Sec. 12-401. Proration of estate taxes. Procedure.
Sec. 12-401. Proration of estate taxes. Procedure. (a) When it appears from any
administration account or in any appropriate proceeding in the Probate Court that an
executor, administrator, temporary administrator, trustee or other person acting in a
fiduciary capacity has paid a death tax levied or assessed under the provisions of chapter
217, hereinafter called the Connecticut estate tax, or under the provisions of the United
States Internal Revenue Code or under any death tax law of the United States hereafter
enacted, hereinafter called the federal estate tax, upon or with respect to any property
required to be included in the gross estate of a decedent under the provisions of any
such law, the amount of the tax so paid, except when a testator otherwise directs in his will
or when, by written instrument executed inter vivos, direction is given for apportionment
within the fund of taxes assessed upon the specific fund dealt with in such inter vivos
instrument, shall, except as hereinafter provided in subsection (b), be equitably prorated
among the persons interested in the estate to whom such property is or may be transferred
or to whom any benefit accrues. Such proration shall be made in the proportion, as near
as may be, that the value of the property, interest or benefit of each such person bears
to the total value of the property, interests and benefits received by all such persons
interested in the estate, except that, in making such proration, allowances shall be made
for any exemptions granted by the act imposing the tax and for any deductions allowed
by such act for the purpose of arriving at the value of the net estate and except that, in
cases where a trust is created or other provision made whereby any person is given an
interest in income or an estate for years or for life or other temporary interest in any
property or fund, the tax on both such temporary interest and the remainder thereafter
shall be charged against and paid out of the corpus of such property or fund without
apportionment between remainders and temporary estates. In all cases to which this
chapter applies, except as hereinafter provided in subsection (b), the executor, administrator or other person acting in a fiduciary capacity shall include as a part of the administration account or other proceeding in the Probate Court a computation of the proposed
proration. Before determining such proration, the probate judge shall, except as hereinafter provided in subsection (c), appoint a time and place for a hearing thereon and shall
cause such notice of such hearing to be given to the parties in interest as he directs. In
making the proration herein provided for, the credit allowed by the law imposing the
federal estate tax for gift taxes paid, or for any estate, inheritance, legacy or succession
taxes actually paid with respect to the estate to any state or territory or the District of
Columbia, shall be assumed to apply pro rata to all parts of the gross taxable estate
subject to such federal estate tax.
(b) If the judge of probate finds with or without a hearing thereon, from the administration account or other evidence available to and satisfactory to him, including written
consents by those to whom the tax has been charged, that the federal estate tax and
Connecticut estate tax, if any, as finally determined, have been paid and that the ultimate
burden of such tax or taxes has been borne by a party or parties in interest in a manner
satisfactory to them, or to their legal representatives, as evidenced by the written consent
of such persons or of their legal representatives, no proration of the federal estate tax
or Connecticut estate tax shall be made unless specially requested by any party in interest.
(c) Upon receipt of the computation provided for in subsection (a), the probate judge
shall make a determination of the proration of the federal estate tax, if any, in the manner
provided by subsection (a), except that, if all parties affected by such proration or their
legal representatives endorse upon such computation their approval thereof, no hearing
need be held thereon, but such determination may be made ex parte.
(1949 Rev., S. 2076; 1949, S. 1159d.)
Prior to proration act burden of federal and state estate taxes was on estate as a whole and, in absence of direction
otherwise in will, was payable out of residuary estate without reimbursement from beneficiaries of inter vivos transfers
included in taxable estate. 124 C. 66. Cannot apply retroactively to impair vested rights. 136 C. 126. Cited. Id., 141. In the
absence of a clear directive to the contrary, the proration statute governs the manner in which the burden of the federal
and state estate taxes must be borne. 139 C. 285. Undertakes to determine upon whom the ultimate burden of estate taxes
shall be placed; it is not a taxing statute. Were it not for the statute, that burden would, unless the will otherwise directed,
fall upon the residuary estate. A directive in a will that all estate taxes be paid from the residue is not a directive against
the prorating of estate taxes among residuary gifts. 144 C. 134. Testator must clearly indicate there is to be no proration.
145 C. 542. Marital deduction allowed against portion of residuum given to widow. Id. In absence of clear direction that
proration statutes should not apply to death taxes attributable to nontestamentary property, statutes are applicable and
burden of taxes fell on recipients of that property and not on the estate. 149 C. 335; 27 C. 268. In case of doubt as to
meaning, the tax burden will be left where the law places it. 165 C. 376.
Provision directing that all taxes be paid "without apportionment or contribution" is sufficient to overcome statutory
presumption of proration; however, such language will only be applied to property clearly contemplated by decedent to
be within the estate. 60 CA 665.
Statute is constitutional. 16 CS 149. As a necessary result of the proration act, a widow, in the absence of clear language
in the will to the contrary, should take her share free of taxes. 17 CS 401. Testamentary directive against proration must
be clear and unambiguous. 20 CS 471. Directive to pay taxes in same manner as other administration expenses held effective
against proration of taxes attributable to beneficiaries of residue. Id.