Probate Appeals in Connecticut: Why Filing Too Early Can Cost You
The fight in Connery v. Gieske, 323 Conn. 377 (2016) started as a probate dispute between a surviving spouse and the executrix of an estate. The spouse filed an affidavit under § 45a-98a claiming a right to remove certain probate matters to Superior Court for a jury trial. The Probate Court decided it would retain jurisdiction over some issues and allow removal only as to others.
The spouse did not like that. So he went to Superior Court, arguing that the Probate Court lost jurisdiction once he filed the jury trial affidavit.
The Supreme Court disagreed.
First principle. Probate courts are statutory tribunals with limited jurisdiction. They only have the powers the legislature gives them. But here is the key twist: even courts of limited jurisdiction have the power to determine their own jurisdiction. That is basic judicial architecture. Once the Probate Court decided it had jurisdiction, the spouse’s only recourse was an appeal under § 45a-186. Not a collateral action. Not a separate “vindication” suit. An appeal.
Second principle. Appeals from probate are not ordinary civil actions. They are statutory proceedings that must strictly comply with the appeal statute. Strict means strict. If the statute says attach the decree to the complaint, you attach it. If it says file within thirty days of mailing, you count from mailing. No improvisation.
And here is where the case becomes interesting.
The trial court dismissed the appeal as untimely, reasoning that the thirty day clock began at the March 6, 2013 probate hearing, when the parties received actual notice of the court’s decision.
The Supreme Court said no. The statute is plain. Section 45a-186 says the appeal period runs from the mailing of the order, denial, or decree. Mailing. Not oral notice. Not actual notice. Mailing.
In this case, the Probate Court did not mail its written orders until September 27, 2015. More than two years later. So the appeal was not late. It was early.
The plaintiff filed his appeal in April 2013, before any written decree had been mailed. But § 45a-186 requires that a copy of the order be attached to the complaint. If there is no written order yet, you cannot comply. And if you cannot comply, the appeal is defective. The defect here was not tardiness. It was prematurity. The Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal, but on that alternative ground.
There is a deeper structural lesson here.
In 2007, the legislature overhauled the probate appeal process. It eliminated the old motion to appeal practice and replaced it with a complaint filed in Superior Court. It also added the requirement that the decree be attached. That change makes written orders essential. The appeal clock now ties to mailing because the statute assumes a written decree exists and will be attached.
The trial court tried to harmonize § 45a-186 with § 51-53, the general clerk notification statute, and with older precedent measuring from actual notice. The Supreme Court declined to bend the text. Specific statutory language governing probate appeals controls over more general notice provisions. When the text is clear, the text governs.
So what does Connery teach?
One. If you challenge a Probate Court’s jurisdictional ruling, your path is an appeal under § 45a-186. You cannot sidestep the statute.
Two. The appeal period runs from mailing of the written order. Count from the envelope, not from the hearing.
Three. You cannot perfect an appeal until a written decree exists. Filing before that moment is just as fatal as filing after the deadline.
Four. Probate appeals demand exact compliance. The right to appeal exists only to the extent the statute allows it. The Superior Court, sitting as a probate court on appeal, inherits the same statutory limits.
This case is not flashy. It is procedural. But procedure is power. In probate, timing is not a suggestion. It is the difference between jurisdiction and dismissal.
When dealing with probate appeals in Connecticut, think like an engineer. What event triggers the clock. What document must be attached. What statute governs the pathway. Precision beats passion every time.
If you have questions about probate, conservatorship, or multi-state estate issues, feel free to call me or schedule a time.