USA – CONNECTICUT Law and Practice Contributed by: William Kambas, Lawton Leung and Samantha Kopf, Withers
2. Residency and Domicile for Purposes of Wealth and Estate Planning 2.1 Determining Domicile
judicially under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12‑395, which expressly provides that a probate court’s domicile finding under § 45a‑309 is not binding on the Depart- ment of Revenue Services (DRS) unless the statute allows otherwise. Notably, in 2024, the Connecticut Superior Court determined that a decedent who had established strong connections with both Florida and Connecticut was a Connecticut domiciliary. In Daniels v Commis- sioner , the court found that – even though the dece- dent declared himself to be a Florida domiciliary, held a Florida driver’s licence, was registered to vote in Florida and maintained a local bank account in Florida – evidence was not conclusive enough to disprove Connecticut domicile where the decedent also main- tained similar personal connections to Connecticut. Rather, the court found that the most determinative factor in that case was the decedent’s consistent decision to spend more time in Connecticut than any other state. While this outcome is not determinative in all instanc- es where a decedent holds multiple residences, it is indicative that an individual must make concentrat- ed efforts to show that he or she is domiciled in the intended state. Where an individual wishes to main- tain consistent contact with Connecticut but not be domiciled there, he or she must be intentional about consistently establishing domicile in another state for all purposes, including time spent and actions taken. The Connecticut court concluded that domicile hinges on subjective intent as shown through actual conduct, and that the domicile determination for estate tax pur- poses may differ from historic income tax residency findings from state to state. The court treated domicile as a common law concept applied consistently across estate, gift and income tax contexts, using similar subjective factors under the regulations. Regardless of a testator’s domicile or the location of a testator’s assets, Connecticut will recognise a will val- idly executed in compliance with the Uniform Interna- tional Wills Act (Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 50a-1 to 50a-9). In addition, Connecticut courts will admit into probate a will that was validly executed pursuant to the laws of the jurisdiction in which the testator executed the will (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-251).
Domicile in Connecticut is defined as the place an individual intends to be his or her permanent home, and to which such individual intends to return when- ever absent (Conn. Agencies Regs. 12-701 (a)(1)-1). An individual can only have one domicile; once estab- lished, it continues until the individual can prove domi- cile elsewhere. An individual’s domicile is an important consideration for estate planning purposes because states have their own inheritance, gift and estate taxes. These varying degrees of taxes can affect the disposition of assets and alter the amounts received by beneficiaries. In Connecticut, the court will look at a list of 28 non- exclusive factors to determine whether an individual is domiciled in the state, with no single factor carry- ing a determinative outcome. The court will consider factors such as location and duration of employment, voter registration, social memberships, professional licences, bank accounts, business relationships, vehi- cle registration, ownership or rental of real property, and where mail and benefits are received. If a fiduciary is trying to disprove Connecticut domicile for a dece- dent, the factors must produce clear and convincing evidence against Connecticut domicile. Connecticut law distinguishes between resident and non-resident estates. A decedent is considered a Connecticut resident if domiciled in Connecticut. Estates required to file a Connecticut estate tax return are presumed to be resident estates unless they prove otherwise. Specifically, Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12‑391 provides for an estate tax on: • residents, whose global assets are included in the Connecticut taxable estate; and • non-residents, but only with respect to their Connecticut‑situs real and tangible property. The statute outlines the taxation structure for both groups, including how domicile is evaluated for estate tax purposes. Domicile determinations for estate tax purposes may be reviewed administratively and
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