Dissolution of Marriage in CT: Grounds, Filing, and Waiting Period

Dissolution of marriage in Connecticut is the state’s legal term for divorce, handled in Superior Court under a process that requires at least one spouse to have 12 months of Connecticut residency, a $360 filing fee, service by a state marshal, sworn financial disclosures from both sides, and a waiting period of at least 90 days before a contested case can go to trial. The court then enters orders dividing property, setting any alimony, and resolving custody and child support.

Who Can File in Connecticut

Connecticut courts can dissolve a marriage only if the case has a real connection to the state. Under C.G.S. § 46b-44, one of three conditions must be met before the court enters a final decree: either spouse has lived in Connecticut for at least 12 months before filing or before the decree; either spouse lived in Connecticut when the marriage took place and later returned intending to stay; or the cause of the breakdown arose after a spouse moved into the state.¹

You can file the complaint as soon as residency is established. The decree itself cannot be entered until one of those three conditions is satisfied. Military members who were Connecticut residents at the time they enlisted are treated as continuous residents throughout their service.

Grounds for Dissolution

Most Connecticut dissolutions are filed on the no-fault ground of irretrievable breakdown. That phrase means what it sounds like: the marriage is over and there is no realistic prospect of reconciliation. You do not have to prove either spouse did anything wrong.²

Fault grounds still exist under C.G.S. § 46b-40 and can occasionally matter because the court is allowed to weigh the cause of the breakdown when dividing property or awarding alimony. They include adultery, desertion for one year with total neglect of duty, habitual intemperance, intolerable cruelty, imprisonment for certain crimes, and extended confinement for mental illness. A separate ground covers spouses who have lived apart for at least 18 continuous months because of incompatibility with no reasonable prospect of reconciliation.²

Filing the Complaint

The spouse who starts the case (the plaintiff) files with the Superior Court clerk or through the court’s e-filing system. The core documents are the Summons (JD-FM-3), the Divorce Complaint (JD-FM-159), the Notice of Automatic Court Orders (JD-FM-158), and a blank Appearance form (JD-CL-12) for the other spouse to file.

The complaint lets you check boxes for the relief you want the court to order, including property and debt division, alimony, child support, custody, and post-majority educational support.³

The filing fee is $360.⁴ If you cannot afford it, submit an Application for Waiver of Fees (JD-FM-75) asking the court to let you proceed without payment based on your income and assets.⁵

Service and the Automatic Orders

You cannot hand divorce papers to your spouse yourself. A Connecticut State Marshal must deliver the summons, complaint, and automatic orders. The marshal charges a fee for this and then completes a return of service, which you file with the court as proof your spouse was properly notified.⁶ The return date printed on the summons is the administrative anchor for the whole case; it sets response deadlines and starts the clock on when the court can act.

The automatic orders take effect against the plaintiff at filing and against the defendant at service. Under Practice Book Section 25-5, both spouses are immediately prohibited from:

Selling, transferring, hiding, or disposing of property outside of normal household or business activity
Changing or canceling insurance coverage, including health, dental, auto, and life
Running up unreasonable debts, including borrowing against home equity lines or making excessive credit card charges
Moving minor children out of state without written consent from the other spouse or a court order

These restrictions hold the financial and family status quo in place while the case moves.⁷ Violating an automatic order can result in a contempt finding and sanctions. Judges treat these violations seriously.

Financial Disclosure

Both spouses must file a sworn Financial Affidavit (JD-FM-6) listing income, expenses, assets, and debts. Connecticut uses two versions: if your gross annual income or total net assets exceed $75,000, you use the long form; otherwise, the short form applies.⁸

The affidavit is signed under oath. The form warns that willful misrepresentation can result in sanctions and criminal charges. That warning is not boilerplate. Lying on a financial affidavit is perjury, and courts have broad authority to reopen settlements and impose penalties when hidden assets surface later. Disclose everything, including assets you consider solely yours. Connecticut’s property rules give the court authority over all property regardless of whose name is on it, so concealment creates risk without any benefit.

The 90-Day Waiting Period

Connecticut does not allow a quick divorce. Under C.G.S. § 46b-67, a contested case cannot go to trial until at least 90 days after the return date. For default cases where the defendant never appears, the wait is at least 30 days after the return date if service was personal or at the spouse’s abode, and at least 60 days with a hearing for other methods.⁹

The court can waive the waiting period in a default case only when the plaintiff shows that service was proper, there are no minor children and neither spouse is pregnant, no restraining or protective orders exist between the parties, no alimony is requested, and the parties have no jointly owned property or jointly held debt.⁹

At the final hearing in an uncontested case, both spouses appear. The judge reviews the separation agreement and financial affidavits, places both parties under oath, and asks whether each has read the agreement, whether anyone pressured them to sign, and whether they understand the consequences of waiving rights such as alimony. A judge can refuse to approve an agreement that appears unfair or inequitable.

How Property Gets Divided

Connecticut is an “all-property” equitable distribution state. The court can divide any asset owned by either spouse, no matter when or how it was acquired. Inheritances, gifts, premarital property, and assets held in one spouse’s name alone are all available for division. The court aims for a fair division under the circumstances rather than an automatic 50/50 split.¹⁰

Under C.G.S. § 46b-81, the court weighs factors including the length of the marriage, the cause of the dissolution, each spouse’s age, health, occupation, and earning capacity, each spouse’s existing estate and liabilities, each spouse’s opportunity to acquire future assets, and each spouse’s contribution to the acquisition, preservation, or growth in value of the other’s estate. That last factor matters for a spouse who stayed home with children or supported the other’s career; those contributions get credited even without direct income. The court can transfer title to real estate, order a sale, or assign specific assets to carry out its orders.¹⁰

Alimony

The court may order either spouse to pay alimony, either in addition to or instead of a property award. C.G.S. § 46b-82 directs the court to consider the same kinds of factors used for property: length of marriage, cause of breakdown, each spouse’s age, health, income, earning capacity, education, employability, and financial needs. The court also considers whether the custodial parent of minor children can realistically work while caring for the children.¹¹

There is no fixed formula. Alimony can be set for a limited period to allow a spouse time to become self-supporting, or it can run longer. If the court enters an order that terminates only on the death or remarriage of the recipient, it must state specific reasons on the record for that open-ended structure. The court can also require a paying spouse to maintain life insurance as security for the obligation.¹¹

Custody and Child Support

Custody is decided on the best interests of the child. The statute lists factors the judge must weigh, including the child’s physical and emotional safety, developmental needs, each parent’s ability to meet those needs, the child’s relationships with both parents and siblings, the informed preferences of the child when appropriate, and each parent’s willingness to encourage a healthy relationship between the child and the other parent.¹²

The court can order joint custody, with both parents sharing decision-making about health, education, and religious upbringing; sole custody to one parent with parenting time for the other; or approve a parental responsibility plan the parents agree on, if the court finds it serves the child’s best interests. The statute pushes toward orders that give the child active and consistent involvement from both parents when the parents’ abilities allow it.¹²

Child support is calculated using the Child Support and Arrearage Guidelines issued by the Commission for Child Support Guidelines under C.G.S. § 46b-215a. The amount is based on both parents’ incomes and the obligor’s ability to pay. The guidelines are updated every four years.¹³

Parenting Education Program

When minor children are involved, both parents are ordered to complete a parenting education program. It runs up to 10 hours, and each parent pays a fee of $150 directly to the provider.¹⁴ The statutory cap is $200 per person, indexed annually, and nobody can be excluded for inability to pay.¹⁵

Three exceptions apply: both parents agree, with court approval, not to participate; the court determines the program is unnecessary; or the parents complete a comparable program on their own. Completion is proved with a certificate from the provider, and the court will not enter final judgment until the certificate is filed.

Retirement Accounts and the QDRO

Retirement assets earned during the marriage are subject to division like any other property. Splitting a 401(k), 403(b), pension, or similar employer-sponsored plan requires a Qualified Domestic Relations Order, or QDRO. Federal ERISA rules prevent a retirement plan from paying benefits to a former spouse without one.

A QDRO must identify both spouses, name the specific plan, and state the dollar amount or percentage the alternate payee will receive. Each plan generally needs its own QDRO, and most administrators have model forms and procedures you should request before drafting. Getting the QDRO approved by the plan administrator before the final hearing prevents delays and keeps the asset from being lost track of later.

One tax point worth knowing: distributions from a qualified retirement plan made under a QDRO are exempt from the 10% early withdrawal penalty that normally applies before age 59½.¹⁶ That exception applies only to employer-sponsored plans, not to IRAs. If you roll QDRO proceeds into an IRA and then withdraw them before 59½, the penalty applies.

Settling Without a Trial

Not every dissolution has to be fought in a courtroom. Connecticut courts encourage settlement, and two structured alternatives are commonly used.

In mediation, both spouses work with a neutral mediator who helps them negotiate agreements on property, support, and custody. The mediator does not represent either side and cannot impose a solution. Mediation is typically faster and less expensive than litigation and leaves both parties with more control over the outcome. Either spouse can still consult their own attorney for advice during the process.

Collaborative divorce goes further. Each spouse hires their own attorney, and everyone signs an agreement committing to resolve the case through negotiation rather than litigation. If the collaborative process fails, both attorneys must withdraw and the spouses start over with new lawyers. That built-in consequence creates strong pressure to reach agreement. Collaborative cases sometimes bring in financial specialists or family counselors to work through complex issues.

Whichever route you take, the final agreement must be reviewed and approved by the court before it becomes a binding judgment, and the judge keeps the authority to reject anything that is not fair and equitable.

1
Justia Law. Connecticut Code 46b-44 – Residency Requirement
2
Justia Law. Connecticut Code 46b-40 – Grounds for Dissolution of Marriage, Legal Separation, Annulment
3
Connecticut Judicial Branch. Divorce Complaint – Dissolution of Marriage
4
Connecticut Judicial Branch. Court Fees
5
Connecticut Judicial Branch. Application for Waiver of Fees, Payment of Costs, Appointment of Counsel – Family
6
Connecticut State Marshal Commission. Section 4 – Civil Process
7
Connecticut Judicial Branch. Connecticut Practice Book – Section 25-5
8
Connecticut Judicial Branch. Financial Affidavit
9
Justia Law. Connecticut Code 46b-67 – Waiting Period
10
Justia Law. Connecticut Code 46b-81 – Assignment of Property and Transfer of Title
11
Justia Law. Connecticut Code 46b-82 – Alimony
12
Justia Law. Connecticut Code 46b-56 – Orders Re Custody, Care, Education, Visitation and Support of Children
13
Justia Law. Connecticut Code 46b-215a – Child Support and Arrearage Guidelines
14
Connecticut Judicial Branch. Parenting Education Programs
15
Justia Law. Connecticut Code 46b-69b – Parenting Education Program
16
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 72 – Annuities, Certain Proceeds of Endowment and Life Insurance Contracts