GLASTONBURY, CONNECTICUT · FAMILY LAW + FAMILY-VIOLENCE DEFENSE
A divorce judgment describes a family at one moment. Jobs change, children grow, people move, and a schedule that worked at the time stops working. Connecticut allows most orders to be changed — but not by agreement between the parties alone, and not retroactively to cover the months you waited.
The single most expensive misunderstanding in this area: an order stays in force until a court changes it. Nothing adjusts on its own.
Attorney Daniel M. Morton handles post-judgment modification from an office in Glastonbury.
The standard depends on what you are asking to change, and Connecticut does not use one test for everything.
For alimony and child support, C.G.S. §46b-86(a) requires a substantial change in circumstances since the last order — something meaningful that has altered the picture the court relied on. For custody, the test is a material change in circumstances affecting the child, with the outcome decided on best interests. For a change to parenting time alone, there is no threshold requirement to show changed circumstances at all; the court is guided by the child’s best interests.
That last distinction matters more than it sounds. A parent who wants a different schedule does not have to prove anything changed first.
Changes that commonly qualify:
Changes that usually do not, standing alone:
For child support there is a second route: a showing that the existing order substantially deviates from the guidelines, with a rebuttable presumption that a deviation of 15% or more is substantial and that a deviation of less than 15% is not. That matters where an order is several years old and incomes have drifted, even without a single dramatic event.
This deserves its own section because it costs people more than anything else on this page.
If you lose your job in March and file a motion in September, you owe the original amount for those six months. The arrears accrue. A court can generally modify back to the date the motion was served — not back to the date your circumstances changed.
The statute allows a court, in its discretion, to make a modification retroactive to the date notice of the pending motion was served on the other party under C.G.S. §52-50 — not the date it was filed, and not the date circumstances changed. Retroactive relief is not automatic even then.
The practical rule: act when the change happens, and get the motion served. A motion can be resolved by agreement afterward. What it cannot do is reach back to cover the months before service.
A change to custody requires a material change in circumstances affecting the child, with the court then deciding what serves the child’s best interests under the same statutory factors that governed the original order. A change to parenting time alone does not carry that threshold requirement — the court goes directly to the child’s best interests.
Courts weigh stability heavily. A child who is doing well under the current arrangement is not moved because a parent’s situation has improved. What moves a court is evidence that the existing arrangement is no longer working for the child, or that circumstances have shifted in a way the original order did not contemplate.
Schedules also age out naturally. A plan built for a five-year-old rarely fits a fifteen-year-old with a job, a sport, and opinions. Those modifications are frequently agreed.
Whether alimony can be modified at all depends on what the judgment says. A judgment can make alimony non-modifiable as to amount, duration, or both — and if it does, a later change in circumstances generally will not reopen it, however dramatic.
Where alimony is modifiable, it is modified on the substantial change standard, with the court applying the same statutory factors that governed the original award.
Reading the judgment is the first step in any alimony modification question, and it is frequently the last one.
Not automatically, and the statute is narrower than most people expect.
Under C.G.S. §46b-86(b), a court may modify, suspend, or terminate alimony where the recipient is living with another person under circumstances that have changed the recipient’s financial needs. Both parts are required. A new relationship, even a serious one, is not enough on its own — the living arrangement has to have altered the recipient’s financial circumstances.
Two points worth knowing. The §46b-86(b) threshold is lower than the ordinary substantial-change standard, so cohabitation is a distinct and somewhat easier route where the facts support it. And the remedy is discretionary: a finding of cohabitation opens the door to modification, it does not mandate termination.
The property division. This is the hard line. Once a Connecticut judgment divides property, that division is final — it cannot be revisited because an asset turned out to be worth more or less than anyone thought, or because circumstances changed.
Property orders can still be enforced if someone fails to do what the judgment required. Enforcement and modification are different things, and confusing them wastes time.
A parent who wants to move with a child in a way that would significantly affect the existing parenting plan bears the full burden of proving three things: the move is for a legitimate purpose, the proposed location is reasonable in light of that purpose, and the relocation is in the child’s best interests.
That burden allocation applies after judgment. A relocation dispute arising while a divorce is still pending is decided under the ordinary best-interests standard instead.
Parents who agree on a change still need the court to approve it. An informal arrangement — “we agreed he’d pay less while she was out of work” — has no legal effect. The original order governs, arrears accrue on the difference, and years later one party produces a ledger.
Agreed modifications are straightforward and inexpensive relative to litigation. They also protect both people. The parent paying less gets credit for it; the parent receiving less has a record of why.
Note that agreed child support modifications are still reviewed against the guidelines. Parents cannot simply contract around the number.
Post-judgment motions return to the court that entered the judgment. For Glastonbury families, that is the Hartford Judicial District at 90 Washington Street in Hartford. Child support matters on the state child-support-services track are heard by a family support magistrate.
Living with a new partner does not automatically end alimony in Connecticut. What C.G.S. §46b-86(b) actually requires, for payers and recipients.
Read more
Changing custody requires a material change in circumstances. Changing the parenting schedule alone does not. What that difference means for you.
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Two routes to changing Connecticut child support: a substantial change in circumstances, or a substantial deviation from the guidelines.
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Whether Connecticut alimony can be changed depends first on what the judgment says. Non-modifiable means non-modifiable.
Read more
A job loss does not automatically reduce a Connecticut support order. What has to happen, and what the court considers before imputing income.
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If you both agree on a change, you still need a court order. Why informal arrangements fail, and what an agreed modification involves.
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Daniel M. Morton has been admitted in Connecticut since 2017, with roughly a decade of litigation experience including extensive post-judgment work. He handles modification matters from an office in Glastonbury.
For alimony and child support, a meaningful change since the last order — typically an involuntary income change, a change in a child’s needs, or a relocation. Custody uses a material change affecting the child. A request to change parenting time alone requires no threshold showing of changed circumstances and is decided on the child’s best interests.
No. The order stays in force and arrears accrue until the court modifies it. A court may, in its discretion, make a modification retroactive to the date the motion was served on the other party — not to the date the job ended — so acting promptly matters.
Only if the judgment did not make it non-modifiable, and then on a showing of a substantial change in circumstances. The judgment language is the starting point.
Not automatically. The court must find that the recipient is living with another person and that the arrangement has changed their financial needs. Even then, modification is discretionary.
No. Property division in a Connecticut judgment is final and not modifiable, though it can be enforced if a party fails to comply.
Yes. An informal agreement does not change the order. Arrears accrue on the difference, and the original order governs until the court approves a change.
Every case starts with a conversation about what you’re facing and what it would take to handle it.
