The Court Established Deadlines
The decree appointing Marilynn as executrix required her to complete several responsibilities associated with administering the estate.
The court allowed two months for the filing of a complete inventory and twelve months for the estate to be settled.
Those deadlines did not necessarily mean the estate would automatically close within one year. Probate matters can remain open for legitimate reasons. The decree nevertheless established a formal schedule for completing the estate administration.
The Estate Inventory
An estate inventory filed in March 2011 reported total assets of approximately $2,181,526.95.
The inventory included:
- A one-half interest in residential property at 54 Rock Maple Road in Greenwich, valued at $2.15 million
- Stocks and securities valued at approximately $3,212.95
- Cash and cash equivalents valued at approximately $4,314
- Miscellaneous tangible personal property valued at $20,000
- A one-half interest in a 2007 Subaru Impreza valued at $4,000
The stated $2.15 million value appears to have been assigned to Thomas Fogarty’s reported one-half interest in the Greenwich property.
Nearly $1.93 Million in Mortgage Claims
A Return of Claims filed in April 2015 identified two mortgage payoff claims against the estate.
- People’s Bank: $939,986.55
- Wachovia Bank: $986,818.45
The combined amount listed was $1,926,805.
A separate land record shows that a $2 million mortgage originally granted by Thomas and Marilynn Fogarty to People’s Bank in 2003 was discharged in March 2011.
The 2019 Delinquency Notice
On September 24, 2019, nearly nine years after Marilynn Fogarty was appointed executrix, the Greenwich Probate Court sent her a written delinquency notice.
The letter stated that, under Connecticut law, it was her responsibility as fiduciary to submit the following overdue documents:
- Connecticut Estate Tax Return
- PC-246 Financial Report/Decedent Estate or PC-242 Decedent’s Estate Administration Account
The court requested that the overdue documents be submitted by October 24, 2019.
“Under Connecticut law, it is your responsibility, as the fiduciary of this estate, to submit the following overdue documents.”
The notice was addressed to “Marilynn Knutsen” at an address in Bomoseen, Vermont.
What the Records Establish
The available probate records establish that the estate was opened, that Marilynn Fogarty was appointed executrix, and that an inventory and return of claims were filed.
They also establish that, as of September 2019, the Probate Court considered the estate tax return and a required financial report or estate administration account overdue.
The delinquency notice does not explain why those documents had not been filed. It also does not establish what action, if any, Marilynn took after receiving the notice or when the estate was ultimately closed.
Those questions require additional probate records.
Why This Record Matters
Probate records provide a formal accounting of assets, debts, fiduciary responsibilities, and property interests following a person’s death.
In this case, the court record documents an estate involving substantial real property, almost $1.93 million in listed mortgage claims, and required financial filings that the Probate Court was still seeking years after the estate administration began.
The significance of the record is not based on speculation. It comes directly from the court’s own notice that required documents remained overdue.
Primary Source
Greenwich Probate Court Delinquency Notice
Estate of Thomas F. Fogarty, File No. 10-0557
Dated September 24, 2019
