Connecticut Divorce
You want to get divorced in Connecticut
A brief overview of a Connecticut divorce
First, there is a residency requirement.
At least one spouse must have lived in Connecticut for 12 months prior to filing the Divorce compliant, or at least 12 months before the final divorce decree is issued. Exceptions may apply if you were previously a resident of Connecticut and moved back to the state with the intention of remaining permanently.
Fault is relevant in the State of Connecticut. However, you can obtain a divorce without proving fault. The court will grant a divorce on the grounds that a marriage has “irretrievably broken down”. This would be considered a No Fault divorce and is often uncontested.
Though No-Fault divorce is possible, CT divorce courts do take fault into consideration. Fault will be considered, and given weight, by the court when determining financial orders such as alimony, division of property, child support, and child custody.
Examples of grounds for a Fault divorce in CT include:
* Intolerable Cruelty
* Abuse
* Child abuse
* Substance abuse
* Habitual intemperance
* Adultery
* Desertion
* Non-Support
* Fraudulent contract
* Confinement to a mental institution (specific time frames)
The State of Connecticut is an “All Property Equitable Distribution” state. This means the Court can equitably assign any portion of an estate to either the husband or wife. This is not necessarily 50/50. The elements the court will consider in equitable distribution are:
* Length of the marriage
* Cause of divorce,
* Ages, health, and special needs
* Occupations and all incomes
* Vocational skills and employability
* Earning capacities and future prospects
* Assets and liabilities
* Contributions in the building of estate
* Homemaking is a valuable contribution
The Divorce Process
The spouse seeking a divorce (plaintiff) files the Divorce Complaint (divorce papers) with the Superior Court for the Judicial District in which one or both spouses lives.
The Divorce Complaint includes information about current living arrangements, the reason for the divorce, and any children from the marriage. If the spouses do not agree on division of marital property, debts, alimony, child support, and child custody the plaintiff can ask the court to make a determination on these and other issues. Even the restoration of a prior name.
Upon filing the divorce complaint, the court enters a Notice of Automatic Court Orders. These are restraining orders preventing both parties from certain actions. The courts can modify any of these orders, or spouses can agree to waive any order. These are the types of restraining orders:
* Withdrawing large sums of money
* Selling assets
* Incurring large debt
* Relocating children
* Changing Life insurance beneficiaries
There are two important dates. The Return Date and The Case Management Date.
The Return date starts your case. In most cases the Marshall will deliver the divorce papers (summons) to your spouse. You or the court will receive a “Return of Service” notice which verifies the other spouse has been served the divorce papers. This part of the process takes about 4 weeks. Upon receiving the Return of Notice, the court will start processing the Divorce Complaint and the $350.00 filing fee is required.
The Case Management date is typically scheduled 90 days after the Return date. This 90 day period gives the couple time to work out an agreement. This Case Management Date is a mandatory date for meeting with the Judge. In certain circumstances this 90 day period could be shorter.
In an uncontested divorce, where the couple has a divorce agreement, the court could approve your divorce on this day.
If the divorce is contested, and no agreement exists, there will be time frames for discovery, depositions, review of financial affidavits, identify witnesses, and pretrial dates are assigned. This process can take up to a year, or more, and be very costly.
As the divorce plays out, it may be necessary to have interim or immediate decisions. You can petition the court by filing papers (a motion) asking the court to make temporary decisions on issues such as child support, visitation, alimony, payments of bills, etc...
If your divorce is going to be contested, it's a good idea to have attorneys, though it doesn't guaranty a positive outcome for either spouse. How many stories have you heard of husband or wife getting screwed in their divorce after spending thousands and thousands of dollar.
Take control of your divorce
If you and your spouse want to take a peaceful approach to your divorce. If you're both willing to work together on your divorce and not leave it up to costly attorneys. If you're both willing to negotiate in good faith to resolve your issues. Then you can take control of the divorce process. Save yourselves a lot of frustration, reduce the amount of time the process can take, and save a lot of unnecessary expense. Through divorce mediation you are guided through negotiations and the process. With the help of a professional mediator, you increase the chance of better outcomes for you, your spouse, and your children.
Contact S. M. Edwards & Associates, LLC to find out how mediation can save you time and money.
