Please contact the Department of Social Services (DSS) and notify them that the decedent has passed, and you are holding funds.
Once notified, DSS will investigate the decedent’s assets and potential liability owed to the State. If DSS determines that the decedent’s case meets certain criteria and that liability is owed to the State, DSS will send a referral to DAS. At that point, DAS would apply to become Legal Representative of the Estate and collect all assets in the estate as reimbursement for liability owed.
If you have not been notified by DAS of their appointment as Legal Representative within three (3) years of the date of the death of the public assistance recipient, the funds are presumed abandoned pursuant to section 3-64a of the Connecticut General Statutes, and you should follow the procedures set forth in section 3-65a of the Connecticut General Statutes which sets forth the duties of holders of abandoned property.
