Connecticut 2013 Regular Session

Connecticut House Bill HB06675 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6675
2	2	January Session, 2013 LCO No. 5050
3	3	05050_______JUD
4	4	Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
5	5	Introduced by:
6	6	(JUD)
7	7
8	8	General Assembly
9	9
10	10	Raised Bill No. 6675
11	11
12	12	January Session, 2013
13	13
14	14	LCO No. 5050
15	15
16	16	05050_______JUD
17	17
18	18	Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
19	19
20	20	Introduced by:
21	21
22	22	(JUD)
23	23
24	24	AN ACT CONCERNING THE PLANNING OF FUNERALS WHEN ONE SPOUSE HAS COMMITTED CRIMINAL ACTS AGAINST HIS OR HER SPOUSE OR A MINOR CHILD.
25	25
26	26	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
27	27
28	28	Section 1. Section 45a-318 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2013):
29	29
30	30	(a) Any person eighteen years of age or older, and of sound mind, may execute in advance of such person's death a written document, subscribed by such person and attested by two witnesses, either: (1) Directing the disposition of such person's body upon the death of such person, which document may also designate an individual to have custody and control of such person's body and to act as agent to carry out such directions; or (2) if there are no directions for disposition, designating an individual to have custody and control of the disposition of such person's body upon the death of such person. Such disposition shall include, but not be limited to, cremation, incineration, disposition of cremains, burial, method of interment and cryogenic preservation. Any such document may designate an alternate to an individual designated under subdivision (1) or (2) of this subsection.
31	31
32	32	(b) No person may challenge a funeral director's decision to carry out the directions for disposition contained in a document executed for the purposes of subsection (a) or (f) of this section if the funeral director's decision and conduct in carrying out such directions for disposition in reliance on such document was reasonable and warranted under the circumstances.
33	33
34	34	(c) In the absence of a written designation of an individual pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, or in the event that an individual and any alternate designated pursuant to subsection (a) of this section decline to act or cannot be located within forty-eight hours after the time of death or the discovery of the body, the following individuals, in the priority listed, shall have the right to custody and control of the disposition of a person's body upon the death of such person, subject to any directions for disposition made by such person pursuant to subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of this section:
35	35
36	36	(1) The deceased person's spouse, unless such spouse: [abandoned]
37	37
38	38	(A) Has been charged with a crime under section 53a-54a, 53a-54b, 53a-54c, 53a-54d, 53a-55 or 53a-55a in connection with the death of the deceased person, provided (i) the existence of the criminal charges is known to the funeral director, and (ii) the criminal charges are pending or the spouse has been found guilty of one of the specified crimes;
39	39
40	40	(B) Has been charged with a crime under section 53a-54a, 53a-54b, 53a-54c, 53a-54d, 53a-55 or 53a-55a in connection with the death of his or her minor child or a minor child of the deceased person, provided (i) the existence of the criminal charges is known to the funeral director, and (ii) the criminal charges are pending or the spouse has been found guilty of one of the specified crimes;
41	41
42	42	(C) Has been charged with the commission of a sexual offense under subdivision (2) of section 53-21 or part VI of chapter 952 and the victim of the sexual offense is a minor child of the deceased person, provided (i) the existence of the criminal charges is known to the funeral director, and (ii) the criminal charges are pending or the person has been found guilty of one of the specified crimes;
43	43
44	44	(D) Abandoned the deceased person prior to the deceased person's death; or [has]
45	45
46	46	(E) Has been adjudged incapable by a court of competent jurisdiction;
47	47
48	48	(2) The deceased person's surviving adult children;
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50	50	(3) The deceased person's surviving parents;
51	51
52	52	(4) The deceased person's surviving siblings;
53	53
54	54	(5) Any adult person in the next degree of kinship in the order named by law to inherit the deceased person's estate, provided such adult person shall be of the third degree of kinship or higher;
55	55
56	56	(6) Such adult person as the Probate Court shall determine.
57	57
58	58	(d) A document executed by a person for the purposes of subsection (a) or (f) of this section shall revoke any document previously executed by such person for the purposes of said subsection or any prior cremation authorization or other authorization for the disposition of remains executed by such person.
59	59
60	60	(e) A document executed by a person for the purposes of subsection (a) of this section may be in substantially the following form, but the use of such form shall not preclude the use of any other form:
61	61
62	62	DISPOSITION OF REMAINS AND
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64	64	APPOINTMENT OF AGENT
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66	66	I, ...., of ...., being of sound mind, make known that upon my death my body shall be disposed of in the following manner:
67	67
68	68	(Insert desired disposition directions)
69	69
70	70	I appoint ...., having an address and telephone number of ...., to have custody and control of my body to act as my agent to carry out the disposition directions expressed in this document, and in the absence of disposition directions, to have custody and control of my body and to determine the disposition of my body. If .... shall decline to act or cannot be located within forty-eight hours of my death or the discovery of my body, then ...., having an address and telephone number of ...., shall act in that person's place and stead.
71	71
72	72	Executed at (insert location of execution), Connecticut on (insert date of execution).
73	73
74	74	....
75	75
76	76	(Signature)
77	77
78	78	Signed in our presence by .... who, at the time of the execution of this document, appeared to be of sound mind and over eighteen years old.
79	79
80	80	.... of ....
81	81
82	82	....
83	83
84	84	(Signature of witness)
85	85
86	86	.... of ....
87	87
88	88	....
89	89
90	90	(Signature of witness)
91	91
92	92	(f) A DD Form 93, "Record of Emergency Data", executed by a member of the armed forces of the state or the United States shall be given the same legal effect as a document executed for the purposes of subsection (a) of this section.
93	93
94	94	(g) The court of probate for the district of the domicile or residence of a deceased person shall have jurisdiction to hear and decide any issue regarding the custody, control or disposition of the deceased person's body, upon the petition of any individual designated by the deceased person pursuant to subsection (a) or (f) of this section, the individual entitled to custody and control under subsection (c) of this section if no designation is made pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, the first selectman, chief executive officer or director of health of the town in which the deceased person's body is being held, or the funeral director or any other person or institution holding the deceased person's body, and upon such notice to interested parties as the court shall determine.
95	95
96	96	(h) This section shall not (1) apply to the disposition of the body of a deceased person under the provisions of sections 19a-270 and 54-102, (2) affect the powers and duties of the Chief Medical Examiner under the provisions of sections 19a-406 to 19a-408, inclusive, or (3) affect the making of anatomical gifts under the provisions of sections 14-42 and 19a-289 to 19a-289v, inclusive.
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101	101	This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
102	102	Section 1 October 1, 2013 45a-318
103	103
104	104	This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
105	105
106	106	Section 1
107	107
108	108	October 1, 2013
109	109
110	110	45a-318
111	111
112	112	Statement of Purpose:
113	113
114	114	To specify that the commission of certain heinous criminal acts by one spouse against the other, or against a minor child, shall result in the spouse who committed such acts losing his or her rights to participate in decision making related to the funeral arrangements for a decedent spouse.
115	115
116	116	[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]