State Codes and Statutes
Statutes > Connecticut > Title45a > Chap802h > Sec45a-656bSec. 45a-656b. Duties of conservator re real and personal property and placement of conserved person. (a) Except as provided in subsections (b), (c), (d), (e) and (f) of this section, a conservator may not terminate a tenancy or lease of a conserved person, as defined in section 45a-644, sell or dispose of any real property or household furnishings of the conserved person, or change the conserved person's residence unless a court of probate finds, after a hearing, that such termination, sale, disposal or change is necessary or that the conserved person agrees to such termination, sale, disposal or change.
(b) If the conservator determines it is necessary to cause the conserved person to be placed in an institution for long-term care or to change the conserved person's residence, the conservator shall file a report of the intended placement in an institution for long-term care or change of residence with the court of probate that appointed the conservator. The court shall hold a hearing to consider the report. If, after the hearing, the conservator obtains permission of the court for the intended placement or change of residence, the conservator may make such a placement or implement such a change of residence. The hearing shall be held not less than five days after the filing of the report, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, and not less than seventy-two hours before the placement in the institution for long-term care or the change of residence, except that if the placement in an institution for long-term care results from the conserved person's discharge from a hospital, the conservator may make the placement before filing the report, provided the conservator (1) files the report not later than five days after making such placement, and (2) includes in the report a statement as to the hospital discharge and related circumstances requiring the placement of the conserved person in the institution for long-term care. No such placement made before the filing of the report of the conservator shall continue unless ordered by the Court of Probate after a hearing held pursuant to this section.
(c) A report filed under subsection (b) of this section with respect to placement in an institution for long-term care shall set forth the basis for the conservator's determination, what community resources are available and have been considered to avoid the placement, and the reasons why the conserved person's physical, mental and psychosocial needs cannot be met in a less restrictive and more integrated setting. Such community resources include, but are not limited to, resources provided by the area agencies on aging, the Department of Social Services, the Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities, the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, the Department of Developmental Services, any center for independent living, as defined in section 17b-613, any residential care home or any congregate or subsidized housing. The conservator shall give notice of the placement of the conserved person in an institution for long-term care and a copy of such report to the conserved person, the conserved person's attorney and any interested parties as determined by the court. Service shall be by first-class mail. The conservator shall provide a certification to the court that service was made in the manner prescribed by this subsection.
(d) The conserved person may, at any time, request a hearing by the court on the person's placement in an institution for long-term care which hearing may determine the availability of a less restrictive alternative for the person's placement. On request of the conserved person made after the initial hearing held under subsection (b) of this section, the court shall hold a hearing on the placement not later than ten days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, after receipt by the court of such request. The court shall not be required to conduct a hearing under this subsection more than three times in any twelve-month period following the hearing held under subsection (b) of this section authorizing the initial placement, except that the court shall conduct a hearing whenever information not previously available to the court is submitted with a request for a hearing.
(e) After the initial hearing held under subsection (b) of this section, the court may hold a hearing on a conservator's report and the placement of the conserved person in an institution for long-term care in any case even if no request for a hearing is made.
(f) If the court, after a hearing on the placement of the conserved person in an institution for long-term care, determines that the conserved person's physical, mental and psychosocial needs can be met in a less restrictive and more integrated setting within the resources available to the conserved person, either through the conserved person's own estate or through private or public assistance, the court shall order that the conserved person be placed and maintained in a less restrictive and more integrated setting.
(g) A conserved person may waive the right to a hearing required under this section if the conserved person's attorney has consulted with the conserved person and the attorney has filed with the court a record of the waiver. Such a waiver shall be invalid if the waiver does not represent the conserved person's own wishes.
(h) For purposes of this section, an "institution for long-term care" means a facility that has been federally certified as a skilled nursing facility, an intermediate care facility, a residential care home, an extended care facility, a nursing home, a rest home and a rehabilitation hospital or facility.
(P.A. 07-73, S. 2(c); 07-116, S. 21.)
History: Pursuant to P.A. 07-73 "Department of Mental Retardation" was changed editorially by the Revisors to "Department of Developmental Services", effective October 1, 2007.
