GLASTONBURY, CONNECTICUT · FAMILY LAW + FAMILY-VIOLENCE DEFENSE

Uncontested Divorce in Connecticut

An uncontested divorce is one where both spouses agree on everything that has to be decided — how property and debt are divided, whether anyone pays alimony, and if there are children, custody, parenting time, and support.

It is not the same as a divorce where nobody is fighting yet. Agreement means agreement on the terms that will go into a judgment.

How long it takes now

Connecticut no longer has a general 90-day waiting period. That requirement was removed effective October 1, 2023, and most of what you will read elsewhere — including on other firms’ websites — has not been updated.

Under the current version of C.G.S. §46b-67, the court may proceed on the complaint after the second day following the return date. What remains are narrower rules:

  • If your spouse does not appear and was served personally or at their home, no judgment until at least 30 days after the return date.
  • If your spouse does not appear and was served another way, a hearing at least 60 days after the return date.
  • A contested trial cannot begin until at least 90 days after the return date — but that is about trials, not agreed cases.

In practice, an agreed case now moves considerably faster than it could before 2023. How fast depends on the court’s calendar and on how quickly the required paperwork is complete.

What still has to happen

Agreement does not eliminate the process. A Connecticut divorce still requires:

Filing and service

A complaint, served on your spouse, with a return date set.

Financial affidavits

Both spouses file sworn statements of income, expenses, assets, and debts. This is not optional and it is not a formality — the court reviews the agreement against them.

A written agreement

Covering every issue, in terms specific enough to be enforced years later. This is where the real work is, and where vague language causes problems long after the case closes.

Court review

Under C.G.S. §46b-66, the court reviews the agreement and incorporates it only if it finds it fair and equitable. A judge can decline to approve an agreement, and does.

Parenting education

C.G.S. §46b-69b requires the court to order both parties to a case involving a minor child to complete a parenting education program, unless the parties agree otherwise with the court’s approval, the court finds it unnecessary, or the parties complete a comparable program. The fee is paid directly to the provider and can be waived for inability to pay — no one is excluded from the program for being unable to pay. The 60-day deadline people refer to comes from the automatic orders in Practice Book §25-5, not from the statute.

What makes a case stop being uncontested

Most of these are discoverable early, which is why a consultation before you have agreed to terms is worth more than one after:

  • One spouse does not actually know what the marital estate contains
  • A business, pension, or asset nobody has valued
  • A house one spouse plans to keep without confirming they can refinance alone
  • Terms about children that sound fine now and will not work in three years
  • An agreement so lopsided the court will not approve it

Why having a lawyer still matters here

The risk in an uncontested divorce is not conflict. It is signing something enforceable that you do not fully understand — particularly on property, which cannot be modified later, and on whether alimony is modifiable, which the judgment has to say.

One lawyer cannot represent both spouses. The firm can represent one of you and prepare an agreement the other is free to review with their own counsel.

TALK TO THE FIRM

Every case starts with a conversation.

Every case starts with a conversation about what you’re facing and what it would take to handle it.

2837-A Main Street, Glastonbury, CT 06033