Connecticut Law on Divorce, Child Custody and Support

If you have questions about divorce, legal separation, alimony pendente lite, or alimony in Connecticut, please feel free to call the experienced divorce attorneys at Maya Murphy, P.C. in Westport today at 203-221-3100 or email Joseph C. Maya, Esq. at JMaya@Mayalaw.com.

In any controversy before the Superior Court regarding the custody or care of minor children, and at any time after the return day of any complaint for divorce, annulment or legal separation, the court with jurisdiction may make or modify any proper order regarding the custody, care, education, visitation and support of the children.

Parenting Education Programs

A parenting education program refers to a course designed by the Judicial Department to educate persons, including unmarried parents, on the impact on children of the restructuring of families. The course shall include, but not be limited to, information on the developmental stages of children, adjustment of children to parental separation, dispute resolution and conflict management, guidelines for visitation, stress reduction in children and cooperative parenting.

The court shall order any party to an action related to family matters, except actions related to family abuse and juvenile issues, to participate in a parenting education program whenever a minor child is involved in the action, unless the following is true:

• The parties agree, subject to court approval, not to participate in this program;
• The court, on motion, determines that participation is not deemed necessary; or
• The parties select and participate in a comparable parenting education program.

Custody:

The court may assign parental responsibility for raising the child to the parents jointly, or may award custody to either parent or to a third party, according to its best judgment upon the facts of the case and subject to such conditions and limitations as it deems fair. There is a presumption that joint custody is in the best interests of a minor child when the parents have agreed to an award of joint custody and if it declines to do so, the court shall state in its decision the reasons for denial of joint custody.

Joint custody awards legal custody of the minor child to both parents, providing for joint decision-making by the parents and provides that physical custody will be shared by the parents in such a way as to assure the child of continuing contact with both parents. The court may award joint legal custody without awarding joint physical custody when the parents have agreed to only joint legal custody.

The court may also make any order granting the right of visitation of any child to a third party to the action, including, but not limited to, grandparents.

When making or modifying any custody order, the court shall consider the best interest of the child and while doing so may consider one or more of the following factors:

• The temperament and developmental needs of the child;
• The capacity and the disposition of the parents to understand and meet the needs of the child;
• Any relevant and material information obtained from the child, including his/her informed preferences;
• The wishes of the child’s parents regarding custody;
• The past and current interaction and relationship of the child with each parent, the child’s siblings and any other person who may significantly affect the best interests of the child;
• The willingness and ability of each parent to facilitate and encourage such continuing parent-child relationship between the child and the other parent as is appropriate, including compliance with any court orders;
• Any manipulation by or coercive behavior of the parents in an effort to involve the child in the parents’ dispute;
• The ability of each parent to be actively involved in the child’s life;
• The child’s adjustment to his/her home, school and community environments;
• The length of time that the child has lived in a stable and satisfactory environment and the desirability of maintaining continuity in such environment, provided the court may consider favorably a parent who voluntarily leaves the child’s family home pending the ongoing litigation, in order to alleviate stress in the household;
• The stability of the child’s existing or proposed residences, or both;
• The mental and physical health of all individuals involved, except that a disability of a proposed custodial parent or other party, in and of itself, shall not be determinative of custody unless the proposed custodial arrangement is not in the best interests of the child;
• The child’s cultural background;
• The effect of the actions of an abuser on the child, if any domestic violence has occurred between the parents or between a parent and another individual or the child;
• Whether the child or a sibling of the child has been abused or neglected; and
• Whether the party satisfactorily completed participation in a parenting education program.

The court is not required to assign any weight to any of the factors that it considers. As part of a decision concerning custody or visitation, the court may order either or both parents and the child of the parents to participate in counseling and drug or alcohol screening, provided that this participation is in the best interests of the child.

When making its determination, the court shall consider the rights and responsibilities of both parents and shall enter orders that serve the best interest of the child and provide the child with the active and consistent involvement of both parents in proportion with their abilities and interests.

These orders may include the following:

• Approval of a parental responsibility plan agreed to by the parents;
• The award of joint parental responsibility of a minor child to both parents which shall include provisions for residential arrangements with each parent in accordance with the needs of the child and the parents, and provisions for consultation between the parents and for the making of major decisions regarding the child’s health, education and religious upbringing;
• The award of sole custody to one parent with appropriate parenting for the noncustodial parent where sole custody is in the best interests of the child; or
• Any other custody arrangements as the court may determine to be in the best interests of the child.

The proposed parental responsibility plan shall include, at a minimum, the following information:

• A schedule of the physical residence of the child during the year;
• Provisions allocating decision-making authority to one or both parents regarding the child’s health, education and religious upbringing;
• Provisions for the resolution of future disputes between the parents, including the involvement of a mental health professional or other parties to assist the parents in reaching a developmentally appropriate resolution to the disputes, when appropriate;
• Provisions for dealing with the parents’ failure to honor their responsibilities under the plan;
• Provisions for dealing with the child’s changing needs as the child grows and matures; and
• Provisions for minimizing the child’s exposure to harmful parental conflict, encouraging the parents in appropriate circumstances to meet their responsibilities through agreements, and protecting the best interests of the child.

Support/Maintenance:

In determining whether a child is in need of support and, if in need, the respective abilities of the parents to provide support and the amount needed, the court shall take into consideration the following factors:

• Age and health of each parent;
• Station, occupation and earning capacity of each parent;
• The amount and sources of income of each parent;
• The vocational skills and employability of each parent; and
• The age, health, station, occupation, educational status and expectation, amount and sources of income,

Connecticut uses the Income Shares Model in determining child support. The formula uses the net monthly income of the parents and the number of children for whom support will be ordered, with adjustments for health insurance payments and child support paid by either parent for other children.

The court shall include a provision for the health care coverage of the child in each support order. This provision may include an order for either or both parents to provide this coverage by any or all of the following methods:

• As a beneficiary of any medical or dental insurance or benefit plan carried by the parent or available to the parent at a reasonable cost;
• Apply for and maintain coverage on behalf of the child under the HUSKY Plan, Part B, or provide cash medical support, only if the cost to the parent is reasonable; and
• An order for payment of the child’s medical and dental expenses that are not covered by insurance or reimbursed in any other manner, in accordance with the child support guidelines.

If there is an unmarried child of the marriage who has attained 18 years of age and is a full-time high school student, the parents shall maintain the child according to their respective abilities if the child is in need of it until he/she completes 12th grade or reaches the age of 19 years, whichever occurs first.

Educational Support Order:

An education support order is an order requiring a parent to provide support for a child or children to attend an institution of higher education or a private occupational school for up to a total of four full academic years to attain a bachelor’s or other undergraduate degree, or other vocational instruction.

This type of order may be entered with respect to any child who has not attained 23 years of age and will terminate no later than the date that the child attains 23 years of age.

Jurisdiction over Nonresident:

In a proceeding to establish or enforce a support order, the Connecticut court may exercise personal jurisdiction over a nonresident individual if one of the following occurs:

• The individual is personally served with process within Connecticut;
• The individual submits to the jurisdiction of Connecticut by consent in a record, by entering a general appearance and failing to object to jurisdiction in a timely manner, or by filing a responsive document having the effect of waiving any contest to personal jurisdiction;
• The individual resided with the child in Connecticut;
• The individual resided in Connecticut and provided prenatal expenses or support for the child;
• The child resides in Connecticut as a result of the acts or directives of the individual;
• The individual engaged in sexual intercourse in Connecticut and the child may have been conceived by that act of intercourse; or
• There is any other basis consistent with the Connecticut and U.S Constitutions for the exercise of personal jurisdiction.

For a free consultation, please do not hesitate to call the experienced family law and divorce attorneys at Maya Murphy, P.C. in Westport, CT at 203-221-3100. We may also be reached for inquiries by email at JMaya@mayalaw.com.

Source: HG Legal Resources