Connecticut Divorce Laws
The state of Connecticut requires that all those petitioning for
divorce be Connecticut residents for a minimum of twelve months prior
to filing. If not all the necessary residency requirements are met, the
case will be dismissed.
The state says that only one of the individuals involved must be a
Connecticut resident. The individuals are not required to have been
married in Connecticut nor do the individuals need to have lived in
Connecticut at anytime of their marriage.
Connecticut only requires that one individual be of Connecticut
residency at the date of filing. Those who are stationed in Connecticut
for military purposes or who are on active duty in Connecticut are
considered to be state residents. This includes both the Marines and the
Armed Forces.
Filing Grounds of Connecticut
Every divorce in the United State is required to be based on legal
grounds. These grounds need to be stated at the time of the divorce
filing. The individuals involved can agree upon the necessary grounds
together or one individual may petition the court for a divorce on
decided grounds. He or she is then required to prove these grounds
before the court.
Each state has its own set of grounds for which it deems legal. The
first of these is the category of No Fault grounds. No Fault grounds
state that a marriage is broken beyond repair or the individuals
involved have lived at separate residencies for a minimum of eighteen
months. Both of these cases state that no reconciliation is possible.
No Fault grounds state that no particular individual is responsible for
the marriage's disintegration.
The second category is the Fault grounds. These grounds include
fraudulent acts, adultery, the lawful confinement into a mental
hospital for a total of five years, intolerable acts of cruelty, an
extended and willful absence of no less than seven years, willful
neglect and desertion for a minimum of one year, or the imprisonment
for a life sentence in a state institution or imprisonment of a minimum
of one year for the involvement in violation conjugal duties.
Legal separation is required to be proven in court along with the
amount of time where the individuals did not reside in the same home.
Property Distribution
Connecticut is considered to be an equitable state, which means that
all the property will not necessarily be distributed equally. Equitably
means that all the property will be split in a fair fashion. If the
individuals cannot decide on who should keep which kind of property,
the court will make the decision.
The court will consider the spouses' contribution to the household,
child custody, financial status, employment, opportunities for
employment, marriage length, estates, liabilities, and education before
awarding the property.
Spousal Support
Spousal support can be awarded on temporary or permanent bases. Spousal
support is not automatically awarded in each case. The court will weigh
all the necessary factors before assigning alimony or denying a request
for spousal support. If the individual with child custody has a lesser
financial means, he or she may be awarded spousal support in addition
to child support.