Conn. Gen. Stat. » Title 45a — PROBATE COURTS AND PROCEDURE · Chapter 803 — Termination of Parental Rights and Adoption
Connecticut General Statutes

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-718 (2026)

(Formerly Sec. 45-61h). Appointment and duties of statutory parent. Removal or resignation

✓ current as of May 2026
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(a) If a child is free for adoption as provided in section 45a-725, and no appointment of a statutory parent has been made under section 17a-112 or section 45a-717, the Probate Court shall appoint a statutory parent for the child upon petition for appointment of a statutory parent by the guardian of the person of the child or a duly authorized officer of any child care facility or child-placing agency. The petition shall be filed in the Probate Court for the district in which the petitioner or child resides or in the district in which the main office or any local office of the petitioner or the proposed statutory parent is located. The statutory parent shall be the Commissioner of Children and Families or a child-placing agency. Notice of the proceeding shall be sent to the guardian of the person, the child, if age twelve or older, the petitioner, the Commissioner of Children and Families and the proposed statutory parent by first class mail not less than ten days before the date of the hearing. Notice is not required for any party who files in court a written waiver of notice.

(b) The statutory parent shall be the guardian of the person of the child, shall be responsible for the welfare of the child and the protection of the child's interests and shall retain custody of the child until the child attains the age of eighteen unless, before that time, the child is legally adopted or committed to the Commissioner of Children and Families or a licensed child-placing agency.

(c) Any statutory parent may resign or be removed for good cause shown. Upon filing of a petition for the removal of a statutory parent or filing of a resignation of a statutory parent in the Probate Court in which the statutory parent was appointed, the court shall schedule a hearing, on the removal petition or resignation. Notice of such hearing shall be sent in accordance with section 45a-716, except that notice need not be sent to any parties whose rights have previously been terminated. At the hearing the court may accept the resignation, remove the statutory parent, or deny the petition for removal. If a statutory parent is removed or resigns, the Probate Court shall appoint a new statutory parent or a guardian of the person.

(P.A. 73-156, S. 9; P.A. 74-164, S. 8, 20; P.A. 75-420, S. 4, 6; P.A. 77-604, S. 53, 84; 77-614, S. 521, 610; P.A. 79-631, S. 80, 111; P.A. 80-476, S. 147; P.A. 86-194; P.A. 87-589, S. 12, 87; P.A. 93-91, S. 1, 2; P.A. 95-349, S. 5; P.A. 19-47, S. 9.)

History: P.A. 74-164 applied provisions to cases where child is free for adoption rather than to cases “where parental rights have been terminated”, added notice provisions and added Subsec. (b) re resignation or removal of statutory parent; P.A. 75-420 replaced welfare commissioner with commissioner of social services in Subsec. (a); P.A. 77-604 replaced social services commissioner with commissioner of children and youth services, while P.A. 77-614 replaced social services commissioner with human resources commissioner, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 79-631 resolved conflict in favor of P.A. 77-604; P.A. 80-476 divided section into Subsecs. and rephrased provisions; P.A. 86-194 amended Subsec. (a) by adding provision re petition for appointment of statutory parent and deleting prior reference to appointments made under Sec. 45-61c; P.A. 87-589 required that notice be given to children over 12, rather than 14, years of age in Subsec. (a); Sec. 45-61h transferred to Sec. 45a-718 in 1991; P.A. 93-91 substituted commissioner and department of children and families for commissioner and department of children and youth services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-349 amended Subsec. (a) by substituting “child care facility” for “child care agency”; P.A. 19-47 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing “over the age of twelve” with “age twelve or older”, replacing “applicant” with “petitioner”, and replacing “registered or certified mail” with “first class mail”, amended Subsec. (c) by replacing “application” with “petition” and made technical changes.

Annotations to former section 45-61h:

Cited. 198 C. 138.

Cited. 41 CS 23.

Annotation to present section:

Cited. 45 CS 33.

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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 6 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1996–2022 · leading case: In re Joshua S., 796 A.2d 1141 (Conn. 2002).
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In re Joshua S., 796 A.2d 1141 (Conn. 2002). · cites it 8× “General Statutes § 45a-718 (a) provides in relevant part: “If a child is free for adoption as provided in section 45a-725, 27 and no appointment of a statutory parent has been made under section 17a-112 or section 45a-717, the Court of Probate 28 shall appoint a statutory parent…”
In re Baby Z., 724 A.2d 1035 (Conn. 1999). · cites it 10× “Because the plaintiffs seek to preserve rather than terminate Anne’s parental rights, General Statutes § 45a-718 consequently provides the only possible basis for the appointment of a statutory parent for Baby Z.”
In Re the Adoption of Baby Z., 700 A.2d 1065 (Conn. Super. Ct. 1996). · cites it 3× “” General Statutes § 45a-718. Under General Statutes § 45a-725, a child is free for adoption when “[t]he child has no living parents .”
In re Riley B., No. SC20613 (Conn. Mar. 2, 2022). · cites it 2× “12 Although we do not discount the possibility that there may be situations in which the provision, postjudgment, of posttermination visitation could be appropriate, the commissioner, or any other statutory parent, is charged with protecting the child’s interests and overseeing…”
In re Riley B., 342 Conn. 333 (Conn. 2022). · cites it 2× “12 Although we do not discount the possibility that there may be situations in which the provision, postjudgment, of posttermination visitation could be appropriate, the commissioner, or any other statutory parent, is charged with protecting the child’s interests and overseeing…”
In re Annessa J. (Second Concurrence), No. SC20614 (Conn. June 21, 2022). · cites it 2× “See General Statutes § 45a-718 (b) (‘‘[t]he stat- utory parent shall be the guardian of the person of the child, shall be responsible for the welfare of the child and the protection of the child’s interests and shall retain custody of the child until the child attains the age of…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.