CT divorce laws

If you have already looked through our Q&A regarding Connecticut divorce, you are ready to dive deeper into state legislation on the matter. If not, feel free to read that page also. Do not worry about the complexity of the laws section of our website, as we create easy-to-grasp overviews of the latest rules in the field of family law. This CT laws on divorce guide outlines the most important things you should know to get your marriage dissolved quickly.

Connecticut divorce law: Basic eligibility criteria for divorce

According to Connecticut state divorce laws you must fit one of the following criteria for the court to accept your case:

1. Either partner must have spent a year living in the state before the filing or decree granting date;
2. Either partner must have been living in the state at the time of marriage and returned to live here before filing;
3. The ground for dissolving the marriage took place after either partner moved to this state.

Please note the special provisions divorce laws in Connecticut have regarding those who serve in the military. Either partner serving in the Armed Forces or being a merchant marine who filed the claim for divorce is considered to be a permanent resident of the state for the time she or he served here.

Grounds for divorce in CT

Connecticut divorce laws recognize two types of reasons for requesting divorce. The first one deals with no-fault reasons, meaning that neither party must explain why she or he wishes to end the marital relationship. In CT divorce law, such grounds are defined as living separately for no less than a year and a half before any proceeding starts. It means that both partners lived apart, even if they were living in the same house (in such a case the partners should have lived in different rooms and had separate households). Also, there is the ground which is called the irreversible failure of marriage, meaning that the existing discrepancies are final and there is no way for the couple to have a peaceful relationship.

The second type includes fault-based grounds for divorce in Connecticut. They are primarily related to the wrong behavior of one of the partners:

1. Unfaithfulness
2. Being sentenced to imprisonment or being imprisoned at the time of the other partner’s submitting documents for divorce
3. Cruel behavior towards another partner (meaning that the actions of one partner caused mental or physical injuries the another)
4. Abandonment without the will to come back for a year
5. Absence for at least 7 years without any communication at that time
6. Refusal to provide support to the other partner while being aware of the need for such support and being able to give it
7. Permanent mental illness (meaning one partner is confined to a hospital or mental institution because of mental illness for at least 5 years out of the last 6 years before filing.)
8. Fake marriage contract.

As fault-based grounds must be proved in order to obtain the divorce in accordance with divorce law in Connecticut, it is advisable you do your best to base your claim on a no-fault reason. Also, keep in mind that no-fault proceedings can be done on your own, while fault-based divorces are often conducted with a lawyer’s assistance, thus causing more stress (since the partners fight to justify their behavior) and costing a lot of money (since lawyers’ hourly rates are around $290). Therefore, we encourage you to make an effort to fulfill the requirements of an uncontested divorce. Now let’s see how the divorce process for such a case is conducted with regards to divorce laws in CT.

Divorce process in CT

To get the marriage dissolved without contest, the partners must follow the requirements we listed on the Connecticut divorce Q&A page on our website. Once those requirements are met (you’ve settled your issues and created a written agreement), you can begin the filing part of the CT divorce process.

The cases of marriage dissolution and annulment are studied in the Superior Court of the state. The initiating party submits the complaint to the Superior Court and delivers the papers to the answering party. This delivery can be done by the sheriff of the county where you live or you can hire a professional server to do it.

The complaint for marriage dissolution should be filed along with the settlement agreement and supporting documents. The CT divorce process requires the following papers to be submitted:

1. Affidavits of finances from two partners
2. Worksheet of child support
3. Affidavit concerning children.

The last two papers apply to couples who have children.

When dividing your material acquisitions, keep in mind that Connecticut divorce laws on property recognize the distribution in an equitable manner. The court will take into account the following details while making the decision on how to distribute your belongings:

1. Years spent in the marriage
2. The age, health and ability of each partner to work and their needs
3. The grounds to dissolve the marriage
4. The future ability of each partner to accumulate money and property.

After receiving the documents, the answering party submits the respective documents to the court and both partners will have to wait up to 3 months to get the decree of marriage dissolution. CT laws for divorce allow the judge to issue the decree during a short hearing.

States divorce law