AN ACT CONCERNING THE COURTS OF PROBATE.

This bill allows probate court expenses to be allocated between each town making up the probate district based on an agreement between the towns.

The bill requires that whenever the law does not otherwise require it, a probate court judge must, upon the written request of a party or his or her attorney, cause a recording to be made of a probate court proceeding. The bill specifies that these proceedings can not be deemed to be hearings on the record for the purposes under the laws governing (1) the procedures that must be followed to appeal probate court cases made on the record (CGS § 45a-186a) or (2) the standard of review on appeal (CGS § 45a-186b) (see BACKGROUND). The bill requires that (1) the person requesting a copy or transcript of the recording must pay the cost and (2) requested recordings be made and retained in a manner approved by the probate court administrator.

This bill authorizes a probate court to appoint someone it finds to have a sufficient interest in an estate as a temporary administrator to obtain financial or medical information on a deceased person to investigate whether the estate or an heir, devisee, legatee, or beneficiary has a cause of action.

The bill validates certain marriages, civil unions, and a certain application or claim by the Brookfield Volunteer Fire Company, Inc.

*House Amendment “A” adds the provisions dealing with allocating expenses among towns and recording of probate court proceedings. It eliminates the provisions in File 745 dealing with deadlines for certain financial information and a probate court's deficiency with the probate court administrator; a probate judge's minimum compensation; and service of process by mail for appeals from a probate court decision mail.

Effective Date: October 1, 2009, except for the validation provisions, which become effective upon passage.

The law requires the town or towns comprising each probate district to provide court facilities. Under current law, if a probate district consists of more than one town, the probate court's expenses are allocated to the towns in proportion to their grand lists last perfected. The bill instead allows towns to either allocate expenses that way or to allocate them in whatever proportion the towns agree to.

The bill authorizes any one who has sufficient interest in an estate to apply to probate court for appointment as a temporary administrator for the limited purpose of obtaining financial or medical information concerning a deceased person. This includes obtaining medical information and records necessary to investigate (1) a potential cause of action the estate may have or (2) a potential cause of action of an heir, devisee, legatee, or beneficiary of the deceased person.

The bill allows a court to grant an application that it finds would be in the interests of the estate or of an heir, devisee, legatee, or beneficiary of the deceased person.

The court must limit the temporary administrator's authority to disclose information he or she obtains, and may issue an appropriate order regarding disclosure.

Any order appointing a temporary administrator, and any certificate of the appointment of a fiduciary the court clerk issues, must (1) indicate the duration of the appointment, and (2) specify that the temporary administrator has no authority over the deceased person's assets.

Current law validates all marriages celebrated before June 7, 2006 that are otherwise valid except that the justice of the peace did not have a valid certificate of qualification, as long as the justice of the peace represented himself or herself to be a duly qualified justice of the peace and such persons reasonably relied upon such representation. The bill instead validates all marriages celebrated before the bill becomes law, which is upon passage.

Current law validates all marriages celebrated before June 7, 2006 that are otherwise valid except that the license was issued in a town other than the town in which the marriage was celebrated or where either party to the marriage resided at the time of the marriage license. The bill extends the validation to all marriages meeting this criteria and celebrated before the bill becomes law (i. e. , before the governor signs it).

The bill validates all civil unions celebrated before the govern signs the bill, that are otherwise valid except that the justice of the peace joining such persons in such civil union (1) did not have a valid certificate of qualification, (2) represented himself or herself to be a duly qualified justice of the peace, and (3) the parties to the civil union reasonably relied upon the representation.

The bill validates all civil unions celebrated before the governor signs the bill that are otherwise valid except that the license for any such civil union was not issued in the town (1) where the civil union was celebrated or (2) where either party to the civil union resided at the time the application for the license was made.

The bill validates the application or claim by the Brookfield Volunteer Fire Company, Inc. submitted on June 28, 2007, to the Underground Storage Tank Petroleum Clean-Up Account Review Board for reimbursement from the Underground Storage Tank Petroleum Clean-Up Account of costs in the amount of $ 27,811. 54 for work or services performed or materials provided (1) before October 1, 2004, and (2) identified as Supplemental Claim #4 of the Brookfield Volunteer Fire Company, Inc. , Site No. 982, otherwise valid except that such application or claim was not received by the board on or before April 1, 2005. The bill also makes these costs eligible for reimbursement.

The law requires a probate court to transcribe any portion of the recording of the proceedings that have not been transcribed for an appeal from an order, denial, or decree made after a hearing that is on the record, within (1) 30 days after service is made of an appeal, or (2) within such further time as may be allowed by the Superior Court.

The expense for the transcript must be charged against the person who filed the appeal, except that if the person who filed the appeal is unable to pay and files an affidavit with the court demonstrating the inability to pay, the expense of the transcript must be paid by the Probate Court Administrator and paid from the Probate Court Administration Fund.

The probate court must transmit to the Superior Court the original or a certified copy of the entire record of the proceeding from which the appeal was taken. The record must include the court's findings of fact and conclusions of law, separately stated.

An appeal from an order, denial, or decree made after a hearing on the record must be (1) confined to the record, (2) heard by the Superior Court without a jury, and (3) may be referred to a state referee.

The law requires that in an appeal taken under CGS § 45a-186, from a matter heard on the record in the Court of Probate, the Superior Court may not substitute its judgment for that of the probate court as to the weight of the evidence on questions of fact. The Superior Court must affirm the probate court's decision unless it finds that substantial rights of the person appealing have been prejudiced because the findings, inferences, conclusions or decisions are:

1. violate the federal or state constitution or the general statutes;

2. exceed the probate courts' statutory authority;

3. made on unlawful procedure;

4. affected by other error of law;

5. clearly erroneous in view of the reliable, probative, and substantial evidence on the whole record; or

6. arbitrary or capricious or characterized by abuse of discretion or clearly unwarranted exercise of discretion.

If the Superior Court finds such prejudice, it must sustain the appeal and, if appropriate, may render a judgment that (1) modifies the probate court's order, denial, or decree or (2) remand the case to the probate court for further proceedings.

Yea

Nay

(04/01/2009)