How to File for Legal Separation in Connecticut: Forms and Service

To file for a legal separation in Connecticut, you complete a Complaint for Legal Separation and its supporting forms, file them with the Superior Court along with a $360 fee, and have a state marshal serve the papers on your spouse. The court then applies the same procedures, waiting period, and legal standards it uses for a divorce, with one difference at the end: you remain legally married and cannot remarry.¹

Confirm You Meet the Residency Requirement

At least one spouse must have lived in Connecticut for 12 months before you file. The 12 months can run either before the complaint is filed or before the court enters the final decree, so you can start the case before hitting a full year of residence as long as you’ll have it by the time the judge signs off.²

Two narrower paths also satisfy the requirement. One spouse lived in Connecticut when you married and later returned intending to stay permanently. Or the reason for the separation itself arose after either spouse moved into the state.²

Pick Your Grounds

You have to state a legal reason for the separation on the complaint. Connecticut uses the same grounds for legal separation as for divorce, and the easiest is “irretrievable breakdown” of the marriage, meaning there’s no reasonable prospect of reconciliation. This no-fault ground doesn’t require proving anyone did anything wrong and is what most filers use.

Fault-based grounds are also available, including adultery, willful desertion for at least a year, intolerable cruelty, habitual intemperance, fraudulent contract, seven years’ absence, imprisonment for certain crimes, extended mental illness confinement, and living apart due to incompatibility for at least 18 continuous months.³ Fault grounds require proof of the specific conduct, which lengthens and complicates the case.

Complete the Court Forms

All forms are on the Connecticut Judicial Branch website at jud.ct.gov. You’ll need:

Complaint for Legal Separation (JD-FM-159): identifies both spouses, states your grounds, and lists the orders you’re asking the court to enter (property division, alimony, custody, support).
Summons (JD-FM-3): the document that formally notifies your spouse and sets the deadline to respond.
Notice of Automatic Court Orders (JD-FM-158): the mandatory notice of restrictions that bind both spouses as soon as the case is served.
Financial Affidavit: a sworn statement of income, expenses, assets, and debts. Use the short version (JD-FM-6-SHORT) if both your gross annual income and total net assets are $75,000 or less; otherwise use the long version (JD-FM-6-LONG).⁴

Before you sit down with the forms, gather the basics: full legal names and addresses for both spouses, the date and place of the marriage, and the names and birth dates of any minor children. The financial affidavit is the time-consuming one because it wants documentation of everything you earn, own, and owe.

File the Case and Pay the Fee

Bring the completed forms to the Superior Court clerk’s office. The clerk reviews the paperwork, signs the Summons, assigns a case number, and files the documents. The filing fee is $360.⁵

If you can’t afford the fee, submit an Application for Waiver of Fees (JD-FM-75). The court uses the Federal Poverty Level as a guideline in deciding whether to excuse the payment.⁶

Have a State Marshal Serve Your Spouse

You cannot hand the papers to your spouse yourself. A state marshal must deliver them, though in limited circumstances a constable or other authorized officer can serve process instead.⁷

Marshals charge up to $50 for the initial service, $50 for each additional person served, and $20 for each subsequent service at the same address.⁸ Above those statutory minimums, marshals work as independent contractors and may negotiate their fees.⁹

Know What the Automatic Court Orders Restrict

The instant your case is served, a set of automatic court orders takes effect and binds both spouses. They aren’t optional, and they’re broader than most people expect. Neither spouse may:¹⁰

Sell, transfer, hide, or dispose of property, except for routine household expenses, ordinary business transactions, or reasonable attorney’s fees
Move a jointly owned asset into one spouse’s sole name
Run up unreasonable debt, including tapping a home equity line or making excessive credit card charges
Drop the other spouse from medical, dental, or hospital insurance
Change life insurance beneficiaries or cancel existing life, auto, or homeowner’s insurance
Lock the other spouse out of the primary residence, if you were living together when the case was served

When minor children are involved, additional orders apply. Neither parent can permanently remove the children from Connecticut without the other’s written consent or a court order, and both parents must keep the children’s medical and dental insurance in place.¹⁰ Both parents also have to complete a parenting education program within 60 days of the return date. The program typically costs around $125 per person, though providers may set their own fees.

Return Date, Appearance, and the Waiting Period

The Summons carries a “return date.” That’s the date that starts the clock on all deadlines in the case. Before the return date, the marshal must file the original Summons with the court, along with the Officer’s Return confirming when, where, and how service was made.

Your spouse then has two days after the return date to file an Appearance (JD-CL-12), which tells the court they know about the case and want to participate and puts their contact information on file for future notices.¹¹¹² If your spouse doesn’t file one, the case doesn’t stop; you can move forward through additional motions.

The court usually schedules a Case Management Conference after the return date, where both sides discuss the issues and the judge sets a timeline for discovery, mediation, and any hearings. Connecticut law under Section 46b-67(a) also imposes a waiting period before the court can enter a final decree. If you and your spouse have already reached agreement on all terms, you can jointly ask the court to shorten it.¹

Why Some Couples File for Separation Instead of Divorce

A Connecticut legal separation decree looks almost identical to a divorce decree. The court divides property, sets support, and establishes custody the same way. The practical difference is that the marriage still exists.

That matters in specific situations. Some couples want to preserve employer-sponsored benefits that require an active marriage, such as pension plans or certain health coverage. Others have religious or personal objections to divorce but still need enforceable court orders to live apart. A separation can also work as a trial run, because if the spouses reconcile they can ask the court to set aside the decree rather than remarry.

Converting a Legal Separation to a Divorce Later

A legal separation isn’t permanent. Either spouse can later file for dissolution of marriage to end the marriage fully and become free to remarry.¹ The existing orders on property, custody, and support usually carry significant weight in the new proceeding, since the court already examined the same issues, but filing for dissolution means opening a new court action rather than flipping a switch on the old one.

1
Justia. Connecticut Code 46b-67 – Legal Separation and Dissolution Proceedings
2
Justia. Connecticut Code 46b-44 – Residency Requirement
3
Justia. Connecticut Code 46b-40 – Grounds for Dissolution of Marriage, Legal Separation, Annulment
4
Judicial Branch of the State of Connecticut. Financial Affidavit
5
Connecticut Judicial Branch. Court Fees
6
Connecticut Judicial Branch. Filling Out and Filing an Application for Waiver of Fees Form in Family Matters
7
State of Connecticut. State Marshal Commission Manual – Section 4 Civil Process
8
Justia. Connecticut Code 52-261 – Fees and Expenses of Officers and Persons Serving Process or Performing Other Duties
9
Justia. Connecticut Code 6-38a – State Marshal Authority to Provide Legal Execution and Service of Process
10
Connecticut Judicial Branch. Notice of Automatic Court Orders JD-FM-158
11
Connecticut Judicial Branch. Filling Out and Filing an Appearance Form
12
State of Connecticut Judicial Branch. Appearance JD-CL-12