Probate debate: more courts, add cities?

NORTH CANAAN — Probate court is especially important to the very elderly and the very young, and it is these two age groups that are the majority of the population in North Canaan and many area towns.

Each town used to have its own probate court. Not long ago, a decision was made to consolidate into one court with longer hours. Now the state is debating whether the Northwest Corner probate court should include even more towns. It is becoming an emotional issue for many who live here.

Probate court is where life-changing matters such as conservatorships for the ill and elderly and child guardianships are decided.  It is where wills and other financial matters are resolved. It might more accurately be called “family court.â€�

The Board of Selectmen in North Canaan passed two resolutions at its June 1 meeting in support of maintaining a regional probate court and continuing to make office space available for it in Town Hall. The Salisbury selectmen passed a similar resolution the same day.

The resolutions were proposed by District Probate Court Judge Charlie Vail, who is seeking to preserve a small town attitude in the court, as well as some measure of convenience for those who must use it.

The Northwest Corner Probate District serves 14,000 people in North Canaan, Falls Village, Sharon, Salisbury, Cornwall and Norfolk. The district was formed in advance of a state mandated re-organization about two years ago. The probate court system is set up to be self-supporting, relying on fees to cover costs.

The Northwest Corner court sent $100,000 to the state probate fund last year and remains solvent.

But a large number of indigent clients, mostly in the state’s large cities, are draining those surpluses. The system overall is in its fifth deficit year, with more than $3 million needed to cover costs.

State budgetary woes mean the Legislature is leaving no stone unturned in seeking ways to save. A bill awaiting the governor’s signature would cut the number of courts even further, using the senatorial districts as a map.

Just one of the flaws with that plan, Vail told the North Canaan selectmen, is that the area’s senatorial district cuts through Torrington.

He believes the probate district is already at its geographical limit, with many of the people it serves already traveling 30 minutes to get to the North Canaan probate office. Widening the circle included in the district might mean travel times of as much as an hour.

Vail outlined two possibilities to the selectmen that he and four other district judges are recommending. They determined a “magic� number — the minimum district population the legislature will consider — of at least 30,000.Torrington and Goshen, at a combined 38,000 people could be left as is. An expanded Northwest Corner district could include the northern tier towns of New Hartford, Barkhamsted, Hartland, Colebrook and Winsted. Or, it could extend south to include Kent and Warren.

Probate judges are often called on to make life-changing decisions for residents. It’s important that they know as much as possible about the people and the situations they are impacting, Vail said, adding that he often travels to nursing homes and hospitals to handle cases.

“Basically, I would be in favor of any plan where we don’t have a large town dominating the district. We want to preserve small-town values in the court. City life is different than the life we know. We want to  make sure people from small towns have a chance to be elected probate judge.â€�

Town officials in the Northwest Corner frequently note that the economics and the problems of the rural towns here are dramatically different, and often at odds with, the cities.

Vail said that what he and other judges are presenting is only a recommendation. The new law, if it is approved, would allow for the seating of a 12-person legislative committee that would come up with a proposal in time for a special session in October.

Vail also noted that every probate judge’s seat will be on the ballot in this year’s municipal elections.