Connecticut

All states

Luck of the Draw score: 100 out of 100

Connecticut leaves nearly every money question in a divorce to the judge, who can divide all property of either spouse, including premarital and inherited property, and sets alimony from a list of factors with no formula or time limit. Fault counts in both property and alimony, fee awards are discretionary, and the case is tried to a single judge with no jury and no way to remove that judge without cause. On the book’s scale, 0 is a contract you can read and 100 is one that mostly says “ask the judge.” Connecticut ranks 51 of 51, counting from the state that leaves the least to the judge. How the index works, and every state’s score.

Part	Score	The rule, and where it comes from
Property	20 / 20	At divorce the court may assign to either spouse all or any part of the estate of the other spouse after weighing listed factors, with no presumption of equal division and no carve-out for premarital, gifted or inherited property. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-81(a), (c)
Alimony	20 / 20	The court decides whether to award alimony, how much and for how long by weighing a statutory list of factors, and must explain in detail any award that ends only on death or remarriage. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-82(a), (b)
Fault	20 / 20	The court must consider the causes of the dissolution when it divides property and when it sets alimony, and a spouse convicted of certain violent or sexual felonies against the other spouse cannot receive alimony. Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 46b-81(c), 46b-82(a), 46b-82a
Lawyers’ fees	20 / 20	The court may order either spouse to pay the other’s reasonable attorney’s fees in line with their respective financial abilities and the alimony factors in § 46b-82, and no presumption applies. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-62(a)
Second opinion	20 / 20	Divorce complaints go on the docket as court cases, so no party has a right to a jury, and a party can remove a judge only on a motion for disqualification that shows grounds. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-215; Conn. Practice Book § 1-23

Getting in

A 2-day wait. Both partners must apply in person before a registrar in the town where the ceremony will happen. Since October 1, 2026, the registrar may not issue the license until 48 hours after the application, and the ceremony must occur within 65 days after the license issues. Each partner must be at least 18, and since October 1, 2025 first cousins may not marry.
Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 46b-20a, 46b-21a, 46b-24, 46b-25, 7-73; Public Act 26-141, §§ 6-7

Who can marry you. Judges and retired judges, family support magistrates and referees, state referees, Connecticut justices of the peace, and ordained or licensed clergy may officiate, in the couple’s physical presence. A ceremony following a religious denomination’s own forms is also valid. Any other person’s ceremony is void. The statute does not address online ordination and requires no witnesses.
Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 46b-22(a), 46b-24(d)

Common-law marriage: Not available here. A couple cannot form a common-law marriage in Connecticut. The state Supreme Court says it has not ruled directly on one validly formed elsewhere, though it calls ‘valid where contracted’ the general rule. A Superior Court decision honored one formed in Rhode Island.
Collier v. City of Milford, 206 Conn. 242 (1988); Delaney v. Delaney, 35 Conn. Supp. 230 (Super. Ct. 1979)

Chapter 5 of the book covers getting in, and whether you are in at all.

The property system

Connecticut is one of forty-one equitable distribution jurisdictions. Equitable distribution. Each of you owns what’s in your own name during the marriage. At a divorce a judge divides the marital property as the judge finds equitable, which is not a promise of half. Chapter 11 of the book covers what that means, and Chapter 22 covers what happens to it when you move.

What counts as marital. Connecticut is an all-property state with no marital or separate category. At the decree, the judge may assign to either spouse all or part of the other’s estate, including premarital and inherited property. The judge weighs listed factors, and property is valued as of the dissolution date.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-81(a), (c); Krafick v. Krafick, 234 Conn. 783 (1995); Sunbury v. Sunbury, 216 Conn. 673 (1990)

An inheritance that touches a joint account

A judge can reach it either way. The judge can divide inherited money whether or not it touched a joint account. In one case a husband moved inherited funds into joint accounts, and the appellate court held that it did not need to decide whether he made a gift, because inheritance is part of a spouse’s estate and can be assigned.
Karen v. Parciak-Karen, 40 Conn. App. 697 (1996); Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-81(a)

Chapter 12 explains how mine becomes ours.

Your spouse’s medical bills (Article 5)

Both of you can be liable from the first dollar. By statute each spouse has a joint duty to support the family, and both are liable for reasonable and necessary physician and dentist services, hospital expenses of either spouse or a minor child living in the family, the rent of their home, and articles that went to the family’s support. Exceptions apply during a separation in which reasonable support was provided and for a spouse who abandoned the other without cause.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-37(b), (d), (e)

Chapter 8 of the book explains the three ways states handle this.

If one of you dies (Article 9)

The surviving spouse may elect a statutory share equal to a life estate in one-third of the property passing under the will, after debts. The share reaches only the probate estate, not non-probate assets.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-436(a)

Chapter 9 covers what a will can and can’t take away from a spouse.

Prenups and postnups (Article 12)

Two looks, under Connecticut Premarital Agreement Act (own variant of the UPAA), Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 46b-36a to 46b-36j, for agreements signed on or after Oct. 1, 1995. A premarital agreement is unenforceable if not signed voluntarily, if unconscionable when signed or when enforcement is sought, if the challenger did not receive fair and reasonable disclosure of the other party’s property, obligations and income, or if the challenger had no reasonable opportunity to consult independent counsel. Postnuptial agreements get stricter scrutiny: they must satisfy contract principles, be fair and equitable when signed, and not be unconscionable at dissolution.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-36g(a); Bedrick v. Bedrick, 300 Conn. 691 (2011)

What an agreement needs. The agreement must be in writing and signed by both parties and needs no consideration; there is no notary, witness or waiting-period requirement. Each party must receive fair and reasonable disclosure of the amount, character and value of the other’s property, obligations and income and have a reasonable opportunity to consult with independent counsel, and a court may order support despite a waiver that would leave a spouse on public assistance.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-36c; § 46b-36g(a)(3), (a)(4), (b)

Chapter 29 explains one look and two, and what makes agreements stick.

Children (Article 8)

Child support: income shares. The guidelines use the Income Shares Model. Support ends at 18, or for a full-time high school student at 12th grade or 19, whichever comes first. A judge may also order college support for up to four academic years until age 23, capped at UConn’s in-state charges unless the parents agree otherwise.
Regs. Conn. State Agencies § 46b-215a-1 et seq. (effective Aug. 1, 2026); Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 46b-84(b), 46b-56c

Moving away with a child. After a custody judgment, a parent whose move would significantly affect the parenting plan must prove three things by a preponderance: a legitimate purpose, a location reasonable for that purpose, and the child’s best interests. The statute sets no advance-notice period. At the initial judgment, the ordinary best-interests standard applies.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-56d

Chapter 17 covers the children.

Getting out (Article 2)

How long you must live here before filing: no minimum. A spouse can file as soon as either spouse lives in Connecticut. The decree requires one of three things: 12 months of residence by one spouse before filing or before the decree; one spouse domiciled in Connecticut at the wedding who returned before filing; or a cause that arose after either spouse moved in.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-44(a), (c); Carchrae v. Carchrae, 10 Conn. App. 566 (1987)

How long it takes. A judge can dissolve the marriage on a finding that it has broken down irretrievably, even if one spouse objects. A contested trial cannot begin until 90 days after the return date, which falls at least 12 days after service. A default takes at least 30 days after the return date. A full agreement can skip the wait.
Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 46b-40(c)(1), 46b-44(c), 46b-67(a), 52-46; P.A. 23-46; Joy v. Joy, 178 Conn. 254 (1979)

The legal minimum for a spouse who moves here alone and files as soon as allowed, with no minor children and the other spouse objecting, is about 365 days from arrival to a final decree (365 days of residence before decree; 12 days service to return date + 90 to contested trial run inside it). Courts often take longer.

Chapter 22 covers what changes when you move.

Each entry on this page comes from the statute, rule or case it cites, read in September or November 2026, except where the entry says it has not been checked. A rule can change after that, and a rule on paper can play out differently in a particular courthouse. No lawyer reviews these pages.

If you practice family law in Connecticut and would like to correct or contribute to this page, write to me.

Meanwhile

• The default contract, with the options states choose among. Read it with a Connecticut lawyer, or paste it into a chatbot along with “I live in Connecticut” and treat what comes back as a list of questions, not answers.
• Three contracts you could sign instead.
• A worksheet for reading it together, and every state’s Luck of the Draw score.
• Corrections, including changes in the law since the book went to press.
• About the book.