Connecticut Divorce Lawyer
The decision to end a marriage is not easy to make, especially if you have been with your partner for a long time or have children together. Anyone considering a divorce or currently navigating the dissolution process can benefit from speaking with an experienced family law attorney.
A Connecticut divorce lawyer can help you understand your legal rights regarding property, alimony, and custody of shared children. Reach out to Dolan Divorce Lawyers to get the dedicated legal representation you need in your case.
Deciding to End a Marriage
Marriage is more than just an emotional commitment; it is a legal union as well. Consequently, a divorce will impact each party’s rights to property, health insurance, retirement accounts, and parenting time.
Whether a couple has been married for several years or a few months, they should take time to consider these essential factors when deciding to dissolve their marriage. Some spouses choose to legally separate as they think about this significant life change. For those still contemplating divorce, a knowledgeable attorney in Connecticut can provide more information about the legal implications of marital dissolution.
What are the Permitted Fault-Based Grounds for Divorce in Connecticut?
Under Connecticut Statute § 46b-40, spouses can choose to end a marriage on multiple fault-based grounds. When filing a petition for a divorce, an individual can cite various reasons for the breakdown of the marriage, such as:
- Adultery
- Willful desertion and neglect of one spouse for at least 12 months
- Intolerable cruelty
- Imprisonment of one spouse
Though many people seek divorces for specific reasons, there may not always be one at-fault party. Couples whose marriages have irretrievably broken down may file for a no-fault divorce. A skilled attorney can assist spouses with filing for fault or no-fault divorces.
Can Spouses Draft a Settlement for an Uncontested Divorce?
An uncontested divorce occurs when both spouses agree on all terms, including the distribution of assets, spousal support, child custody, and child support. With an uncontested divorce, the spouses set the divorce terms in a written agreement.
While negotiating a settlement can facilitate the dissolution process, the court must review the agreement to ensure the terms meet all legal requirements. A lawyer familiar with Connecticut law can review a divorce settlement to ensure it is enforceable.
Division of Marital Property
In Connecticut, everything that either spouse owns is considered marital property and subject to redistribution by the divorce court. Common factors the court will consider when ruling on assets include:
- The length of the marriage
- Each party’s current income
- Each party’s earning potential
- The grounds for divorce cited in the filing paperwork
- Which party has primary custody of shared children
A dedicated divorce attorney can help fight for a spouse’s rights to marital property.
Child Support and Custody Disputes in a Dissolution Case
When there are children involved, divorce cases become more complicated. Not only must spouses discuss property division and alimony, but they must also negotiate child support and custody. There are two types of custody parents must discuss.
Physical custody refers to which parent the child will live with, while legal custody establishes which parent will make decisions regarding issues such as education and medical care. Even if divorcing parents agree on child custody and support, the court must review the parenting plan to ensure the provisions reflect the child’s best interests. A marital dissolution attorney can represent individual parents during divorce proceedings or mediate both parties as they work to create a parenting plan.
Consult a Connecticut Divorce Attorney
The end of a marriage involves many complicated legal considerations. Dividing assets and determining the bests interests of your children can lead to a host of emotionally charged conflicts.
If you are facing this major life event, it is crucial to seek legal representation. Enlist the help of a Connecticut divorce lawyer to protect your legal rights and interests. Contact our firm today to schedule your consultation.
Frequently Asked Questions
While there is no standard advice on how to emotionally prepare for a divorce, there are certain practical steps a person can take to prepare themselves to get through the divorce process. First, educate yourself on the court process and, considering the complexity of your case, decide whether you want to navigate the process alone or hire an attorney. If you are unsure which way to go, contact a law firm that focuses on family law, and request a consultation. Second, each party will need to account for their finances. Make a list of assets/account balances, and think through any current or anticipated liabilities and expenses. Neither party should make any unordinary financial expenditures, asset purchases, or transfers if divorce is imminent. Finally, think about what your priorities and goals are with regard to how you would like to see the marriage resolved.
While there is no guaranteed time frame for a divorce, generally parties can anticipate that the process in Connecticut will take anywhere from three months to one year. Once the divorce is filed, there is a 90-day waiting period which takes effect before the parties are expected to appear in court for what is known as the “case management date.” The length of the divorce process will depend on the parties’ ability and desire to cooperate, and the complexities of the underlying issues. If the parties agree on the terms of the divorce and have the necessary paperwork ready, they can schedule a date to appear in court any time after the 90-day waiting period to finalize the divorce. If the parties are in agreement on all issues and anxious to finalize the divorce immediately, they can ask the court to waive the 90-day waiting period and get an expedited court date.
Connecticut is known as a “no-fault” state, meaning either party can seek a divorce by merely stating that the marriage has “broken down irretrievably”, without having to prove either party was at fault. While a judge can consider facts surrounding the breakdown of the marriage in deciding how assets should be divided, whether there should be alimony, etc., typically the underlying respective fault of the parties is not given significant weight.
The same applies where the underlying cause of the breakdown is spousal infidelity. In such a case, if the parties are unable to settle their divorce in advance of the trial, a judge will hear evidence regarding claims of spousal infidelity, and depending on the nature of the case, the parties’ respective assets, and the egregiousness of the conduct, a judge may adjust aspects of the divorce judgment to account for considerations of fairness.
Alimony, also known as spousal support, is an allowance paid by one spouse to the other after the couple has divorced or legally separated. Alimony is designed to recognize the recipient spouse’s contribution to the marriage and is based on the premise that one spouse may have a continuing duty to financially support his or her former partner even after the marriage has ended. Alimony may be available to both male and female spouses depending on the situation.
Connecticut courts consider a number of different factors when determining whether to order alimony, and if so, the appropriate amount. Length of the marriage, the reason(s) for the divorce, and the health of each spouse are all taken into account when deciding questions related to alimony. Each spouse’s occupation, annual income, vocational skills and earning potential are also factors courts look to when awarding alimony.
Hiring an attorney to represent you during a divorce is advisable but not necessary. If you decide to retain a lawyer, he or she will usually take care of preparing the initial court documents and ensuring they are properly served. Your qualified divorce attorney will also provide you with sound legal advice. Important decisions regarding children, money, property and health insurance are usually decided by a judge during the divorce process, and such decisions are not easily changed. With so much at stake, it is generally advisable to have a competent family lawyer who is looking out for your best interests.
For those who wish to represent themselves in their divorce case, the Connecticut Judicial Website www.jud.ct.gov provides detailed instructions on how to initiate divorce proceedings without an attorney.
The divorce process is started when a spouse or their attorney fills out a summons and a divorce complaint and has a state marshal serve these forms on the opposing spouse. Once the forms have been served on the opposing spouse, the party initiating the divorce must file these documents in the proper courthouse along with a document from the marshal certifying that the divorce forms were correctly served. The initial divorce forms must be filed in a courthouse within the judicial district where either one of the spouses resides. The courthouse where the case is filed will generally remain the courthouse where the divorce case is litigated, though there are certain exceptions to this rule.
