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SB474 / File No. 577 1
General Assembly File No. 577
February Session, 2026 Senate Bill No. 474
Senate, April 9, 2026
The Committee on Judiciary reported through SEN. WINFIELD
of the 10th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of
the Senate, that the bill ought to pass.
AN ACT CONCERNING THE PROVISION OF ANNUAL TRAINING TO
A PERSON APPOINTED AS A CONSERVATOR IN A PROBATE
COURT PROCEEDING.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) ( Effective July 1, 2026 ) (a) Any person who, on or 1
after October 1, 2026, is appointed as a conservator of the estate or a 2
conservator of the person in a Probate Court proceeding conducted 3
pursuant to chapter 802h of the general statutes shall complete an 4
annual training program established by the Probate Court 5
Administrator pursuant to subsection (b) of this section. 6
(b) The Probate Court Administrator shall, within available 7
appropriations, establish, supervise and fund a program of training for 8
newly appointed conservators of the estate and conservators of the 9
person. The training program shall include, but not be limited to, a 10
review of: (1) Statutory provisions, the Probate Court rules of procedure 11
and regulations adopted by the Probate Court Administrator that are 12
applicable to the responsibilities and duties of a conservator; (2) ethical 13
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considerations arising when carrying out the responsibilities and duties 14
of a conservator; (3) the operation of the Probate Court system; (4) the 15
Probate Court User Guide for Conservators; and (5) the resources that 16
are available to a conservator seeking assistance, guidance or advice in 17
carrying out the duties and responsibilities owed to the conserved 18
person. 19
(c) Any person appointed as a conservator of the estate or a 20
conservator of the person in a Probate Court proceeding, on or after 21
October 1, 2026, who without good cause shown, fails to complete the 22
annual training requirements prescribed in this section shall be subject 23
to removal as a conservator in accordance with the provisions of section 24
45a-660 of the general statutes. 25
(d) Any person appointed as a conservator of the estate or a 26
conservator of the person in a Probate Court proceeding, prior to 27
October 1, 2026, may participate in the annual training provided 28
pursuant to this section. The Probate Court Administrator may charge 29
a reasonable fee not to exceed thirty-five dollars for the provision of such 30
training to persons appointed as a conservator of the estate or a 31
conservator of the person prior to October 1, 2026. 32
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2026 New section
JUD Joint Favorable
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The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of
the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not
represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general,
fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional
knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final
products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.
OFA Fiscal Note
State Impact:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $
Probate Court PCAF - Cost 476,930 476,930
Probate Court PCAF - Potential
Revenue Gain
Minimal Minimal
Note: PCAF=Probate Court Administration Fund
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill requires the Probate Court Administration (PCA) to establish
an annual training program for newly appointed conservators ,1
resulting in a cost of $476,930 and a minimal potential revenue gain to
the Probate Court Administration Fund in FY 27 and FY 28.
To implement the training program, the PCA will need to hire two
trainers with total annual salary and fringe benefits costs of $170,000 and
$106,930, respectively. Annual costs for training materials, equipment,
and software licensing are not expected to exceed $200,000.2
The bill also allows current conservators3 to participate in the annual
training for a fee to the PCA F of up to $35. The revenue gain from this
provision is expected to be minimal because training is not required of
current conservators.
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
1 In FY 25, there were approximately 4,141 new conservatorship cases.
2 The required annual training is estimated to take five to six hours.
3 There are approximately 17,700 individuals currently serving as conservators.
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continue into the future subject to annual wage increases, inflation, and
the number of training fees charged.
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OLR Bill Analysis
SB 474
AN ACT CONCERNING THE PROVISION OF ANNUAL TRAINING TO
A PERSON APPOINTED AS A CONSERVATOR IN A PROBATE
COURT PROCEEDING.
SUMMARY
This bill requires the probate court administrator, within available
appropriations, to establish, supervise, and fund a n annual training
program for newly appointed conservators of the estate and
conservators of the person (see BACKGROUND).
Relatedly, beginning October 1, 2026, t he bill requires anyone
appointed as a conservator in a Probate Court proceeding to protect
someone or their property, to complete the training . It subjects anyone
who fails to do this without good cause to removal as a conservator
under the law’s existing removal procedure.
The bill also allows (1) conservators appointed before October 1, 2026,
to take the annual training and (2) the probate court administrator to
charge them a reasonable fee of up to $35 for the training.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2026
CONSERVATOR TRAINING PROGRAM
Under the bill, the training program must at least review:
1. statutes, probate court rules , and regulations on conservators’
responsibilities and duties;
2. ethical considerations that arise when carrying out conservator
responsibilities and duties;
3. the probate court system’s operation and the Probate Court User
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Guide for Conservators; and
4. resources for conservators seeking assistance, guidance , or
advice when carrying out their duties and responsibilities to the
conserved person.
BACKGROUND
Conservator Appointment
By law, the court may appoint a conservator if it considers specific
factors (such as a person’s abilities and capacity) and finds by clear and
convincing evidence that the person is incapable of:
1. managing his or her affairs, the affairs cannot be managed
adequately without appointing a conservator, and doing so is the
least restrictive way to help the person in his or her affairs
(“conservator of the estate”) or
2. caring for himself or herself, the person cannot be cared for
adequately without appointing a conservator, and doing so is the
least restrictive way to help the person care for himself or herself
(“conservator of the person”) (CGS § 45a-650(f)).
COMMITTEE ACTION
Judiciary Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 41 Nay 0 (03/23/2026)