2013 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 45a - Probate Courts and Procedure
Chapter 802h - Protected Persons and Their Property
Section 45a-656b - Duties of conservator re real and personal property and placement of person under conservatorship.

(a)(1) For the purposes of this section: (A) “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 or a rehabilitation hospital or facility; and (B) “person under conservatorship” means a conserved person or a person under voluntary representation pursuant to section 45a-646.

(2) 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 person under conservatorship, sell or dispose of any real property or household furnishings of the person under conservatorship, or change the residence of the person under conservatorship unless a Probate Court finds, after a hearing, that such termination, sale, disposal or change is necessary or that the person under conservatorship agrees to such termination, sale, disposal or change.

(b) If the conservator determines it is necessary to cause the person under conservatorship to be placed in an institution for long-term care or to change the residence of the person under conservatorship, the conservator shall file a report of the intended placement in an institution for long-term care or change of residence with the Probate Court 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 discharge from a hospital of a person under conservatorship, 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 person under conservatorship 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 Probate Court 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 physical, mental and psychosocial needs of the person under conservatorship 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 person under conservatorship in an institution for long-term care and a copy of such report to the person under conservatorship, the attorney for the person under conservatorship 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 person under conservatorship 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 person under conservatorship 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 person under conservatorship 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 person under conservatorship in an institution for long-term care, determines that the physical, mental and psychosocial needs of the person under conservatorship can be met in a less restrictive and more integrated setting within the resources available to the person under conservatorship, either through the estate of the person under conservatorship or through private or public assistance, the court shall order that the person under conservatorship be placed and maintained in a less restrictive and more integrated setting.

(g) A person under conservatorship may waive the right to a hearing required under this section if the attorney for the person under conservatorship has consulted with the person under conservatorship 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 wishes of the person under conservatorship.

(P.A. 07-73, S. 2(c); 07-116, S. 21; P.A. 10-32, S. 138; P.A. 13-81, S. 12.)

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; P.A. 10-32 substituted “or” for “and” in Subsec. (h), effective May 10, 2010; P.A. 13-81 amended Subsec. (a) by adding Subdiv. (1) defining “institution for long-term care” and “person under conservatorship” and by designating existing provisions as Subdiv. (2), replaced “conserved person” with “person under conservatorship” and “court of probate” with “Probate Court”, deleted former Subsec. (h) re definition of “institution for long-term care”, and made conforming changes.