Substitute Senate Bill No. 1055
AN ACT CONCERNING THE PROBATE STATUTES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 45a-341 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof:
(a) (1) An inventory of all the property of every deceased person and insolvent debtor, except real property situated outside the state, duly appraised, shall be made and signed under penalty of false statement by the fiduciary.
(2) When any personal property of a deceased person or insolvent debtor is outside of this state the court may receive an inventory of such property, accompanied by such evidence of its value as it deems sufficient and signed under penalty of false statement by the fiduciary.
(3) The inventory and appraisal of the estate of any deceased nonresident shall include only such interest as the decedent had at the time of his or her death in the real property and tangible personal property situated in this state and intangible personal property, provided intangible personal property shall not be included if the proceeding in this state with regard to such estate is ancillary to a proceeding in another jurisdiction.
(4) The fiduciary shall appraise or cause to be appraised such inventoried property at its fair market value.
(b) (1) The fiduciary shall file the inventory in the court of probate having jurisdiction of the estate of the deceased person or insolvent debtor within two months after the acceptance of the bond or other qualification of the fiduciary.
(2) The court may, for cause shown, extend the time for the filing of such inventory to not more than four months from the qualification of the fiduciary.
(c) If the court grants administration of a decedent's estate to a person other than (1) the person designated in the will as executor or successor to such executor, (2) the surviving spouse, (3) any child of the decedent or any guardian of such child as the court shall determine, (4) any grandchild of the decedent or any guardian of such grandchild as the court shall determine, (5) the decedent's parents, (6) any brother or sister of the decedent, or (7) the next of kin entitled to share in the estate, the fiduciary appointed by the court shall file an inventory as required by this section prior to the sale, either under a power in the will or under the laws of this state, of any property other than real estate; except that if the fiduciary appointed is a state bank and trust company or national banking association authorized to do business in this state, such fiduciary shall not be required to file such an inventory of intangible personal property prior to sale. The fiduciary shall send a copy of such inventory to each person interested in the estate and shall notify each such person by regular mail, that a sale of certain items in the inventory is contemplated. Such notice shall inform the recipient that he or she may object to such sale by filing a notice of objection in writing with the court of probate having jurisdiction of the estate of the decedent within five days after receipt of such notice of sale. Upon receipt of such notice of objection, the court shall set a time and place for a hearing, with notice to all persons interested in the estate.
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (c) of this section, upon application by the fiduciary, the court may order a sale of personal property without a hearing prior to the filing of an inventory and notice of sale, provided the court finds that an expeditious sale is necessary for the protection of the estate and a delay would cause irreparable harm to the estate.
(e) The fiduciary shall file an inventory containing a legal description of any real estate of the decedent prior to a sale pursuant to sections 45a-162 to 45a-169, inclusive, and sections 45a-427 and 45a-428.
[(f) The fiduciary shall file a return of sale with the court after any sale of real estate or personal property of the decedent.]
Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 45a-649 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof:
(a) Upon an application for involuntary representation, the court shall issue a citation to the following enumerated parties to appear before it at a time and place named in the citation, which shall be served on the parties at least seven days before the hearing date, which date shall not be more than thirty days after the receipt of the application by the Court of Probate unless continued for cause shown. Notice of the hearing shall be sent within thirty days after receipt of the application. (1) The court shall direct that personal service be made, by a state marshal, constable or an indifferent person, upon the following: (A) The respondent, except that if the court finds personal service on the respondent would be detrimental to the health or welfare of the respondent, the court may order that such service be made upon counsel for the respondent, if any, and if none, upon the attorney appointed under subsection (b) of this section; (B) the respondent's spouse, if any, if the spouse is not the applicant, except that in cases where the application is for involuntary representation pursuant to section 17b-456, and there is no spouse, the court shall order notice by certified mail to the children of the respondent and if none, the parents of the respondent and if none, the brothers and sisters of the respondent or their representatives, and if none, the next of kin of such respondent. (2) The court shall order such notice as it directs to the following: (A) The applicant; (B) the person in charge of welfare in the town where the respondent is domiciled or resident and if there is no such person, the first selectman or chief executive officer of the town if the respondent is receiving assistance from the town; (C) the Commissioner of Social Services, if the respondent is in a state-operated institution or receiving aid, care or assistance from the state; (D) [by registered or certified mail, to] the Administrator of Veterans Affairs if the respondent is receiving veterans' benefits or the Veterans Home and Hospital, or both, if the respondent is receiving aid or care from such hospital, or both; (E) the Commissioner of Administrative Services, if the respondent is receiving aid or care from the state; (F) the children of the respondent and if none, the parents of the respondent and if none, the brothers and sisters of the respondent or their representatives; (G) the person in charge of the hospital, nursing home or some other institution, if the respondent is in a hospital, nursing home or some other institution. (3) The court, in its discretion, may order such notice as it directs to other persons having an interest in the respondent and to such persons the respondent requests be notified.
Sec. 3. Subsection (j) of section 45a-82 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof:
(j) In the event that any court of probate otherwise receives income which is insufficient to meet, on an ongoing basis, the reasonable and necessary financial needs of that court, including the salaries of the judge and the judge's staff, there shall be transferred from time to time from the Probate Court Administration Fund such amounts as are determined by the Probate Court Administrator to be reasonable and necessary for the proper administration of each such court. Except as provided in subsection (k) of section 45a-92, the judge's annual salary shall not exceed the average annual salary of such judge for the three-year period next preceding the request for financial assistance or the product resulting from the multiplication of fifteen dollars by the annual weighted-workload of the court, as defined in subsection (c) of section 45a-92, whichever is greater, but not to exceed the annual compensation provided in subsection (k) of section 45a-92.
Sec. 4. Section 45a-139 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof:
(a) As used in this title, except as otherwise provided, "bond" or "probate bond" means a bond with security given to secure the faithful performance by an appointed fiduciary of the duties of [his] the fiduciary's trust and the administration of and accounting for all moneys and other property coming into [his] the fiduciary's hands, as fiduciary, according to law.
(b) Except as otherwise provided, every bond or probate bond shall be payable to the state, shall be conditioned for the faithful performance by the principal in the bond of the duties of [his] the principal's trust and the administration of and accounting for all moneys and other property coming into [his] the principal's hands, as fiduciary, according to law, and shall be in such amount and with such security as shall be required by the judge of probate having jurisdiction pursuant to rules prescribed by the Supreme Court. If bond is required of a fiduciary, [his] the fiduciary's appointment shall not be effective until the bond has been accepted by the Court of Probate.
(c) A probate judge may waive the requirement of a bond if the assets of the estate are less than twenty thousand dollars, or if the amount of the estate which is not restricted by probate court order is less than ten thousand dollars.
Approved June 28, 2001