To file for divorce in Connecticut, you can work with an experienced divorce lawyer to outline your goals for the process, whether or not the process will be amicable, and how you want to divide property between you and your previous partner. Legal support makes it easier to answer these questions even as you undergo significant emotional upheaval.
If you want to pursue a no-fault divorce, a lawyer can prepare your paperwork and represent you in conversations about custody and property management. If you’re struggling with a contested divorce, your legal team can oversee mediations and protect your legal rights.
Reach out to a divorce lawyer in New Haven for help navigating your divorce proceeding, and read on to learn more about how to file for divorce in Connecticut.
Do You Meet Connecticut’s Residency Requirements?
If you want to file for divorce in Connecticut, you need to meet the state’s residency requirements. You can do this in one of the following three ways:
- Proving that at least one spouse resided legally in the state for 12 months before filing or finalizing a divorce
- Proving that at least one spouse lived in Connecticut when married, moved away, and then returned to live in Connecticut permanently
- Proving that the breakdown of the marriage specifically occurred in Connecticut
If you need help meeting Connecticut’s residency requirements, you can meet with a Connecticut divorce lawyer and discuss your circumstances.
For a legal consultation, call 203-288-7800
Do You Have the Legal Grounds to Pursue a Divorce?
Once you’ve proven residency, you can show that you have the legal grounds for divorce. If you want to pursue a no-fault divorce, you can waive this process. Connecticut does not require parties pursuing no-fault divorces to bring forward evidence of any wrongdoing. Instead, both parties must state that their marriage has undergone an irreconcilable breakdown.
Filing for an at-fault divorce is more complicated. You must bring forward enough evidence to prove clearly and reasonably that your partner’s misconduct broke down your marriage. Even then, that breakdown must fall under one of Connecticut’s approved reasons for divorce before your case can move forward.
These approved causes include the following:
- Willful desertion for over a year
- Lack of any form of communication for over seven years
- Adultery
- Fraudulent contract
- Imprisonment for life or related long-term criminal sentences
- Long-term mental hospitalization
- Habitual intemperance
- Intolerable cruelty
Have You Connected With a Connecticut Divorce Lawyer?
If you haven’t connected with a Connecticut divorce lawyer already, we recommend that you do so at this point. Discussing how to file for divorce in Connecticut gets considerably easier when you have an experienced legal professional on your side, even if you’re pursuing a no-fault divorce.
You can meet with our team members and discuss what outcomes you want from your divorce proceedings and what challenges you suspect may make proceedings more difficult. If you choose to work with our team, you can count on our representation in and out of family court. You may also benefit from our professional connections, which include access to mediators.
We Can Prepare Your Initial Documents
It takes a lot of paperwork to go through a divorce. Working with an attorney lets you put the responsibility for gathering and organizing that paperwork onto an experienced legal professional. To initiate a divorce, your attorney must serve and file the following:
- A divorce summons
- A divorce complaint, if you’re pursuing an at-fault divorce
- A notice of automatic orders
These documents should include:
- Proof of residency
- Information about your marriage
- Why you intend to pursue your divorce
- Any initial requests you have about child support, custody, and the division of property between you and your ex-spouse
Notably, if you’re pursuing a no-fault divorce, you don’t need these documents. You can instead complete a JD-FM-242, Connecticut’s Joint Petition-Nonadversarial Divorce.
We Can Respond to Divorce Summons and Complaints
If you are not the spouse who files divorce papers, you should receive a summons. You can work with your attorney to respond to those summons and discuss the merits of filing an appearance or a cross-complaint. You may also outline how you want to answer your summons.
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Our Connecticut Divorce Lawyers Put You First
No two divorce cases in Connecticut look alike. The amount of time it takes to bring a case to its resolution will vary depending on the availability of the courts, the complexity of the proceedings, and the participants’ willingness to communicate with one another. Fortunately, you can count on our Connecticut divorce lawyers to represent you every step of the way.
At Happy Even After, Your Peace Is Our Purpose™, and that has been true ever since we opened our doors nearly 20 years ago. Anyone who turns to us with questions about how to file for divorce in Connecticut can trust us to balance the logistics of the process with the compassion necessary to ease them through some of the most difficult days of their lives.
Our team believes that divorce proceedings should be accessible. That’s why we strive to answer all of our clients’ questions about the divorce process. It’s also why we continue to break down the logistics of the process once we’ve taken a case. You can learn more about our available services by contacting our experienced team today.
Call or text 203-288-7800 or complete a Legal Consultation form
