In many ways, the Probate Court in Town Hall is a throwback to another era.
Call the court and a person answers the phone — not a recorded message.
At the conclusion of adoptions, cupcakes are served to the new families.
Small town service at its best, right?
Wrong, according to state lawmakers. They say the court is antiquated, wasteful and in desperate need of reform.
On Jan. 1, 2011, the probate court in Oxford will close after 160 years, under a new law signed by Gov. M. Jodi Rell to consolidate the state’s probate system.
Local Probate Judge John Fertig, who has been elected judge since 1979, and his clerk Eugenia Purcella will vacate their office and take with them decades of memories and service.
“It’s sad to think I’ve spent over 30 years serving the community and you are told your town is too small and you have to shut down,” said Fertig, who has a law practice in Prospect.
As probate judge, Fertig has an annual salary of up to $30,000 to handle about 500 cases a year.
New Rules
Under the new law, which passed the state legislature earlier this month, the 117 probate courts in the state will be reduced to under 50 by consolidating smaller courts into regional courts.
Only courts that serve at least 40,000 people, and with a judge who handles 3,000 cases a year will remain open, according to the bill.
The Oxford court will likely merge into a regional court in Naugatuck that will serve Beacon Falls, Prospect and Bethany. The probate case load in Naugatuck will increase from 38,000 to 65,000 under the consolidation, Fertig said.
A bipartisan state commission, known as the Probate Redistricting Committee, will make a final recommendation to the General Assembly on how to redistrict the courts by Sept. 15.
Background
Established 300 years ago, probate courts were known as “neighborhood courts” for accessibility in handling personal matters such as conservator ships, guardianship of a person with developmental disabilities, adoptions and psychiatric commitments.
But calls to consolidate the probate system have been sounding for years. The death knell came this year with the state facing a budget deficit and news that the probate system is more than $12 million in debt.
State Rep. Robert Godfrey, a Democrat from Danbury, has been appointed to the Probate Redistricting Commission. He said the move to consolidate was about money.
The probate system has always been self-funded, relying on fees to pay its judges, but the state has taken $20 million from the probate system for the general fund through the years, Godfrey said.
“The system could no longer sustain itself without raising taxes and fees,” Godfrey said.
Godfrey said a consolidated probate system will be more efficient and user-friendly.
Under the bill, courts must stay open 40 hours a week, and judges must be lawyers.
Home Depot Versus Mom and Pop?
Fertig, 63, who has raised two children in Oxford, is concerned the consolidation will adversely impact the elderly, who’ll have to travel to Naugatuck, and erode Oxford’s rural character.
“The thinking is that bigger will save money, but it’s like shopping at Home Depot or the local hardware store. You pay a little more at the hardware store but you get that back in service,” Fertig said.
Ken Ryan, an Oxford resident, said Fertig and his clerk “fell over backwards” for him when he settled his late mother and wife’s estate.
“It’s a great thing to live in a small town where when you have a problem there are people who know you, not some nameless bureaucrat,” Ryan said.
He fears the probate system will be turn into another government bureaucracy.
“It’s going to be comparable to going into the motor vehicle department, where you wait in line until you die,” Ryan said.
