Connecticut divorce residency requirements can be confusing.
Even to a judge. More on that below.
In order for a Connecticut Court to grant a divorce, legal separation or annulment one of the following must be true:
(1) One of the parties to the marriage must have 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; or
(2) One of the parties was domiciled in Connecticut at the time of the marriage and returned to Connecticut with the intention of permanently remaining here before the filing of the divorce; or
(3) The cause for the dissolution of the marriage (divorce) arose after either party moved into Connecticut.
Back to judges being confused. I recently had a case in which I represented a wife. She lived out of state however the husband resided in Connecticut for the last year. So the residency requirement was satisfied. Easy enough right? Not so fast. The judge stated that since the wife was the party that filed for divorce then she must live here. I was puzzled. I think other lawyers in the court room were too.
Ultimately, we were able to collaborate and get it done. I assume that the judge was thrown off because usually the spouse who files for divorce lives here. But the statute makes it clear that only one the parties needs to meet the residency requirement.
Connecticut Divorce Residency Requirements
I represent clients in Connecticut Family Court and Divorce proceedings through out Fairfield County including those who reside in Easton, Fairfield, Monroe, Trumbull, Stratford, Bridgeport, Westport, Weston, New Canaan, Wilton, Norwalk, Darien, Stamford and Greenwich.
Please email me or call me in Stamford at (203) 356-1475 or in Fairfield at (203) 259-5251 if you have questions about Connecticut divorce residency requirements.
For years, the payer of alimony has been able to deduct alimony payments from gross income. The recipient then reported the support as his or her own taxable income.
The alimony deduction rule has allowed an effective tax break for divorced families. The rule has been fair because the entire concept of graduated tax rates is that households who earn more can afford to pay a higher tax rate. The alimony deduction rule ultimately taxed alimony income at the rate of the recipient’s household, which would actually spend the income, rather than at the rate of the payer’s household, which would simply pay it over to the recipient. The net effect of this structure has been that payers could pay a little more alimony due to the tax deduction, and recipients could keep a little more after taxes, because of their typically lower tax bracket.
When deciding alimony amounts, Connecticut recognized that alimony payers were able to deduct their payments from income at tax time.
Alimony Orders Will Decrease
If Connecticut judges used the same alimony formula for post-2018 alimony orders as they awarded for prior orders, newly divorced recipients would get to keep a lot more, 100% of what they receive, tax-free from federal income tax. And payers would have to bear the full out-of-pocket payment cost of the new orders. It would simply not be fair for a new payer to pay the same amount in after-tax dollars as a payer in the same circumstance paid in tax-deductible dollars before alimony tax changes took effect.
How Much Will Alimony Decrease?
That’s the ultimate question. I expect judges and attorneys to wrestle with alimony tax changes well into 2019 and perhaps beyond as different approaches are utilized. I think one way would be to equally divide the actual added cost in income taxes between the two former spouses. In other words, run two different scenarios – 2018 and 2019 tax figures. Calculate how much the alimony payer would have saved each year under the prior alimony tax rule. Then calculate how much extra tax the alimony recipient would have paid under the prior alimony tax rule. Averaging the two numbers and decreasing the alimony amount by the resulting number will equalize the actual tax cost of the lost alimony deduction.
Stamford and Fairfield Alimony Tax Attorney
I represent clients in Connecticut Family Court and Divorce proceedings though out Fairfield County including those who reside in Easton, Fairfield, Monroe, Trumbull, Stratford, Bridgeport, Westport, Weston, New Canaan, Wilton, Norwalk, Darien, Stamford and Greenwich.
Please email me or call me in Stamford at (203) 356-1475 or in Fairfield at (203) 259-5251 if you have questions about alimony tax changes in a Connecticut divorce.
Dividing property in Connecticut divorce is a major concern for many spouses.
Connecticut is an an “equitable distribution” state. Equitable in this context means what is fair. It does not necessarily mean equal. In some cases the property is divided equally but in other cases there is a different distribution. The analysis is fact dependent.
Pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-81, here are the factors a divorce judge must consider:
- The length of the marriage;
- The causes for the annulment, dissolution of the marriage or legal separation;
- The age, health, station, occupation of the parties;
- The amount and sources of income;
- Vocational skills;
- Employability;
- Estate, liabilities and needs of each of the parties;
- The opportunity of each for future acquisition of capital assets and income; and
- The contribution of each of the parties in the acquisition, preservation or appreciation in value of their respective estates.
The judge must consider these all factors however the judge does not have to give each equal weight. Judges vary on the importance of each factor. For example, the causes for the divorce (i.e. fault) will be evaluated differently by one judge to the next. Some judges rarely use this ground when dividing property while others will factor it in if the fault was serious enough. And what is “serious” or “significant” enough will – you guessed it – vary.
Length of the marriage is almost always an important factor. The longer the marriage – the more likely it is that the judge will divide property equally.
Stamford and Fairfield Dividing Property Attorney
I represent clients in Connecticut Family Court and Divorce proceedings through out Fairfield County including those who reside in Easton, Fairfield, Monroe, Trumbull, Stratford, Bridgeport, Westport, Weston, New Canaan, Wilton, Norwalk, Darien, Stamford and Greenwich.
Please email me or call me in Stamford at (203) 356-1475 or in Fairfield at (203) 259-5251 if you have questions about a dividing property in a Connecticut divorce.
A motorcycle accident that killed the victim’s fiancee has settled her case for $13.6 million after dash cam footage showed the other driver, who was operating a garbage truck, was not paying attention.
The victim was a passenger on a motorcycle when it collided in July 2016 with a garbage truck operated by a man who crossed into oncoming traffic. According to her lawsuit, the Plaintiff suffered a traumatic brain injury and underwent 22 surgeries on her left leg.
Her fiancee died almost instantly.
The driver of the truck apparently was unfamiliar with the garbage route and was listening to directions on his GPS device when the crash occurred.
Today, the surviving victim needs the help of her daughter and others to get around. She is reliant on a wheelchair and walker. She can move around her house, but her ability to get from her home to the car or to travel anywhere is all dependent on others around her.
An orthopedic surgeon was retained to examine her and to independently look at her medical records. A life care planner, whose job it is to take someone’s current physical condition and project ahead what their future medical costs will be, was also hired. The planner estimated the victim’s care to be about $4.5 million over the course of her life.
The garbage truck driver pleaded guilty to negligent homicide with a commercial vehicle. He received a six-month suspended prison sentence followed by 18 months’ probation, and had his license suspended for 30 days.
I represent motorcycle accident victims throughout Fairfield County including Easton, Fairfield, Monroe, Trumbull, Stratford, Bridgeport, Westport, Weston, New Canaan, Wilton, Norwalk, Darien, Stamford and Greenwich.
Contact me online or call my Fairfield office at (203) 259-5251 or my Stamford office at (203) 356-1475 today schedule a free consultation.
A dog bite victim from Pawcatuck, who was bitten repeatedly by a yellow Labrador retriever and suffered injuries to his right forearm and right upper thigh settled his lawsuit for $320,000.
The victim was attacked by the 2-year-old dog after he went to a neighbor’s house to pick up his young son from a play date in June 2016. He had petted the dog without incident when he dropped off his son earlier.
He went to pet the dog and, out of nowhere, the dog grabbed on to his arms. There was blood all over the place and then the dog attacked again. The attacks all happened in a matter of seconds.
The victim ended up having 24 stitches on his forearm. He also had injuries to his thigh. Although, not directly related to this case, many dog bite victims have emotional and diagnosed psychological issues as a result of dog attack. Many victims undergo extensive counseling and have a perpetual of dogs. These emotional scars should be factored into any settlement.
The defense attorney claimed that the dog bite injuries and damages were the result of his own conduct in that he was teasing, tormenting or abusing such dog.
The medical reports bolstered his case. For instance, they showed diminished grip strength, permanent pain, and discoloration of his injury sites after activities such as lifting or working in the yard.
Of the agreed-on settlement, about $260,000 was paid by the dog owner’s home insurance policy carrier. Home owner’s insurance is almost the source of payment for a dog bite victim.
I represent dog bite victims throughout Fairfield County including Easton, Fairfield, Monroe, Trumbull, Stratford, Bridgeport, Westport, Weston, New Canaan, Wilton, Norwalk, Darien, Stamford and Greenwich.
Contact me online or call my Fairfield office at (203) 259-5251 or my Stamford office at (203) 356-1475 to schedule a free consultation today.
A dog attack where a woman was bitten in the face by a friend’s dog after she went to pet it has been awarded over $364,000 by an arbitrator. The dog had bitten three other people before this incident and was put down soon after the incident.
The injured woman needed 26 stitches to her face, after the 35-pound Portuguese water dog attacked her as she entered her friend’s home to pick up her daughter from a play date. She immediately ran to the bathroom with extensive bleeding. Paramedics arrived quickly transported her quickly to a Level 1 trauma facility at Hartford Hospital.
The victim also had plastic surgery on her face and several injections to heal the scar. Two plastic surgeons testified at the hearing and agreed that the scar was permanent.
An arbitrator awarded the injured woman $14,094 in past economic damages; $150,000 in past non-economic damages and $200,000 in future non-economic damages. The total award of $364,094 was paid by the homeowners insurance policy holder.
This type of case highlights that someone injured in a dog attack can be compensated for past and present medical bills as well as psychological trauma from the incident.
Sometimes victims are reluctant to bring a claim against a family member or friend. However, as mentioned above, the source of payment here (as in most cases) was the dog owner’s homeowner’s insurance.
Stamford Dog Attack Attorney
I represent imjured clients in Connecticut though out Fairfield County including Easton, Fairfield, Monroe, Trumbull, Stratford, Bridgeport, Westport, Weston, New Canaan, Wilton, Norwalk, Darien, Stamford and Greenwich.
Please email me or call me in Stamford at (203) 356-1475 or in Fairfield at (203) 259-5251 for a free case evaluation if you have been a victim of a dog attack or suffered any type of personal injury.
Source: Glastonbury Woman Bitten in Face by Dog Gets $364,094 in Arbitration | Connecticut Law Tribune