GLASTONBURY, CONNECTICUT · FAMILY LAW + FAMILY-VIOLENCE DEFENSE
Two different decisions get made in every Connecticut custody case, and they are often confused with each other.
Legal custody is about decision-making authority — school, medical care, religion, the significant choices in a child’s upbringing.
Physical custody is about where the child lives, and it is given practical effect by the parenting plan rather than by the label.
The two are independent. Parents commonly share joint legal custody while the children live primarily with one of them. The label on the order says very little about how the weeks actually look.
This is the most common misunderstanding in Connecticut custody cases, and it causes real disappointment.
“Joint custody” describes shared decision-making. It is not a schedule. Under C.G.S. §46b-56a there is a presumption that joint custody serves the child’s best interests only where both parents have agreed to it. Where parents disagree, no presumption applies and the court decides on the facts.
There is also no default schedule in Connecticut and no starting assumption of 50/50. The actual division of time comes from the parenting plan, built around the children’s ages, school, each parent’s work, the distance between homes, and how well the parents communicate.
Sole legal custody gives one parent decision-making authority. Courts order it where joint decision-making is not workable — entrenched conflict, an absent parent, or circumstances where shared authority would expose a child or a parent to harm.
It is less common than people expect, and asking for it as an opening position in an otherwise ordinary case rarely helps.
The court applies the best-interest factors in C.G.S. §46b-56(c) — the child’s safety and developmental needs, each parent’s capacity to meet them, the child’s relationships and adjustment, the stability of each home, the mental and physical health of those involved, the effect of any family violence, and more. The statute is explicit that a judge need not give any factor particular weight.
One factor is worth singling out because parents underestimate it: each parent’s willingness to support the child’s relationship with the other parent, including compliance with existing orders. Judges notice both the parent who undermines and the parent who does not.
Custody orders can be modified on a material change in circumstances affecting the child. A change to parenting time alone does not carry that threshold — the court goes directly to the child’s best interests.
What goes into a Connecticut parenting plan, how schedules are built, and why vague language causes problems years later.
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How to change a Connecticut custody, child support, or alimony order after judgment — the substantial change standard, and why filing early matters.
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Connecticut custody attorney Daniel M. Morton on legal and physical custody, parenting plans, relocation, and how judges decide. Glastonbury office.
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Every case starts with a conversation about what you’re facing and what it would take to handle it.
