How to Get a Quick Divorce in CT in 35 Days

The fastest way to end a marriage in Connecticut is the state’s nonadversarial divorce, which can produce a final decree in 35 days or less and often without either spouse setting foot in a courtroom.¹ A standard Connecticut divorce carries a 90-day minimum waiting period, so the nonadversarial track is meaningfully faster.² The catch is eligibility: the rules are narrow, and every item has to fit.

Who Qualifies for the 35-Day Track

Every one of these must be true for both spouses. Miss one and you fall out of the nonadversarial process and into the standard 90-day route.¹

You have been married nine years or less.
No children have been born to or adopted by the two of you, whether before or during the marriage, and neither spouse is pregnant.
Neither spouse owns or holds title to any real estate.
The total value of all property owned by both of you combined is less than $80,000. This is gross value, so debts don’t reduce the number.
Neither spouse has a defined benefit pension plan (the kind that pays a guaranteed monthly amount in retirement). A 401(k) or IRA is fine.
Neither spouse has an open bankruptcy case.
No other divorce case between the two of you is pending.
No restraining or protective orders exist between the spouses.
Both spouses agree the marriage has broken down irretrievably and consent to this process.

Two of these rules catch people out. The children restriction covers kids born to the two of you before the marriage, not only children of the marriage. And the $80,000 property cap is a gross figure. A car worth $25,000 plus a retirement account balance of $60,000 already puts you over, even if you carry $40,000 in credit card debt against it.

The Residency Rule

Connecticut requires at least one spouse to have been a resident of the state for 12 continuous months, but you don’t have to wait to file. A judge cannot enter the final decree until one spouse has hit 12 months of residency before either the filing date or the date of the decree.³ So if you’re at 11 months, you can file now and let the 35-day waiting period overlap with the last month of residency.

Forms, Filing, and the Fee

Pull together the basics for both spouses first: full legal names, current addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and the date and place of the marriage. You’ll also need a full financial picture — income from every source, monthly expenses, every asset with its current fair market value, and every debt.

The Connecticut Judicial Branch requires these forms for a nonadversarial filing, all available as fillable PDFs on the branch’s website:¹

Joint Petition (JD-FM-242), signed by both spouses and notarized.⁴
Financial Affidavit (JD-FM-6), each spouse filling out their own under oath. Form instructions indicate whether to use the short or long version based on income.
Appearance (JD-CL-12), one from each spouse.
Notice of Automatic Court Orders (JD-FM-260), confirming both spouses know about the automatic orders that take effect at filing, including restrictions on selling or transferring assets.
Agreement (JD-FM-243), if you have any property or debts to divide. Approved by the judge, it becomes part of the decree.
Certification of Public Assistance Notice (JD-FM-175), only if either spouse has ever received public assistance.

File the complete package at a Connecticut Superior Court clerk’s office. Because this is a joint petition, both spouses are initiating the case together, so there’s no one to serve and no marshal or process server needed. The filing fee is $360, the standard civil cause fee.⁵ Bring extra copies. The clerk keeps the originals, stamps your copies with the filing date, and assigns a docket number you’ll need for any further contact with the court.

If $360 is a hardship, apply for a fee waiver using form JD-FM-75. You fill out the financial affidavit section, bring it to the clerk, and a judge reviews it. If denied, you can request a hearing.⁶ Given the $80,000 property ceiling on the nonadversarial process, plenty of couples using it will qualify.

How the 35 Days Play Out

The filing date starts the clock. The Judicial Branch says a nonadversarial divorce can be obtained in 35 days or less, and sometimes faster. The process is designed to skip a traditional hearing entirely. If the paperwork is complete and any settlement agreement is fair, a judge reviews the file in chambers and can grant the divorce on the papers, without either spouse appearing.¹ The court mails the final decree to both parties.

Sometimes a judge has a question about the paperwork or wants to confirm that both spouses understand and agree to the terms. When that happens the court will schedule a short hearing, usually only a few minutes, to ask clarifying questions. It’s not a contested proceeding.

The marriage is legally over on the date the judge signs the decree. The decree incorporates your settlement agreement, making its terms enforceable. Ask the clerk for a certified copy for each spouse; there’s usually a small fee.

Either Spouse Can Back Out

Connecticut law lets either spouse revoke the nonadversarial petition at any point before the judge enters the final decree.³ If someone changes their mind during the 35 days, the process stops, and the couple would either reconcile or pursue a standard divorce. Filing does not lock you in.

If You Don’t Qualify

The children rule and the $80,000 property cap disqualify a lot of hopeful filers. If you’re out, the next-fastest path is an uncontested divorce, where both spouses agree on every term and file together. It follows the standard 90-day minimum, but because there is no dispute for the court to resolve, it typically moves faster than a contested case and avoids trial expense.

Real estate or children push the uncontested route into more paperwork and usually at least one court appearance. Couples who have already worked out custody, support, and property division can often get through it without hiring attorneys for anything beyond document review.

What to Handle After the Decree

The decree is the legal finish line, but a few practical items still matter.

Tax Filing Status

Your federal filing status for the whole year is set by your marital status on December 31. A decree signed any time before year end means the IRS treats you as unmarried for the full year, and you’ll generally file as single. A decree that comes through in January means you were still married on December 31 of the prior year and file as married for that year.

Update Your Beneficiaries

A divorce decree does not automatically change the beneficiaries on your life insurance, retirement accounts, or bank accounts. If your ex is still listed on a 401(k) or life insurance policy, they can still receive those assets. Contact every institution and update each designation. Failing to do this has led to ex-spouses inheriting retirement accounts years later.

Name Restoration

If either spouse wants a former name back, the cleanest path is to include the request in the joint petition or settlement agreement before the divorce is finalized. When name restoration is part of the decree, updating your driver’s license, Social Security records, and other identification is straightforward. Skip it now and you’ll need a separate legal name change later, with its own filing and fee.

Social Security

Because the nonadversarial process caps the marriage at nine years, no one using it will meet the 10-year marriage requirement for claiming Social Security benefits on an ex-spouse’s record.⁷ For most short marriages this is irrelevant. If you’re close to nine years and one spouse has significantly higher lifetime earnings, it’s at least worth understanding what you’re giving up before finalizing.

1
Connecticut Judicial Branch. Is Nonadversarial Divorce for You
2
Connecticut Judicial Branch. Nonadversarial Divorce Law Takes Effect
3
Connecticut General Assembly. Connecticut General Statutes Chapter 815j – Dissolution of Marriage, Legal Separation and Annulment of Marriage
4
Connecticut Judicial Branch. Joint Petition for Nonadversarial Divorce
5
Connecticut Judicial Branch. Court Fees
6
Connecticut Judicial Branch. Application for Waiver of Fees
7
Social Security Administration. More Info – If You Had a Prior Marriage