Background
Eleanor F. Sharp created a living trust in 2009 and later restated it. A 2015 designation named plaintiff Jean Sharp as cotrustee, while a 2021 restatement named Eleanor as initial trustee, defendant Robert A. Sharp as incapacity trustee, and other successors. After Eleanor was placed under a conservatorship, the conservator asked the Probate Court to determine the trustee’s identity.
Following a hearing for which no record was made, the Probate Court concluded that the 2021 restatement revoked the earlier terms and appointments and that Robert was the incapacity trustee. Jean appealed. Without conducting a hearing or trial, the Superior Court reviewed the parties’ papers, reversed the Probate Court, and ruled that Jean remained the incapacity trustee because she had not received written notice of removal. Robert appealed that judgment.
The Court’s Holding
The Appellate Court held that the Superior Court was required to conduct a trial de novo because no record had been made of the Probate Court proceedings. A trial de novo is a complete retrial in which the Superior Court decides the disputed issue as an original matter and affords the parties a full hearing, including an opportunity to present evidence and argument. It is not merely nondeferential review of the Probate Court’s conclusions based on submitted papers.
Because the Superior Court sua sponte decided the merits without any trial or hearing, its judgment could not stand. The error was not harmless because the absence of both a Probate Court record and a de novo trial prevented the Appellate Court from determining what admissible evidence might support Robert’s interpretation of the trust or affect the outcome. The court reversed the judgment and remanded the case for a trial de novo.
Key Takeaways
- When no record is made of Connecticut Probate Court proceedings, the Superior Court must conduct a trial de novo on appeal.
- Independent review of filings and exhibits is not a substitute for the required retrial and full hearing.
- The parties must have an opportunity to present evidence and argument, and the party bearing the burden of proof in Probate Court retains that burden at the trial de novo.
Why It Matters
The decision underscores the procedural distinction between appellate de novo review and a trial de novo in Connecticut probate appeals. When the Probate Court proceedings were not recorded, the Superior Court acts as a probate court deciding the matter anew, not as an appellate tribunal reviewing the correctness of the existing decree.
Attorneys handling unrecorded probate appeals should prepare for a full evidentiary proceeding and should not assume that briefing and documentary submissions alone permit judgment on the merits.