, REW.0000005. Sean Wilder is a licensed real estate broker in Connecticut (REB.0794687), Massachusetts (1000680), and Rhode Island (REB.0005242), and is Broker/Owner of Rydon Realty LLC. When Turning Point is purchasing a property it acts as a principal — the buyer — and does not represent the seller. This article is general information about Connecticut law, not legal or tax advice. Consult a Connecticut real estate attorney about your contract and a CPA about tax consequences.
Turning Point Properties LLC · Enfield, CT · (860) 300-2323
