GLASTONBURY, CONNECTICUT · FAMILY LAW + FAMILY-VIOLENCE DEFENSE
Two alternatives to dissolution, used for different reasons and often confused with each other.
A decree of legal separation resolves the same issues a divorce does — property, support, and arrangements for children — but the parties remain married.
The financial orders have the same effect as in a dissolution. What does not happen is the termination of the marriage itself, which means neither spouse may remarry.
Religious conviction. Preserving a benefit that depends on marital status, where that is permitted — health insurance is the usual example, though plans vary and this should be confirmed with the plan rather than assumed. Or genuine uncertainty about whether the separation is final.
Under C.G.S. §46b-65, after a decree of legal separation either party may petition to have the court declare the marriage dissolved — unless the spouses have resumed marital relations. In practical terms, a legal separation can become a divorce without redoing the financial work.
An annulment declares that a valid marriage never existed, which is different from ending one that did.
Under C.G.S. §46b-40(b), the court grants an annulment where the marriage is void or voidable under the law of Connecticut or of the state where it was performed.
A void marriage was never valid — bigamy, or a marriage within the prohibited degrees of kinship under C.G.S. §46b-21. A voidable marriage is valid until a court annuls it, and the grounds include fraud or misrepresentation going to the essentials of the marriage, duress, and incapacity. Defects in the ceremony, such as an unauthorised officiant, can also support an annulment.
Annulments are far less common than people expect. A marriage is presumed valid and the burden of proof is high, and the length of the marriage is not the test.
Most people asking about legal separation want the practical result of a divorce without the finality, and are weighing something specific — a benefit, a belief, or an uncertainty. Most people asking about annulment want to know whether a short or recently discovered-to-be-flawed marriage can be erased, and usually the answer is a dissolution instead.
Connecticut is not a 50/50 state, and the court can reach any asset either spouse owns. How §46b-81 equitable distribution actually works.
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Connecticut divorce attorney Daniel M. Morton explains property division, alimony, and the process in the Hartford Judicial District. Glastonbury office.
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