The grounds for a Connecticut divorce are:
- The marriage has broken down irretrievably;
- 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 and that there is no reasonable prospect that they will be reconciled;
- Adultery;
- Fraudulent contract;
- Willful desertion for one year with total neglect of duty;
- Seven years’ absence, during all of which period the absent party has not been heard from;
- Habitual intemperance;
- Intolerable cruelty;
- Sentence to imprisonment for life or the commission of any infamous crime involving a violation of conjugal duty and punishable by imprisonment for a period in excess of one year;
- Legal confinement in a hospital or hospitals or other similar institution or institutions, because of mental illness, for at least an accumulated period totaling five years within the period of six years next preceding the date of the complaint.
In 1973, Connecticut adopted “no fault” divorce and since then just about every marriage is dissolved based on irretrievable breakdown. But this does not mean that fault is not important in a Connecticut divorce.
Contrary to what many spouses think, fault (if it’s the cause of the breakdown of the marriage) is quite relevant in terms of alimony, property distribution and the assignment of debts/liabilities. It can also be relevant when deciding child custody.
Irretrievable breakdown – that’s usually the ground that is alleged.
Please contact me to discuss grounds for a Connecticut divorce.