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OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 324 (File 525, as amended by Senate "A")*
AN ACT CONCERNING PROBATE COURT OPERATIONS AND
ADMINISTRATION.
SUMMARY
This bill makes changes in laws governing probate court operations
and related matters.
It prohibits using remote notarization to execute an agreement to
divide a testate estate (i.e., an estate under a will). Existing law prohibits
using remote notarization for agreements to divide an intestate estate
(i.e., estates without a will) (§ 1).
The bill extends to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Connecticut Healthcare System the same requirements that apply under
existing law to state agencies for paying probate court fees. Under this
law, if a state agency files a probate court matter or is otherwise liable
for probate fees or expenses, the court must accept the matter without
the filing fee and bill the agency for later payment, with the bill due
upon receipt (§ 2).
The bill changes certain notice requirements for involuntary
proceedings under the state’s Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA),
including setting different requirements for probate court and Superior
Court cases and making minor changes to related provisions (for cases
in either court) (§ 3).
Lastly, the bill specifies the procedures to notify the non-petitioning
spouse of an involuntary conservatorship petition if the spouse is out-
of-state, cannot be located, or cannot be served in the state. It also
requires notice to be sent by certified mail to specified other family
members if the spouse’s location is unknown in certain cases involving
elderly persons (§ 4). 2024SB-00324-R01-BA.DOCX
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*Senate Amendment “A” removes from the underlying bill
provisions eliminating certain gender-specific references in a law on the
termination of parental rights (TPR).
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2024
§ 3 — NOTICES UNDER INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ACT
PA 23-113 generally codified into state law the federal ICWA, which
governs jurisdiction over American Indian children’s removal from
their families in custody, foster care, and adoption cases. The act gives
exclusive jurisdiction to Indian tribes over certain proceedings
involving Indian children and preferred jurisdiction in some others.
Under current law, for involuntary proceedings in state court (either
probate court or Superior Court), the party seeking the foster care
placement of, or TPR to, an Indian child must notify the parent or Indian
custodian and the child’s tribe about the pending proceedings and their
right to intervene. The bill sets different notice requirements for probate
court cases (specifically, those in which a party is seeking an adoption
or TPR) and makes a few changes to the underlying requirements for
cases in either court. Principally, the bill does the following:
1. specifically requires the probate court to notify the parent, and
the notice to include the Indian custodian’s or tribe’s right to
intervene, under existing notice procedures (outside of the
ICWA) on TPR hearings (see BACKGROUND);
2. requires the probate court to notify the Indian custodian and tribe
by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested;
3. for Superior Court cases, allows the notice (to the parent,
custodian, or tribe) to be sent by certified mail, in addition to
registered mail as under current law;
4. in probate court cases where the person’s and tribe’s identity or
location cannot be determined, requires the probate court to send
the required notices to certain officials; and 2024SB-00324-R01-BA.DOCX
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5. for both Superior and probate court, where the person’s and
tribe’s identity or location cannot be determined, allows the
notice (for children from federally recognized tribes) to be sent to
the Bureau of Indian Affairs Regional Director instead of the U.S.
Secretary of the Interior and makes a conforming change.
§ 4 — INVOLUNTARY CON SERVATORSHIP NOTICES
By law, the probate court may appoint a conservator of the person or
a conservator of the estate, or both, after finding that a person (“the
respondent”) is incapable of (1) managing his or her affairs or (2) caring
for himself or herself.
If someone other than the respondent’s spouse files a petition to
appoint an involuntary conservator, current law requires the spouse (in
addition to the respondent) to receive personal (i.e., in-hand) service
about the hearing. The bill specifies the required notice process if the
spouse is out of state, if his or her address is unknown, or if personal
service or service at the spouse’s usual residence cannot reasonably be
done in the state. In these cases, the judge or court clerk must order the
notice to be sent by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested,
or by newspaper publication at least 10 days before the hearing. If the
latter, the notice must be in a newspaper of general circulation in the
area of the person’s last known address (in Connecticut or elsewhere),
or in the place where the petition was filed if that address is unknown.
For all involuntary conservatorship cases, the court must order notice
to certain relatives of the respondent, as follows: the children; if none,
the parents; if none, the siblings or their representatives; or if none, the
next of kin. But existing law requires this notice to be sent by certified
mail if the respondent is unmarried and the conservatorship application
was brought by the Department of Social Services (DSS) commissioner
for an elderly person who is being abused, neglected, exploited, or
abandoned and lacks the capacity to consent to protective services. For
these cases brought by DSS, the bill also requires the notices to relatives
to be sent by certified mail if the respondent’s spouse cannot be located.
BACKGROUND 2024SB-00324-R01-BA.DOCX
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Notice of TPR Hearings
By law, at least 10 days before a hearing on a TPR petition, notice
generally must be served on the (1) parents, and in some cases, other
people, by personal service or service at the person’s usual residence
(different requirements apply if the address is unknown or out of state)
and (2) Department of Children and Families commissioner and
attorney general by first class mail (CGS § 45a-716).
COMMITTEE ACTION
Judiciary Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 25 Nay 11 (03/28/2024)