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Connecticut Probate Court on the Verge of Bankruptcy
In this economic climate, we expect courts to be handling more bankruptcy matters, not experiencing bankruptcy themselves. But that's the situation that Connecticut's Probate Court system is facing, reports the Connecticut Post. From the article:
[Connecticut's] Probate Court system is hemorrhaging $20,000 a day, a million dollars every two months and is losing its savings so quickly that by this time next year, it may be broke. It's being dragged down by massive deficits in Connecticut's major cities and rising health care costs around the state for the judges and staffs that settle estates and provide guardians for children and adults who can't take care of themselves.
Former chief court administrator Paul Lawlor told the Post that these growing deficits can bankrupt the system by 2010.
According to the article, the Connecticut court system pays outside attorneys to represent indigent children and the mentally disabled. If the court runs out of funds, how will it meet these payment obligations?
As the economy worsens, will we see more courts in the same situation as those of Connecticut? And what will that mean for lawyers who rely heavily on court-appointed work? If you're a lawyer who depends on court-appointed payments, are you concerned? More importantly, what are you doing to hedge your risk? Post your comments below.
Posted by Carolyn Elefant on October 9, 2008 at 09:55 AM | Permalink
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