Attorney O's Midnight Musings: Connecticut Law » probate court

Creditors’ Claims Against a Decedent’s Estate

Irene C. Olszewski, Esq. — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 00:20:42 +0000

When a person dies, the settlement of their estate falls under the jurisdiction of the Probate Court in the town that person lived in at the time of their death. The person who dies is known as the decedent.

Within 30 days of the decedent’s death, an application should be made to the Probate Court to open the estate and appoint the fiduciary (the person who will be in charge of handling the estate). If the decedent left a Last Will and Testament, the person named as executor will usually be appointed (unless there is a compelling reason for the Court not to do so). If the decedent died without a Will, the Court will appoint an administrator. For more on executors and administrators, see my previous post here.

Within 14 days after the appointment of the fiduciary (executor or administrator), the Probate Court will place a notice in the local newspaper alerting possible creditors that an estate has been opened. If the fiduciary chooses, he or she may send a certified notice to each known creditor giving them 90 days to present a claim. Otherwise, creditors who receive notification via newspaper have 150 days to submit claims to the fiduciary.

The fiduciary must determine the validity of the claims. If a claim is doubtful, the fiduciary should request the guidance of the Probate Court.

The fiduciary should not pay any claims until a Court has determined it is proper to pay them. The fiduciary is required to submit a list of the creditors who were notified and a list of all claims made against the estate that were received. That must be done within 60 days after the first 150 day claims period has expired.

If the estate’s assets are not enough to pay the claims against it, the judge may issue a ruling declaring the estate insolvent. The procedures for settling an insolvent estate are very different from settling a solvent estate.

If you have been named the executor or administrator of a decedent’s estate, you may be wise to consult an attorney who handles Probate matters. The settling of estates is often complicated and you, as the fiduciary, don’t want to be held liable for errors or omissions that might arise from simply not knowing what was supposed to have been done.

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Disclaimer: The information, comments and links posted on the blog do not constitute legal advice. I will not respond to any specific legal questions in the comments section of this blog. Read my entire disclaimer.

Changing Your Name in the Probate Court

Irene C. Olszewski, Esq. — Wed, 11 May 2011 23:04:32 +0000

There are a variety of reasons that an adult person might wish to change his or her name. If a name change is sought at the time of a divorce decree, the Family Court judge has the jurisdiction to order the change. At other times, however, you must file an application with the Probate Court in the town in which you reside.

It’s important to understand that requesting a change of name must be for valid reasons. In other words, you can’t request a name change in order to deceive, defraud or mislead anyone. Let me illustrate:

I once received a call from a man who explained that he wanted to change his name because he had outstanding arrest warrants in three states. He had moved to Connecticut a year or so before, met a wonderful woman whom he promptly married, and assured me that he wanted to start his life over with a clean slate. Oops, no name change for that guy. While I certainly appreciated his desire to start over, name changes are not granted in order to help someone outrun the law.

I had an client who changed her last name to that of her stepfather because, she explained, her own father had abandoned her as a child and never looked back while her stepfather had ‘been there’ for her throughout her life. Now that’s a valid reason. No outstanding arrest warrants, just honoring the man who stepped in when her own father bowed out.

Another woman called my office requesting help with a name change. She told me that her ex-husband had intentionally ruined her credit during their contentious divorce and as a result, she was getting regular phone calls from collection agencies. She couldn’t take it any more, she insisted. I hated to tell her that courts don’t grant name changes for people wishing to sidestep creditors — even if they are tired of those annoyingly persistent collection agents.

In Connecticut, the fee for filing an application for an adult name change is a mere $150. You’ll need a certified long form birth certificate (it will not be returned to you, so don’t send the only one you have). You’ll also have to complete a sworn affidavit stating that “[t]he purpose of the change of name is not to deceive, defraud, or mislead any person or governmental agency, nor to avoid the legal consequences of a criminal conviction.”

I did have a man with a criminal past who, against my advice, did file for a name change. The judge later told me that the man had a ‘record’ a mile long and when asked about it, he simply shrugged it off as youthful misadventure. The judge denied the application.

I had a client who came to me for assistance in filing her name change. She had been raised in the foster care system and had used the first name she had been given by the state agency as a child (to protect her privacy). When she applied for a job that required security clearance, she was asked why she used an alias. She was embarrassed to admit that she never knew she had been given a different first name at birth. It was a legitimate reason to change her name, given that she was engaged to be married in a few months.

Finally, another guy successfully changed his very common name to a more interesting name that was some type of hybrid cross of various martial art forms. Unfortunately, he later got in trouble with the law and will never be able to change his name back. Moral: think before choosing a new name. You might be stuck with it for life.

For assistance with Probate name changes, you should contact a licensed attorney.

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The Conservator Laws in Connecticut

Irene C. Olszewski, Esq. — Mon, 03 May 2010 20:10:50 +0000

I am often appointed by the Judge of Probate to serve as attorney for a person for whom an application has been submitted to the court for an involuntary conservatorship. Often, the application is filed by the family member of a loved one who is suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease. On those occasions in particular, I am often asked by the family members why I have been appointed to represent my client if he or she is unable to understand the nature of the court proceedings.

The answer is simple: a conservatorship restricts the rights of the conserved person. As such, that person is entitled by statute to have an attorney represent his or her interests to be sure that, among other things, a) the conservatorship is actually necessary; b) that it is the least restrictive means of assisting the person and protecting their assets; and c) that the person petitioning to serve as conservator is fit to do so.

My job is to explain to my client that a petition has been submitted to the court and if granted, how having a conservator will effect their lives. In many cases, my client is unaware that he or she is suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease and can not understand why assistance with their daily living and financial affairs is needed. To assist the court in making a sound determination in the case of an involuntary conservatorship, the law requires that a physician’s evaluation be submitted to the court detailing the client’s physical and mental condition. Such an evaluation must be current within 45 days of the scheduled court hearing.

Under our State law, a person who is age 18 or older and who is of sound mind, has the right to name a conservator for his or her future incapacity. Because there are many reasons that a person might one day need the services of a conservator, it is important to consider executing such a document — while you are still able to do so. A licensed attorney can draft this legal document for you.

Probate Court Reform

Irene C. Olszewski, Esq. — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:20:53 +0000

As Connecticut moves forward in its attempt to reform the Probate Court system, it faces the daunting task of consolidating 117 local courts into no more than 50. That fact alone is of great concern to many citizens who have grown accustomed to the small courts typically located in the Town Hall complex. Many of my clients have expressed fear that the consolidation of these courts will lead to longer wait times for scheduling Probate matters. They worry that they will have to travel longer distances to access these courts. They are afraid that the friendly and non-threatening environment will transform into something quite the opposite.

I spend a fair share of my time practicing in the Probate Courts. As an attorney, it is my hope that what doesn’t work will be fixed – and that what already works fine will be left intact. I do like the idea that all of the Probate Courts will be required to operate 40 hours per week. Many of my colleagues have expressed the shared frustration that it is difficult to conduct business with those courts currently operating on limited schedules.

In an article published in the June 22, 2009 edition of the Connecticut Law Tribune the author writes, “[t]he community nature of the probate courts and their accessibility to lay persons are strengths of the system that must be retained.” I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment.

The Tribune article goes on to say that “[t]he time-sensitive nature of many matters brought before the probate courts should also factor into any consolidation plan.” Again, I concur. There are many critical issues that require immediate access to the courts and if the consolidation is going to work, this factor must be considered.

It will be interesting to see where this reform takes the Probate system.

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