Divorce Law Connecticut

CONNECTICUT DIVORCE LAWS AND PROCEDURES
 
RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS
  1. The dissolution of marriage may be filed by either spouse if a resident.
  2. However, the dissolution of marriage will not be finalized until one spouse has been a resident for one year.
  3. One of the spouses was a resident of Connecticut at the time of the marriage and returned with the intention of permanent residence; or if the grounds for the dissolution of marriage arose in Connecticut.
  4. In cases which involve support, the dissolution of marriage is to be filed in the county in which the plaintiff resides.
  5. In all other cases, the dissolution of marriage may be filed in any county which is most convenient to both spouses.
GROUNDS
 
The Grounds for Divorce in this State may broadly be a No-Fault or a General ground.
 
No-Fault Ground
 
The following are considered as no fault grounds:
  1. Irretrievable breakdown of the marriage;
  2. Incompatibility and voluntary separation for 18 months with no reasonable prospect for reconciliation.
General Ground
 
The following are considered as General grounds for seeking a divorce:
  1. Adultery;
  2. life imprisonment;
  3. confinement for incurable insanity for a total of 5 years;
  4. willful desertion and nonsupport for 1 year;
  5. 7 years absence;
  6. cruel and inhuman treatment;
  7. fraud;
  8. habitual intemperance (drunkenness); and
  9. commission and/or conviction of an infamous crime involving a violation of conjugal duty and imprisonment for at least 1 year.
A complaint divorce may be filed by any of the spouse seeking divorce in the Superior Court of the county where the other spouse resides.
 
LEGAL SEPARATION
 
A legal separation may be granted on the following grounds
  1. irretrievable breakdown of the marriage;
  2. incompatibility and voluntary separation;
  3. adultery;
  4. life imprisonment;
  5. confinement for incurable insanity for a total of 5 years;
  6. willful desertion and nonsupport for 1 year;
  7. cruel and inhuman treatment;
  8. fraud;
  9. habitual intemperance (drunkenness); and
  10. commission and/or conviction of an infamous crime involving a violation of conjugal duty and imprisonment for at least 1 year. There is no residency requirement noted in the statute.
SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES
 
Proof of the breakdown of the marriage can be made by:
  1. the spouses signing an agreement or statement that their marriage is irretrievably broken or
  2. both spouses stating in court that their marriage is irretrievably broken and submitting an agreement concerning the care, custody, visitation, maintenance, support, and education after custody of their children, if any, and concerning alimony and the disposition of any property.
MEDIATION OR COUNSELING
  1. Within 90 days after the petition for dissolution of marriage has been filed, either spouse or the attorney for any minor children may submit a request for conciliation to the clerk of the court.
  2. Two mandatory counseling sessions will be ordered.
  3. Mediation services may also be available from the court for property, financial, custody, and visitation issues.
DISTRIBUTION PROPERTY
 
The court may assign to either spouse all or part of the property of the other spouse, including any gifts and inheritances, based on the following factors:
  1. the contribution of each spouse to the acquisition of the marital property, including the contribution of each spouse as homemaker;
  2. the length of the marriage;
  3. the age and health of the spouses;
  4. the occupation of the spouses;
  5. the amount and sources of income of the spouses;
  6. the vocational skills of the spouses;
  7. the employability of the spouses;
  8. the estate, liabilities, and needs of each spouse and the opportunity of each for further acquisition of capital assets and income;
  9. the circumstances that contributed to the estrangement of the spouses; and
  10. the causes of the dissolution of marriage.
MAINTENANCE
 
Alimony may be awarded to either spouse, based on the following factors:
  1. the causes for the dissolution of marriage, including any marital fault;
  2. the distribution of the marital property;
  3. whether the spouse seeking support is the custodian of a child whose condition or circumstances make it appropriate for that spouse not to seek outside employment;
  4. the duration of the marriage;
  5. the age of the spouses;
  6. the physical and emotional conditions of the spouses;
  7. the usual occupation of the spouses during the marriage;
  8. the needs of each spouse; and
  9. the vocational skills and employability of the spouse seeking support and alimony.
CHILD CUSTODY AND SSUPPORT
  1. The court may award a joint or sole custody upon the best interests of the child.
  2. However the court may look into the following factors before passing such award
    1. the causes for the dissolution of marriage if such causes are relevant to the best interests of the child and
    2. the wishes of the child if the child is of sufficient age and is capable of forming an intelligent choice.
    3. There is a presumption that joint custody is in the best interests of the child if both parents have agreed to joint custody.
  3. Either parent may be ordered to contribute child support. The child support may be awarded basing on the following factors
    1. the financial resources of the child;
    2. the age, health, and station of the parents;
    3. the occupation of each parent;
    4. the earning capacity of each parent;
    5. the amount and sources of income of each parent;
    6. the vocational skills and employability of each parent;
    7. the age and health of the child;
    8. the child's occupation;
    9. the vocational skills of the child;
    10. the employability of the child;
    11. the estate and needs of the child; and
    12. the relative financial means of the parents.
  4. Either parent may be ordered to provide health insurance for the child.
ANNULMENT
  1. An annulment is a decree that the marriage was void from the beginning.
  2. It also means that the marriage has never legally took place.
  3. The grounds for annulment can be found in a number of different statutes (laws), as well as in the common law of the state.
  4. There may also be a religious annulment which has no legal authority, and is not legally binding on either person.
  5. A religious annulment must follow either a legal (civil) annulment or a divorce in order to end the marriage legally.
  6. The religious annulments apply only to the sacred or sacramental aspect of marriage.
  7. A religious denomination may issue its annulment of marriage, or Decree of Nullity, if the marriage was sanctified within the church.


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