Connecticut HB 5441: AN ACT CONCERNING LONG-TERM CARE SERVICES.

Bill Text

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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5441
February Session, 2026 LCO No. 2622

Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY

Introduced by:
(JUD)

AN ACT CONCERNING REVOCATION OF NON-PROBATE
TRANSFERS AND APPOINTMENTS BY DISSOLUTION OF
MARRIAGE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective January 1, 2027) (a) Except as otherwise 1
provided by law, sections 1 and 2 of this act shall apply to: (1) The 2
property of a decedent that passes outside of probate and who dies 3
while domiciled in this state, (2) property coming into the control of a 4
fiduciary who is subject to the laws of this state, (3) survivorship and 5
related accounts in this state, and (4) trusts subject to administration in 6
this state. 7
(b) Sections 1 and 2 of this act shall not apply to: (1) Wills; (2) the 8
appointment of a health care representative; (3) the appointment of an 9
agent under a power of attorney; (4) real estate owned by spouses as 10
joint tenants; (5) conservatorships of the person or the estate; or (6) 11
guardianships. 12
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective January 1, 2027) (a) As used in this section: 13

Raised Bill No. 5441

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(1) "Disposition or appointment of property" includes a transfer of an 14
item of property or any other benefit to a beneficiary designated in a 15
governing instrument; 16
(2) "Dissolution of marriage" means any final decree or judgment of 17
divorce or annulment, or any dissolution or declaration of invalidity of 18
a marriage, recognized as valid under the laws of this state. "Dissolution 19
of marriage" does not include a decree of legal separation that does not 20
terminate an individual's status as a spouse; 21
(3) "Divorced individual" means an individual whose marriage has 22
been dissolved as described in subdivision (2) of this subsection; 23
(4) "Former spouse" means a person whose marriage to the divorced 24
individual resulted in a dissolution of marriage; 25
(5) "Former spouse's relative" or "relative of the former spouse" 26
means an individual who is related to the former spouse by application 27
of the rules establishing parent-child relationships under chapter 818 of 28
the general statutes, or affinity, and who, after the dissolution of 29
marriage, is not related to the divorced individual by application of the 30
rules establishing parent-child relationships under chapter 818 of the 31
general statutes, or affinity; 32
(6) "Governing instrument" means an instrument executed by the 33
divorced individual prior to the date of dissolution of the individual's 34
marriage from the former spouse, whether made prior to or after 35
January 1, 2027, including, but not limited to, a testamentary instrument; 36
trust agreement; insurance or annuity policy; savings, retirement, 37
transfer on death, pension, deferred compensation, death benefit, stock 38
bonus or profit-sharing plan, account, arrangement, system or trust; 39
agreement with a bank, brokerage firm or investment company; 40
registration of securities in beneficiary form; other similar benefit plan; 41
or a dispositive, appointive or nominative instrument of any similar 42
type; 43

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(7) "Payor" means a trustee, insurer, business entity, employer, 44
government, governmental agency or subdivision, or any other person 45
authorized or obligated by law or a governing instrument to make 46
payments; 47
(8) "Person" means an individual, corporation, statutory or business 48
trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, 49
joint venture, court, government, governmental subdivision, agency or 50
instrumentality, public corporation or any other legal or commercial 51
entity; and 52
(9) "Revocable", with respect to a disposition, appointment, provision 53
or nomination, means one under which the divorced individual, at the 54
time of the dissolution of marriage, was alone empowered, by law or 55
under the governing instrument, to cancel the designation in favor of 56
the former spouse or former spouse's relative, whether or not the 57
divorced individual was then empowered to designate himself or 58
herself in place of the former spouse or former spouse's relative and 59
whether or not the divorced individual then had the capacity to exercise 60
the power. 61
(b) Except as provided by the express terms of a governing 62
instrument, a court order or a contract relating to the division of 63
property made between the divorced individual and the former spouse 64
prior to or after the date of dissolution of marriage, a dissolution of 65
marriage effective on or after January 1, 2027: 66
(1) Revokes any revocable: 67
(A) Disposition or appointment of property in a governing 68
instrument made by a divorced individual to or for the benefit of the 69
former spouse or a relative of the former spouse; 70
(B) Provision in a governing instrument conferring a general or 71
nongener