Connecticut Alimony Laws refer to the money a spouse pays to another for financial support during a divorce proceeding and for some time once the divorce is finalized.

Alimony as a concept began when the norm was traditional marriages: when a husband financially supported the household, and the wife cared for the house.

Employment possibilities were limited for women, causing the husband to remain responsible for supporting the wife, even after the marriage collapsed.

While most married women can work outside, and some do, alimony laws are still in place to ensure financial fairness when a divorce happens.

When a divorce happens after a certain standard of life has been created, the court might ask the party with the higher income to assist the individual with the lower revenue in ensuring the lifestyle they are accustomed to maintains for a brief duration.

Categories of Connecticut Alimony Laws

A Connecticut judge might award temporary alimony throughout a divorce case. It is sometimes called alimony pendente lite.

The judge could also award either permanent or temporary alimony once the divorce proceeding finalize.

There are two kinds of alimony, a lump sum or periodical alimony, which could be anything from biweekly to monthly.

There was a time when permanent alimony was common; however, it has been on the decline.

It used to be only in marriages that had lasted for a certain period; however, even in those, the courts tend to see alimony as a rehabilitative tool, an amount to be paid temporarily to enable a spouse to find work or get education or training to help better employability.

Permanent alimony is typically given to couples who are least likely to find sufficient employment due to health issues or age.

Eligibility for Connecticut Alimony Laws

For alimony to awards, a court must find that a spouse needs financial assistance and find out if the other spouse can pay. For example, a court in Connecticut considers requesting temporary or permanent alimony with the factors below in mind:

The marriage length

The station, health, and age of both individuals

The occupation, income level, income source, employability, and vocational skills of both spouses.

The financial estate and requirement of each spouse

When it comes time to consider awarding permanent alimony, the court will consider the reasons for the divorce in the first place.

It could mean certain forms of misconduct by a spouse, such as abuse, abandonment, or adultery.

These factors could affect the duration and amount of the alimony awarded.

There is no set formula that takes to account when granting maintenance in Connecticut.

It is at the judge’s discretion to decide the amount to be awarded, or even if there should be no award at all.

Connecticut Alimony Laws Termination or Modification

A court can alter the periodic payments of alimony unless both parties have a written agreement deciding not to ask for any modifications.

It usually happens when one spouse demonstrations a significant change in financial circumstances.

The payments usually end when the alimony award term does or when the receiving spouse remarries.

It could also end when either the receiving party or paying party dies.

While Connecticut law precisely states that it is the discretion of the judge to suspend, terminate, or reduce the amount paid, if the receiving party lives with another adult, the paying party requesting for medication has to show that the new living arrangement significantly changed the receiving party’s financial need.