Connecticut Probate Courts
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{ct law}}
The Connecticut Probate Court system is a system of 54 individual probate courts located throughout the state of Connecticut. The jurisdiction of each court extends to the legal affairs of the deceased, estates, some aspects of family law, conservatorship, and several other matters requiring specific legal decisions.{{cite web |url=http://www.jud.ct.gov/probate/juris.html |title=Probate Court Jurisdiction |publisher=Jud.ct.gov |accessdate=August 18, 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100617060026/http://www.jud.ct.gov/probate/juris.html |archivedate=June 17, 2010 }} As statutory courts, all jurisdiction and authority is governed by the state legislature.{{cite web |url=http://www.jud.state.ct.us/probate/history.html |title=Probate Court History |publisher=Jud.state.ct.us |accessdate=August 18, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101204210918/http://www.jud.state.ct.us/probate/history.html |archive-date=December 4, 2010 |url-status=dead }}
Elections of judges
Judges of probate are the only members of the state judicial branch elected in Connecticut.{{cite news|url=https://www.courant.com/2009/09/27/probate-courts-historic-makeover-2/ |title=Probate Courts: 'Historic' Makeover |author=Joseph A. O'Brien |newspaper=Hartford Courant |date=September 27, 2009 |access-date=August 18, 2010}} Judges are elected in partisan elections and hold office for a term of four years, their elections held within the same cycle as gubernatorial elections.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}
Prior to 2011, state law permitted anyone to run as a candidate for judge of probate regardless of previous judicial or legal experience. However, a state law which went into effect on January 5, 2011 now requires candidates for judge of probate to be both a lawyer and a member of the Connecticut bar.{{cite web |title=Connecticut probate records |url=https://www.probaterecords.org/connecticut/ |accessdate=20 February 2019}}
Consolidation of court districts
After operating without much change since 1850, growing financial difficulties in the state and within the probate courts created the need for the system to be overhauled. In the summer of 2009, the Probate Court Redistricting Commission assembled to review the aging court system and make recommendations for decreasing the number of judicial districts from 117. In September 2009, the commission announced its consolidation plan to reduce the number of districts to 54 for the 2010 elections.{{cite web |url=http://www.jud.state.ct.us/probate/Redistrict/54_court_plan.pdf |title=CT 54 Probate Court Plan |publisher=Jud.state.ct.us |accessdate=August 18, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927182819/http://www.jud.state.ct.us/probate/Redistrict/54_court_plan.pdf |archive-date=September 27, 2011 |url-status=dead }}
Probate districts
File:Probate Court District Map CT.pdf
This list contains the currently elected judges of probate as of 2025:{{cite web |title=Directory of Probate Judges and Courts 2025 |url=http://www.ctprobate.gov/Documents/Directory%20of%20Probate%20Judges%20and%20Courts.pdf |publisher=OFFICE OF THE PROBATE COURT ADMINISTRATOR STATE OF CONNECTICUT}}{{cite web |title=State of Connecticut Elections Database » Search Past Election Results |url=https://electionhistory.ct.gov/eng/ |website=State of Connecticut Elections Database |language=en}}
| class="wikitable" |
| District
! Municipalities served ! scope="col" width="165" | Judge of probate ! First elected |
|---|
| 1. Hartford
| {{party shading/Democratic}}| Foye A. Smith (D) | 2015† |
| 2. West Hartford
| {{party shading/Democratic}}| Owen P. Eagan (D) | 2016† |
| 3. Tobacco Valley
| Bloomfield, East Granby, Suffield, Windsor Locks* | {{party shading/Democratic}}| Daniel N. Mara (D) | 2022 |
| 4. Greater Windsor
| East Windsor, South Windsor*, Windsor | {{party shading/Democratic}}| Mary C. Deneen (D) |2022 |
| 5. East Hartford
| {{party shading/Democratic}}| Richard P. Gentile (D) | 2022 |
| 6. Glastonbury-Hebron
| {{party shading/Democratic}}| Sean Michael Peoples (D) | 2014 |
| 7. Newington
| Newington*, Rocky Hill, Wethersfield | {{party shading/Democratic}}| Robert A. Randich (D) | 2006 |
| 8. Berlin
| {{party shading/Democratic}}| William C. Rivera (D) | 2022 |
| 9. Simsbury Regional
| Avon, Canton, Granby, Simsbury* | {{party shading/Democratic}}| David C. Shepard (D) | 2022 |
| 10. Farmington Regional
| Burlington, Farmington*, Plainville | {{party shading/Democratic}}| Evelyn M. Daly (D) | 2006 |
| 11. North Central Connecticut
| Enfield*, Somers, Stafford, Union | {{party shading/Republican}}| Carolyn L. McCaffrey (R) | 2018 |
| 12. Ellington
| {{party shading/Democratic}}| Elisa H. Bartlett (D) | 2018 |
| 13. Greater Manchester
| Andover, Bolton, Columbia, Manchester* | {{party shading/Democratic}}| Michael M. Darby (D) | 2010 |
| 14. Region #14
| East Haddam, East Hampton, Marlborough*, Portland | {{party shading/Republican}}| Jennifer L. Berkenstock (R) | 2010 |
| 15. Middletown
| Cromwell, Durham, Middlefield, Middletown* | {{party shading/Democratic}}| Phrances Leverton Szewczyk (D) | 2024† |
| 16. Meriden
| Meriden* | {{party shading/Independent}}| Ariana F. Ceneviva (D/R) | 2018 |
| 17. Wallingford
| {{party shading/Republican}}| Patrick M. Birney (R) | 2022 |
| 18 Cheshire-Southington
| {{party shading/Independent}}| Matthew J. Jalowiec (D/R) | 2010 |
| 19. Bristol-Plymouth
| {{party shading/Republican}}| William A. Hamzy (R) | 2022 |
| 20. Waterbury
| {{party shading/Democratic}}| Matthew P. Vaccarelli (D) | 2018 |
| 21. Naugatuck
| Beacon Falls, Naugatuck*, Middlebury, Prospect | {{party shading/Republican}}| Rosa C. Rebimbas (R) | 2022 |
| 22. Region #22
| Bethlehem, Oxford, Roxbury, Southbury*, Washington, Watertown, Woodbury | {{party shading/Republican}}| David K. Labriola (R) | 2024† |
| 23. Torrington Area
| Barkhamsted, Colebrook, Goshen, Hartland, New Hartford, Torrington*, Winchester, Winsted | {{party shading/Republican}}| James P. Steck (R) | 2022 |
| 24. Litchfield Hills
| Canaan, Cornwall, Harwinton, Kent, Litchfield*, Morris, Norfolk, North Canaan**, Salisbury, Sharon, Thomaston, Warren | {{party shading/Republican}}| Jordan M. Richards (R) | 2022 |
| 25. Tolland-Mansfield
| Coventry, Mansfield, Tolland*, Willington | {{party shading/Democratic}}| Sophia H. Shaikh (D) | 2024† |
| 26. Northeast
| Ashford, Brooklyn, Eastford, Pomfret, Putnam*, Thompson, Woodstock | {{party shading/Republican}}| Gabrielle Labonte (R) | 2022 |
| 27. Plainfield-Killingly Regional
| Canterbury, Killingly, Plainfield*, Sterling | {{party shading/Republican}}| Carol Anne Rowe (R) | 2018 |
| 28. Windham-Colchester
| Colchester, Chaplin, Hampton, Lebanon, Scotland, Windham* | {{party shading/Democratic}}| George A. Baker (D) | 2024† |
| 29. Norwich
| Bozrah, Franklin, Griswold, Lisbon, Norwich*, Preston, Sprague, Voluntown | {{party shading/Republican}}| Charles K. Norris (R) | 2010 |
| 30. Southeastern CT Regional
| Groton*, Ledyard, North Stonington, Stonington | {{party shading/Democratic}}| Elizabeth L. Leamon (D) | 2020† |
| 31. New London
| {{party shading/Independent}}| Mathew H. Greene (D/R) | 1992† |
| 32. Niantic Regional
| East Lyme*, Montville, Old Lyme, Salem | {{party shading/Republican}}| Jeffrey A. McNamara (R) | 2010 |
| 33. Saybrook
| Chester, Clinton, Deep River, Essex, Haddam, Killingworth, Lyme, Old Saybrook*, Westbrook | {{party shading/Democratic}}| Jeannine Lewis (D) | 2018 |
| 34. Madison-Guilford
| {{party shading/Democratic}}| Peter C. Barrett (D) | 2014 |
| 35. Branford-North Branford
| {{party shading/Democratic}}| Charles E. Tiernan, III (D) |2022 |
| 36. East Haven-North Haven
| {{party shading/Republican}}| Michael R. Brandt (R) | 2002 |
| 37. Hamden-Bethany
| {{party shading/Democratic}}| Michael G. Dolan (D) | 2024† |
| 38. New Haven
| {{party shading/Democratic}}| Americo R. Carchia (D) | 2022 |
| 39. West Haven
| {{party shading/Democratic}}| Mark J. DeGennaro (D) | 2010 |
| 40. Milford-Orange
| {{party shading/Democratic}}| Ben Gettinger (D) | 2021† |
| 41. Derby
| Ansonia*, Derby, Seymour, Woodbridge | {{party shading/Independent}}| Clifford D. Hoyle (D/R) | 2014 |
| 42. Shelton
| Shelton* | {{party shading/Republican}}| Fred J. Anthony (R) | 1994 |
| 43. Danbury
| Danbury* | {{party shading/Democratic}}| Joseph DaSilva, Jr. (D) | 2022 |
| 44. Housatonic
| Bridgewater, Brookfield, New Fairfield, New Milford*, Sherman | {{party shading/Republican}}| Martin F. Landgrebe (R) | 2010 |
| 45. Northern Fairfield County
| Bethel*, Newtown, Ridgefield, Redding | {{party shading/Democratic}}| Steven Boa DeMoura (D) | 2022 |
| 46. Trumbull
| {{party shading/Republican}}| T.R. Rowe (R) | 2014 |
| 47. Stratford
| {{party shading/Democratic}}| Max L. Rosenberg (D) | 2018 |
| 48. Bridgeport
| {{party shading/Democratic}}| Paul J. Ganim (D) | 1998 |
| 49. Fairfield
| {{party shading/Democratic}}| Katherine E. Caulfield (D) | 2024† |
| 50. Westport
| {{party shading/Democratic}}| Lisa K. Wexler (D) | 2014 |
| 51. Norwalk-Wilton
| {{party shading/Democratic}}| Douglas Stern (D) | 2018 |
| 52. Darien-New Canaan
| {{party shading/Republican}}| William P. Osterndorf (R) | 2014 |
| 53. Stamford
| {{party shading/Democratic}}| Gerald M. Fox, III (D) | 2014 |
| 54. Greenwich
| {{party shading/Republican}}| David W. Hopper (R) | 2002 |
{{asterisk}} Indicates location of the court
{{asterisk}}{{asterisk}} Indicates location of satellite office
† Denotes special election due to resignation, retirement, or death of the previous judge
D = Endorsed by the Democratic Party
R = Endorsed by the Republican Party
D/R = Endorsed by both parties
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.ctprobate.gov Connecticut Probate Court website]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20101024040222/http://judgepedia.org/index.php/Connecticut_Probate_Courts Connecticut Probate Court entry] on Judgepedia
Category:Connecticut state courts
Category:Probate courts in the United States
Category:Courts and tribunals with year of establishment missing