How to Get Divorced in CT: Forms, Grounds, and Filing Steps

To get divorced in Connecticut, you file a Divorce Complaint and Summons with the Superior Court in your judicial district, pay a $360 filing fee, and have a state marshal serve the papers on your spouse. From there the case moves through financial disclosure, any required parenting education, negotiation or litigation of the terms, and a final hearing where a judge signs the Judgment of Dissolution. At least one spouse must meet Connecticut’s 12-month residency rule by the time the judge signs off.

Confirm You Meet the Residency Rule

Connecticut will not finalize a divorce unless at least one spouse has lived in the state for 12 continuous months. The clock can run out either before you file or before the judge enters the final decree, so you can file earlier and let the residency period complete while the case is pending.¹

Two narrower paths also qualify. If either spouse was domiciled in Connecticut when the marriage took place and later returned intending to stay, that counts. So does a situation where the cause of the divorce arose after one spouse moved into the state. Most people rely on the standard 12-month path.

Pick Your Grounds

Almost every Connecticut divorce is filed on the no-fault ground of irretrievable breakdown, meaning the marriage cannot be saved. Neither spouse has to prove wrongdoing, and one spouse’s testimony that the relationship is over is enough.²

Fault grounds still exist: adultery, abandonment for at least one year, intolerable cruelty, habitual alcohol abuse, an 18-month separation for incompatibility, and several others. Choosing a fault ground puts the burden on you to prove the misconduct at trial. That adds cost and time without changing the ultimate result for most filers.

Assemble the Court Forms

All divorce forms are available from any Superior Court clerk’s office or the Connecticut Judicial Branch website. The starter packet is:³

Summons (JD-FM-3), which formally notifies your spouse.
Divorce Complaint (JD-FM-159), which states the basic facts of the marriage and the grounds.
Notice of Automatic Court Orders (JD-FM-158), which lists the restrictions that take effect on both spouses.

If you have children under 18, add the Affidavit Concerning Children (JD-FM-164), which tells the court where the children have lived for the past five years, and the Parenting Education Program form (JD-FM-149), one for each parent.

Financial Affidavit

Both spouses must file a sworn Financial Affidavit disclosing income, expenses, assets, and debts. Use the short form (JD-FM-6-SHORT) if your gross annual income and total net assets are each under $75,000, and the long form (JD-FM-6-LONG) otherwise.⁴

You sign this document under oath. Knowingly leaving something off or inflating a number is perjury, and judges can impose sanctions or revisit support and property awards that were built on bad numbers.

File, Pay, and Have Your Spouse Served

Bring the completed forms to the Superior Court clerk in your judicial district. The filing fee is $360.⁵ If paying it would be a hardship, file an Application for Waiver of Fees (JD-FM-75) and show the court your financial situation.⁶

Once the clerk signs the Summons, the papers have to be delivered to your spouse through service of process. You cannot do this yourself. A state marshal handles service in most Connecticut divorces and typically charges between $50 and $150, depending on attempts, travel, and time of day. If your spouse cannot be located, the court may allow service by mail or by newspaper publication.

The marshal then files a Return of Service as proof of delivery. You file the original divorce papers with the Return of Service, which opens the case and sets a Return Date. Your spouse must file an appearance with the court at least two days before that Return Date. If your spouse does nothing, the divorce still moves forward: you can request a default judgment, and the court can proceed after confirming service was proper.

Know the Automatic Orders

The moment a divorce is filed, a set of automatic court orders binds both spouses. They exist to preserve the financial and family status quo while the case is pending, and violating them can lead to contempt sanctions.⁷ The main restrictions:

Neither spouse may sell, transfer, hide, or encumber property outside the ordinary course of business or household expenses without written consent or a court order.
Neither spouse may take on unreasonable new debt, including drawing down a home equity line or running up credit cards.
Neither spouse may remove the other from health, dental, or life insurance, or change life insurance beneficiaries.
Neither parent may permanently remove a minor child from Connecticut without written consent or a court order, and both must support the child’s contact with the other parent.

The orders apply to the filing spouse when the complaint is signed and to the other spouse upon service. They stay in place until the divorce is final or the court modifies them.

Complete Parenting Education If You Have Minor Children

Parents of children under 18 must complete a court-approved parenting education program within 60 days of the Return Date.⁸ The program is six hours and covers how divorce affects children at different ages, conflict management, cooperative parenting, and visitation guidelines. It costs $150 per person, paid to the provider.⁹ The fee can be included in the fee waiver application, and no one is turned away for inability to pay.

Resolve the Case: Uncontested or Contested

How long the divorce takes depends almost entirely on whether you and your spouse can agree on the terms. Connecticut used to impose a rigid 90-day waiting period before any divorce could be finalized; the legislature revised those timing rules in 2023, and uncontested cases with a complete written agreement can now move faster than they once did.

Uncontested

An uncontested divorce means you agree on everything: property, debts, alimony, and if there are children, custody, visitation, and support. Many couples use the weeks after filing to negotiate a written settlement, sometimes with a mediator. Connecticut’s Family Services program offers mediation for contested and limited-contested cases, and private mediators are widely available.¹⁰

Once you have a full agreement, the case goes to a short final hearing. The judge reviews the settlement to make sure it is fair and that every legal requirement is met, then signs the Judgment of Dissolution, which ends the marriage and turns the settlement terms into enforceable court orders.

Contested

When you cannot agree on one or more issues, the case enters Connecticut’s Pathways process. The court schedules interim hearings for temporary orders on things like custody, child support, and who lives in the family home while the case is pending, and may order a custody evaluation.¹¹

Before trial, a pretrial settlement conference gives a judge a chance to make neutral recommendations. If that does not resolve the case, it goes to trial, where each side presents evidence and the judge decides all disputed issues. Contested divorces routinely run well over a year.

What the Judge Will Decide If You Don’t Agree

Property

Connecticut is an equitable distribution state with an unusually broad reach. The court can divide all property owned by either spouse regardless of when it was acquired, whose name is on the title, or whether it was inherited. The statute lets the judge “assign to either spouse all or any part of the estate of the other spouse.”¹² Equitable does not mean equal. The judge weighs the length of the marriage, each spouse’s age, health, income, earning capacity, education, contribution to the marital estate, and the cause of the divorce.

The practical takeaway: premarital accounts, inheritances, and other assets you might assume are yours alone are technically on the table. A judge may leave them with the original owner, but that is a discretionary call.

Alimony

Connecticut courts can award alimony to either spouse using largely the same factors as property division, plus whether the custodial parent should stay home with young children.¹³ There is no formula, and awards vary widely. A long marriage where one spouse gave up a career to raise children looks very different from a short marriage between two earners. For any divorce finalized after December 31, 2018, alimony is not tax-deductible for the payer and not taxable to the recipient under federal law.¹⁴

Custody

Custody is decided on the best interests of the child, and the statute lists 17 factors. The ones that tend to carry the most weight are the child’s physical and emotional safety, each parent’s ability to meet the child’s needs, the child’s relationship with each parent, and each parent’s willingness to support the child’s relationship with the other parent.¹⁵ The court also looks at whether a parent has tried to manipulate the child into taking sides. Older children’s informed preferences are considered, with the weight tied to age and maturity.

Child Support

Connecticut uses an income shares model. The state adds both parents’ net weekly incomes together, consults a schedule for the base support amount for the number of children, and assigns each parent a proportional share. The noncustodial parent’s share becomes the support order.¹⁶ Health insurance and childcare are added on top. When combined net weekly income exceeds $4,000, the guidelines set a floor and the judge has discretion above it.

Splitting Retirement Accounts Needs a QDRO

Retirement plans are often the largest asset after the family home, and dividing them requires a separate legal step. For most private-sector 401(k)s, pensions, and profit-sharing plans, you need a Qualified Domestic Relations Order, or QDRO. It directs the plan administrator to pay part of one spouse’s benefits to the other.¹⁷

A properly drafted QDRO transfers the funds without early withdrawal penalties or immediate tax. A defective one gets rejected by the plan, which is why many couples pay a specialist to draft it. Government pensions and military retirement follow different rules and are not covered by QDRO requirements, though Connecticut courts can still divide them as part of the settlement.

After the Decree

If you want to return to a birth name or former name, request the change as part of the divorce. The judge must grant it; it is not discretionary.¹⁸ If you forget, you can file a later motion to modify the judgment, and the court will grant it without a hearing. Update your Social Security card using Form SS-5 with your divorce decree and identification.¹⁹ Then update your driver’s license, passport, bank, employer, and insurers using certified copies of the decree.²⁰

For federal taxes, your filing status for the entire year turns on your marital status on December 31. If the divorce is final by that date, you file as single, or as head of household if you have a dependent child living with you more than half the year and paid more than half the cost of maintaining the home.²¹ Property transfers between spouses as part of the settlement are not taxable events under federal law, but the receiving spouse takes on the original owner’s tax basis, which matters at the eventual sale.²²

1
Connecticut General Assembly. Chapter 815j – Dissolution of Marriage, Legal Separation and Annulment of Marriage
2
Justia Law. Connecticut General Statutes 46b-40 (Formerly 46-32)
3
State of Connecticut Judicial Branch. How to File for Divorce in Connecticut
4
Judicial Branch of the State of Connecticut. Financial Affidavit
5
Justia Law. Connecticut Code 52-259 – Court Fees
6
Judicial Branch of the State of Connecticut. Application for Waiver of Fees, Payment of Costs, Appointment of Counsel – Family
7
Connecticut Judicial Branch. Notice of Automatic Court Orders
8
Justia Law. Connecticut General Statutes 46b-69b
9
Judicial Branch State of Connecticut. Parenting Education Program
10
Connecticut Judicial Branch. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Programs
11
Connecticut Judicial Branch. The Pathways Process in Your Divorce, Custody or Visitation Case
12
Justia Law. Connecticut General Statutes 46b-81 (Formerly 46-51)
13
Justia Law. Connecticut General Statutes 46b-82 (Formerly 46-49)
14
Internal Revenue Service. Divorce or Separation May Have an Effect on Taxes
15
Justia Law. Connecticut General Statutes 46b-56 (Formerly 46-42)
16
Connecticut eRegulations. Sec. 46b-215a-2c – Child Support Guidelines
17
U.S. Department of Labor. Qualified Domestic Relations Orders Under ERISA – A Practical Guide to Dividing Retirement Benefits
18
Justia Law. Connecticut General Statutes 46b-63 (Formerly 46-60)
19
Social Security Administration. How Do I Change or Correct My Name on My Social Security Number Card?
20
U.S. Department of State. Name Change for U.S. Passport or Correct a Printing or Data Error
21
Internal Revenue Service. Filing Taxes After Divorce or Separation
22
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 1041 – Transfers of Property Between Spouses or Incident to Divorce