State Codes and Statutes

Statutes > Connecticut > Title45a > Chap801b > Sec45a-123

      Sec. 45a-123. (Formerly Sec. 45-22). Committee appointment and fees. (a) In any matter pending in any court of probate, the court may appoint a committee of a disinterested person or a former judge of probate to hear the matter. The former judge shall be selected from a panel of judges provided by the Probate Court Administrator. The court shall give notice of the time and place of the hearing. Such committee shall hear the matter and report its findings not later than thirty days after the date of such hearing to the court. If the court accepts the findings, it shall issue a decree. If the court rejects the findings, it may hear and determine the matter or appoint a different committee to hear the matter and report its findings.

      (b) The committee shall be sworn to faithfully perform the duties of its appointment and shall have all the powers conferred by law upon courts of probate for procuring the attendance of witnesses and for punishing for contempt.

      (c) The committee's fees shall not exceed two hundred fifty dollars per diem and shall be fixed by the court and paid by the executor, administrator, trustee, conservator, guardian or other party to the action, or by the court pursuant to regulations established by the Probate Court Administrator. If a party is unable to pay such fees and files an affidavit with the court demonstrating an inability to pay, the reasonable compensation of the committee shall be established by the Probate Court Administrator and paid from the Probate Court Administration Fund.

      (1949 Rev., S. 6830; P.A. 80-476, S. 61; P.A. 96-173.)

      History: P.A. 80-476 divided section into Subsecs. and rephrased provisions but made no substantive change; Sec. 45-22 transferred to Sec. 45a-123 in 1991; P.A. 96-173 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting former provisions re appointment of committee and adding provision re appointment of disinterested person or former judge of probate, hearing of matter, report and findings, and amended Subsec. (c) by increasing fee from $5 to $250 per diem and adding provision re payment by Probate Court Administration Fund if party unable to pay fee.

      Annotation to former section 45-22:

      Report of committee will not be rejected when unbalanced where lack of balance resulted from item which parties had agreed to and defendant made payments, chargeable to decedent, that exceeded discrepancy. 150 C. 637.