Conn. Gen. Stat. » Title 45a — PROBATE COURTS AND PROCEDURE · Chapter 802b — Decedents' Estates
Connecticut General Statutes

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-441 (2026)

(Formerly Sec. 45-276a). Death of devisee or legatee

✓ current as of May 2026
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When a devisee or legatee, being a child, stepchild, grandchild, brother or sister of the testator, dies before him, and no provision has been made in the will for such contingency, the issue of such devisee or legatee shall take the estate so devised or bequeathed.

(1949 Rev., S. 6954; P.A. 87-355, S. 2.)

History: Sec. 45-176 transferred to Sec. 45-276a in 1981; P.A. 87-355 applied provisions to stepchildren; Sec. 45-276a transferred to Sec. 45a-441 in 1991.

Annotations to former section 45-176:

Cited. 65 C. 41. Creates in effect a gift to the legatee and to his issue in case he dies before testator. 74 C. 144. “Brother” includes half-brother. 79 C. 563. Section applies though will republished after death of legatee. 88 C. 406. Cited. 93 C. 76. Applies to gifts to a class, but will not avail where decedent died before will was made and so never became a member of the class. 97 C. 438. Cited. 124 C. 584; 127 C. 9; 159 C. 35.

Statute extended to cover situation where a brother of the testator died before the will was executed; the legacies were distributed per stirpes. 11 CS 133.

Annotations to present section:

Cited. 218 C. 220.

Statute is intended to prevent unintended disinheritance and intestacy, is remedial and should be read liberally and therefore, in this case, allows heirs of deceased beneficiary to inherit even where will named beneficiary “if she survives me” because will contained no contingent provisions for share of estate in the event of beneficiary's death. 93 CA 432.

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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 4 cases, 1991–2007 · leading case: Ruotolo v. Tietjen, 890 A.2d 166 (Conn. App. Ct. 2006).
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Ruotolo v. Tietjen, 890 A.2d 166 (Conn. App. Ct. 2006). · cites it 20× “This appeal presents a question of statutory interpretation of General Statutes § 45a-441, our testamentary antilapse statute.”
Ruotolo v. Tietjen, 916 A.2d 1 (Conn. 2007). · cites it 11× “2d 166 (2006); reversing the judgment of the Superior Court on appeal from the Probate Court, which had found that our testamentary antilapse statute, General Statutes § 45a-441, was inoperative in the present case.”
Gardner v. Balboni, 588 A.2d 634 (Conn. 1991). · cites it 2× “See General Statutes § 45a-441 (entitled “Death of devisee or legatee”).”
Ruotolo v. Tietjen, 896 A.2d 101 (Conn. 2006). · cites it 2× “Decided March 31, 2006 “Did the Appellate Court properly conclude that General Statutes § 45a-441 is applicable to the facts of the present case?””
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.