Connecticut Marital Settlement Agreement

A marital settlement agreement in Connecticut, sometimes called a separation agreement, is the written contract divorcing spouses use to settle property and debt division, alimony, and by reference custody and child support. It records what you have agreed so the terms can be reviewed by the court and incorporated into the divorce decree. Connecticut divides property equitably rather than in a fixed 50/50 split, and this agreement is where you set those terms yourselves before the court reviews them for fairness under Conn. Gen. Stat. 46b-66.

A Connecticut marital settlement agreement is the private contract the spouses negotiate and sign; the divorce judgment, or decree, is the court order that ends the marriage. The two are connected: when the court finds the written agreement fair and equitable, it is incorporated by reference into the decree (Conn. Gen. Stat. 46b-66), which makes its terms enforceable as court orders. The agreement states the deal, and the decree gives it the force of a court order. The court must still review the agreement and enter the decree before the terms take effect.

Connecticut is an equitable distribution state, and specifically an all-property state. On dissolution the Superior Court may assign to either spouse all or any part of the estate of the other spouse (Conn. Gen. Stat. 46b-81), so unlike many states it can reach property regardless of when or how it was acquired. There is no presumption of an equal split; the court divides fairly after weighing the factors in Conn. Gen. Stat. 46b-81(c), such as the length of the marriage, each spouse's income and earning capacity, and their contributions. A Connecticut marital settlement agreement lets you agree on the division yourselves, for example one spouse keeping the home while the other keeps retirement funds of similar value.

Connecticut has no statewide formula for alimony. The court decides whether to award alimony and its amount and duration by weighing the factors in Conn. Gen. Stat. 46b-82(a), which include the length of the marriage, the causes for the dissolution, and each spouse's age, health, occupation, income, earning capacity, vocational skills, education, employability, estate, and needs. It may also consider a custodial parent's ability to secure employment. In your Connecticut marital settlement agreement you can set alimony terms you both accept, subject to the court's review for fairness.

You can address custody and child support in a Connecticut marital settlement agreement, but you cannot bargain them away. Child support follows the Connecticut Child Support Guidelines (Conn. Gen. Stat. 46b-215a), and the guideline amount is a rebuttable presumption under Conn. Gen. Stat. 46b-215b. Parents may agree on an amount, but the court must find it complies with the guidelines. Custody and child support terms remain subject to court approval and can be modified later if circumstances change, because these decisions center on the best interests of the children.

A Connecticut marital settlement agreement must be in writing and signed by both spouses. No Connecticut statute in the dissolution chapter requires the agreement to be notarized. Even so, signing before a notary is common practice and can help prove the signatures are genuine if the agreement is later questioned. What matters most to a Connecticut court is that the agreement is fair and equitable under all the circumstances, that both spouses disclosed their finances, and that each signed voluntarily (Conn. Gen. Stat. 46b-66).

When the parties submit a final agreement, the Connecticut court inquires into their financial resources and needs to decide whether the agreement is fair and equitable under all the circumstances. If the court finds it fair and equitable and it is in writing, it is incorporated by reference into the order or decree of the court (Conn. Gen. Stat. 46b-66), which makes its terms enforceable as court orders. If the court finds the agreement is not fair and equitable, it makes its own orders as to finances and custody instead, so a clear, complete agreement improves the odds of approval.