Interstate Conservatorship

The case of an elderly city woman who apparently was taken to Florida by her daughter, in violation of a court order, shows the limitations on state Probate Courts, officials say.

Dolores Gray, 81, is in Florida with her daughter, Jeryl, despite an order by Probate Judge Beverly Streit-Kefalas that Gray, who suffers from dementia, not be removed from the state.

But there is no clear mechanism in place for a Connecticut judge's orders to be enforced in another state, said Vincent Russo, spokesman for the state Probate Court system.

"We've tried for a few years to get a law passed dealing with interstate conservatorships," Russo said. "The Legislature adjourned without passing it this year."

The law, similar to one in effect for child-custody matters, would establish a uniform policy among the states for handling adult conservatorships that may involve more than one jurisdiction, said Paul J. Knierim, the state's Probate Court administrator. "Of course the efficacy of the law depends on the number of states that enact it. But this was first proposed in 2009 and it takes a few years to get something like that passed."

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Case of Elderly Woman Taken by Daughter Shows Limits of Probate Orders