Legal Articles, Divorce & Family Law
Court Transfers Guardianship of Child to Maternal Grandmother
In a case involving the the transfer of guardianship, the Court granted a mother’s motion to transfer guardianship to the child’s maternal grandmother. DCF initially became involved in the matter after receiving reports that the parents were engaging in domestic violence and substance abuse. Although the Court originally entered an order of protective supervision, DCF later invoked a 96 hour hold and sought an Order of Temporary Custody following a subsequent altercation between the parents. The Court sustained that OTC and the child was committed to the care of the Department.
Court Rules that Evidence of Prior Actions May Be Used to Substantiate Neglect
In an appeal involving Substantiate Neglect, the Court (Cohn, J.), explained that in the context of DCF proceedings, evidence of prior actions may be used to substantiate physical neglect. In that particular case, the appellant and his wife had a history of engaging in domestic violence, and one of their children reported constant yelling which made her stomach hurt.
Request for Attorneys’ Fees in Divorce Hearing Denied: Court Finds that Wife “Cannot be Rewarded for Her Own Financial Indiscretions.”
The Superior Court in the Judicial District of Fairfield (Owens, JTR) issued a decision following a contested post-judgment divorce hearing in which an ex-wife, of whom had financial indiscretions, sought attorneys’ fees from her ex-husband in an amount of “not less than $50,000.00.”
Alimony: Court Orders Father to Pay College Tuition Up to Full UCONN Cap
A Connecticut Appellate Court decision emphasizes the importance of formulating clear and unambiguous language when crafting an alimony agreement regarding the payment of college expenses under Connecticut General Statutes §46b-56. In Loso v. Loso, 132 Conn. App. 257 (2011), the parties entered into a post-judgment agreement pursuant to which the defendant is obligated “to pay for one-half the cost of [his daughter’s] college educational expenses for a four year degree net of scholarships or grants subject to the limitation that said cost shall not exceed the tuition for a full-time residential student at UCONN-Storrs.”
Courts Permitted to Award Time Limited Alimony for Rehabilitative Purposes
In determining whether alimony should be awarded - as well as the duration and amount of the award - there are several statutory criteria that must be considered. Although these well-settled factors provide courts and litigants with some direction, there is no precise formula, and judges are afforded significant discretion is fashioning support awards. In a recent appellate decision, the Court pointed out that in exercising such discretion, trial judges may consider whether time limited alimony is appropriate merely for rehabilitative purposes in cases where a future event will enable an ex-spouse to become self-sufficient.
Court Awards Wife Alimony in Addition to a Portion of Husband’s Business
It is well recognized that in dissolution actions, a trial court may exercise broad discretion when dividing property and awarding alimony, as long as it considers all relevant statutory criteria. For many reasons, one of which is that a trial judge has the benefit of observing witnesses first hand, an appellate court will not disturb a trial court’s decision unless there has been a clear abuse of discretion.
This of course is a very heavy burden for an appellant to satisfy, but the standard makes sense, and is not insurmountable. That being said, the appellate process presents its own challenges and to the extent an appellate court may exercise its own discretion to arrive at a desired result, it can be relatively unpredictable.
Court Issues $20,000 Monthly Alimony Award in Stamford Divorce
In Cunningham v. Cunningham, Superior Court, Judicial District of Stamford-Norwalk at Stamford, Docket No. FA094017494S (March 9, 2011, Shay, J.), the plaintiff wife and defendant husband were married for approximately twenty-two years, and had two minor children. At the time of the divorce, one child was enrolled in college and the other was in high school. The parties both lived in Stamford, Connecticut and went to court to negotiate an alimony agreement.
Earning Capacity: Alimony and the Invisible Paycheck
Things change. Incomes rise and fall, jobs come and go, marriages last…and some of them do not. In an economy where the only constant is unpredictability, a theme of increasing frequency in divorce litigation is the difficulty in calculating appropriate alimony or child support figures when earning capacity is taken into account. When a breadwinner has fallen on hard times – late in a marriage, during a divorce, or immediately thereafter – and is constrained to take a cut in income, should support figures be based on what he or she now earns, or should they instead be based upon what could be earned given that person’s experience, education, credentials, and marketability?
Relocation: A Concise Summary of Connecticut Law
If you are reading this article, chances are you are interested in relocating with your child, or, would like to prevent your spouse, or ex-spouse, from relocating with your child. The following is meant to serve as a concise explanation of the laws which govern relocation cases in the State of Connecticut. As the analysis employed during divorce proceedings is quite different than the analysis utilized in the post-judgment context, the laws governing each scenario are addressed separately.
Court Enters 10 Year Alimony Award in Wilton Divorce
In Brush v. Brush, Superior Court, Judicial District of Stamford-Norwalk at Stamford, Docket No. FA104019594S (Dec. 15, 2011, Shay, J.), the plaintiff wife and the defendant husband were married for approximately 21 years, and were the parents of two minor children. During the divorce, the children - ages ten and fifteen - resided in the marital home in Wilton, Connecticut pursuant to a bird nesting arrangement which the parties agreed upon as part of an alimony and parenting plan.
