Bill Summary: HB 5050

• Creates a petition process in Probate Court for releasing estate and probate fee liens on real property when a decedent died more than 10 years prior, no estate proceeding was commenced, and no Connecticut estate tax was assessed

• Establishes requirements for lien release including submission of an affidavit demonstrating diligent search for heirs and an estate tax return reporting property values; petitioner must pay probate fees, interest, and a $200 administrative fee to Department of Revenue Services

• Repeals Connecticut's succession tax (Chapter 216) and declares all existing liens for succession and transfer taxes imposed before January 1, 2005 to be released and no longer imputable on real estate

• Eliminates references to the succession tax throughout the General Statutes and replaces them with "estate tax" or removes succession tax provisions entirely

• Changes language from "court of probate" to "Probate Court" throughout statutes as a technical correction