July 22, 2009

REP. GODFREY APPOINTED TO PROBATE REDISTRICTING COMMISSION

State Representative Bob Godfrey (D-Danbury) has been appointed to serve on a twelve-member bipartisan commission that will be responsible for creating a plan to whittle the state's 117 probate courts down to at least 50.

The General Assembly and governor approved legislation this year requiring the number of courts to be reduced through the creation of new probate districts that will merge several town probate courts into multi-town regional courts. Probate judges for the new districts will be elected in November 2010 with the renewed system taking effect on January 5, 2011.

Godfrey, who serves as Deputy Speaker and is one of the legislature's most vocal advocates on behalf of the probate courts, led the negotiations for the reform, which also gained the support of the state's probate court administration.

"We've cleared the first major hurdle for reform of the probate system, now we must come up with a plan to implement it," said Godfrey, who was appointed to the Probate Redistricting Commission by House Speaker Christopher Donovan (D-Meriden). "The idea is to produce a restructured arrangement based on population, location and workload with the goal of being more responsive to the needs of people who need probate court services."

Calls for regionalizing the state's probate courts, which are largely funded by fees courts collect, were prompted because the system was near-bankrupt and facing deficit of at least $5 million in 2011.

The commission must present their consolidation plan to the General Assembly by September 15, 2009. The Assembly will then be required to endorse the plan through implementing legislation during a special autumn legislative session, after which it will have to receive the signature of the governor.

"Restructuring the system will make it more efficient and self-sustaining by laying the groundwork for a significant reduction in costs," Godfrey remarked. "This will be the biggest reform of Connecticut's 300-year-old probate system since it was founded in colonial times, bringing the probate courts into the modern era."

In addition to handling estates and trusts, probate courts also handle a wide range of sensitive issues affecting children, the elderly, and the mentally ill.

"It's not just about probating estates anymore. As family life has changed, there are more adoptions, more terminations of parental rights and more expensive guardianship cases. The probate system must be modernized to reflect this societal change," Godfrey said.

The commission's first meeting will take place on Thursday, July 23 at 10 AM in Room 1C of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.