Divorce in Connecticut

1. Waiting period

   90 days (contested trial only)

   Since 2023 Connecticut has no general 90-day waiting period: a contested divorce trial cannot start until at least 90 days after the return date, while uncontested and default cases follow shorter timelines.^[1]

   Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-67(a) · checked October 26, 2026

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   “(C) no trial of a contested action for dissolution of marriage or legal separation shall commence until at least ninety days after the return date.”

   “P.A. 23-46 substantially revised Subsec. (a) by deleting provisions re 90-day waiting period and prescribing new time periods for court to proceed on complaint for dissolution of marriage or legal separation”

2. Residency requirement

   12 months (to finalize)

   A divorce complaint can be filed once either spouse lives in Connecticut, but the decree requires one spouse to have lived there for 12 months before filing or before the decree, unless an exception applies.^[1]

   Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-44 · checked October 26, 2026

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   “One of the parties to the marriage has been a resident of this state for at least the twelve months next preceding the date of the filing of the complaint or next preceding the date of the decree”

3. No-fault divorce

   Yes, fault grounds also exist

   A divorce is granted if the marriage has broken down irretrievably, or if the spouses lived apart for incompatibility for 18 months with no reasonable prospect of reconciliation; fault grounds such as adultery and intolerable cruelty also remain.^[1]

   Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-40(c) · checked October 26, 2026

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   “(1) The marriage has broken down irretrievably; (2) the parties have lived apart by reason of incompatibility for a continuous period of at least the eighteen months immediately prior to the service of the complaint”

4. Property division

   Equitable distribution (court assigns by statutory factors)

   At divorce the Superior Court may assign to either spouse all or part of the other's estate, weighing factors such as length of the marriage, causes of the divorce, each spouse's income, needs and contributions.^[1]

   Community property in Connecticut: the statute quoted →

   Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-81 · checked October 26, 2026

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   “the Superior Court may assign to either spouse all or any part of the estate of the other spouse.”

5. Court mediation for custody

   Not yet verified

   Start with this official source.

6. Court mediation fees

   Not yet verified

   Start with this official source.

7. Alimony

   Court decides from listed factors

   Connecticut courts decide whether to award alimony, and its length and amount, after considering the evidence and statutory factors such as the length of the marriage, the causes of the breakdown, each spouse’s age, health, income, earning capacity, employability, estate and needs, and the property award. The statute sets no formula or numeric limit.

   Alimony in Connecticut, with the statute quoted →

8. Divorce rate

   2.5 per 1,000 residents (2024)

   Connecticut’s courts granted 2.5 divorces per 1,000 residents in 2024, down from 3.3 in 2000; the U.S. rate was 2.3. In the Census Bureau’s 2024 survey, 6.7 of every 1,000 women 15 and older in Connecticut divorced in the past year (±1.2; U.S. 6.9), a different measure.^[3][4]

   Divorce rates by state, with sources → · CDC/NCHS NVSS; Census ACS · checked October 27, 2026

Estimate your divorce cost in Connecticut: mediation vs. court →

How child support is calculated in Connecticut →

Mediators per 100,000: MediationList listings from official court and government rosters in Connecticut (28) ÷ population (3,675,069, U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 county population estimates (July 1, 2024)) × 100,000, the same figure as mediator statistics.^[2]