(a) The Probate Court Administrator, within available appropriations, may cause an account of a conservator of the estate, as defined in section 45a-644, to be audited in accordance with the provisions of this section.

(b) The Probate Court Administrator may select conservator accounts for audit under this section on a random basis or on the basis of other criteria that the administrator deems effective in deterring and detecting fiduciary malfeasance. No account that a Probate Court has approved may be selected for audit.

(c) When the Probate Court Administrator selects an account for audit, the administrator shall assign an auditor to conduct the audit from the list of auditors maintained under section 45a-175 and shall notify the Probate Court before which the account is pending. The Probate Court shall continue any previously scheduled hearing on the account pending the outcome of the audit and shall notify all parties of the audit and the continuance by first-class mail.

(d) A conservator of the estate whose account is subject to audit shall cooperate with the auditor and provide the auditor with access to all of the conservator’s records relating to the conservatorship of the estate. The auditor shall notify the Probate Court, in writing, if the conservator fails to cooperate with the audit and shall send a copy of such notification to each party and attorney of record. On motion of a party or the court’s own motion, the court may issue orders to compel compliance with the provisions of this subsection and may remove a conservator who fails to comply with the provisions of this subsection.

(e) An auditor performing an audit under this section shall complete the audit and submit a report of his or her findings to the Probate Court not later than ninety days after the date the auditor receives notice of the auditing assignment. On request of the auditor, the court may extend the deadline if it finds that additional time is necessary to complete the audit.

(f) Upon receipt of an audit report under subsection (e) of this section, the Probate Court shall send notice of the hearing on the account and audit report, together with a copy of the audit report, to all parties. The audit report shall be admissible in evidence, subject to the right of any interested party to require that the auditor appear as a witness, if available, and be subject to examination. The court shall hear and decide the conservator’s account and shall determine the rights of the conservator and the parties under subsections (g) and (h) of section 45a-175.

(g) The Probate Court Administrator shall pay the cost of an audit under this section from the Probate Court Administration Fund, subject to the provisions of section 45a-84. The Probate Court Administrator may, from time to time, establish hourly rates and allowable expenses for the compensation of auditors under this section.

(P.A. 17-7, S. 1.)

History: P.A. 17-7 effective January 1, 2018.