Probate Law News

Testimony Of The Division Of Criminal Justice In Opposition To: S.B. No. 1238

The Division of Criminal Justice strongly opposes S.B. No. 1238 and would respectfully request that the Committee reject this bill. The bill is nothing more than an attempt to obtain through this General Assembly a process that the Courts of this state have long and rightfully rejected.

Under present law, which was carefully drafted after a tragedy that occurred in Middletown many years ago, the Superior Court retains continuing jurisdiction over people who have been found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to the Psychiatric Security Review Board (PSRB). That Board continually monitors the treatment and progress of acquittees and takes care to protect the public from tragedies such as the one that led to its creation.

The bill would strip the Superior Court and the PSRB of their continuing jurisdiction over those individuals who are found not guilty by reason of insanity and transfer this responsibility to the probate court. Such a system would not be in the best interest of the individual acquittee and certainly would not be in the best interest of the public safety. Read more at ct.gov

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	Did You Know?
	Probate Is Handled In Court Probate cases normally occur in state and county court where the deceased permanently lived at the time of his or her death. In different states such courts may go by different names. Some are simply called the Probate Court. In New Yorkthey are called the Surrogates Court and in California they are called the Superior Court, Probate Division. The probate court will normally handle all the personal property the deceased owned, plus all the real estate the deceased owned located in that same state.