Divorce and Child Custody Attorney

Initial consultations are scheduled by phone, and Attorney Cuddy decides case by case whether an introductory call is the right fit before any fee is charged. Connecticut Rule of Professional Conduct 1.5(b) requires that the scope of representation and the basis or rate of the fee be communicated to the client in writing before, or within a reasonable time after, the representation begins — so you will always have the fee arrangement in writing. Note also that Connecticut prohibits contingency fees in family law: under Rule 1.5(d)(1), a lawyer may not charge a fee in a domestic relations matter that is contingent on securing a dissolution or on the amount of alimony, support, or property settlement.

You can file a divorce complaint in Connecticut at any time after either spouse has established residence here — but under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-44(c), the court cannot enter a decree unless one of three things is true: (1) one spouse has been a Connecticut resident for at least the twelve months immediately before the complaint was filed or immediately before the decree; (2) one spouse was domiciled in Connecticut at the time of the marriage and returned intending to remain permanently before the complaint was filed; or (3) the cause of the breakdown arose after either party moved into Connecticut. Service members who were Connecticut residents when they entered the armed forces or merchant marine are treated as having continuously resided here during their service.

Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-67(a), the court generally cannot act on a dissolution complaint until ninety days after the return day. That ninety-day period is the statutory floor, not the typical timeline — a contested divorce involving custody, a business, or disputed assets commonly runs well beyond it. The waiting period can be waived under § 46b-67(b) if both spouses attest under oath that they have reached a complete agreement on every term. Connecticut also offers a streamlined nonadversarial dissolution under § 46b-44a, but the eligibility rules are narrow: the marriage cannot exceed nine years, neither spouse may have children from the marriage, neither may be pregnant, neither may hold an interest in real property, the combined fair market value of all property less debt must be under $80,000, neither may have a defined benefit pension plan, and neither may have a pending bankruptcy petition.

Connecticut courts decide custody and parenting time according to the best interests of the child under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-56. Subsection (c) sets out seventeen factors a court may weigh, including the physical and emotional safety of the child, the temperament and developmental needs of the child, each parent's capacity and disposition to understand and meet those needs, the length of time the child has lived in a stable and satisfactory environment and the desirability of maintaining that continuity, and the mental and physical health of everyone involved. Two points surprise most parents: the statute expressly says the court is not required to assign any particular weight to any factor, and the court must articulate the basis for its decision. There is no formula and no automatic outcome — which is why how your case is presented matters.

Connecticut is an all-property equitable distribution state, and that makes it unusual. Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-81(a), the court may assign to either spouse "all or any part of the estate of the other spouse," and may pass title to real property or order it sold. Connecticut does not draw the marital-versus-separate property line that many states do — an inheritance, a premarital asset, or a gift can be reached by the court. Equitable does not mean equal. Section 46b-81(c) directs the court to consider the length of the marriage, the causes for the dissolution, and each spouse's age, health, station, occupation, income, earning capacity, vocational skills, education, employability, estate, liabilities, and needs, along with each party's opportunity for future acquisition of assets and each party's contribution to the acquisition, preservation, or appreciation in value of their respective estates.

Connecticut child support is set by the state's Child Support and Arrearage Guidelines. Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-215b(a), the guideline figure carries a rebuttable presumption that it is the correct amount, and a court may deviate only by making a specific finding on the record — at a hearing or in a written decision — that applying the guidelines would be inequitable or inappropriate in that case. Substantially revised guidelines took effect August 1, 2026. The most significant change for higher-earning families is that the schedule now extends to $6,000 in combined net weekly income, up from $4,000 — roughly $312,000 a year instead of about $208,000 — so courts no longer have to extrapolate above the old ceiling in many professional-household cases. The 2026 revisions also added a worksheet for cases with more than two legally recognized parents, new criteria governing when a court may impute income to an underemployed parent under Conn. Agencies Regs. § 46b-215a-5c(c), and clarified treatment of Paid Family and Medical Leave contributions.

Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-84(b), if an unmarried child of the marriage has turned eighteen and is still a full-time high school student, the parents must continue to maintain the child according to their respective abilities until the child completes twelfth grade or turns nineteen, whichever comes first. College is separate. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-56c allows a court to enter an educational support order covering an undergraduate degree or vocational instruction, but it is bounded: no more than four full academic years, terminating no later than the child's twenty-third birthday, and capped at the amount The University of Connecticut charges a full-time in-state student at the time the child matriculates — unless the parents agree to exceed it. Before entering such an order the court must find as a matter of fact that it is more likely than not the parents would have provided that support had the family remained intact.

Not without either the other parent's agreement or a court order. Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-56d, the parent seeking to relocate carries the burden of proving three things by a preponderance of the evidence: that the relocation is for a legitimate purpose, that the proposed location is reasonable in light of that purpose, and that the relocation is in the best interests of the child. The court then weighs five factors: each parent's reasons for seeking or opposing the move, the quality of the child's relationship with each parent, the impact on the quantity and quality of the child's future contact with the non-relocating parent, the degree to which the relocating parent's and the child's lives may be enhanced economically, emotionally, and educationally, and whether the relationship with the non-relocating parent can be preserved through a workable visitation arrangement.

Connecticut assigns family matters by judicial district under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 51-344, and the boundaries do not follow county lines. Shelton — along with Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Derby, Milford, Orange, Oxford, Seymour, and West Haven — sits in the Judicial District of Ansonia-Milford, which sits in Milford. Bridgeport, Stratford, Trumbull, and Monroe are in the Judicial District of Bridgeport; note that this district was called the Judicial District of Fairfield until Public Act 23-46 renamed it effective January 1, 2024, so older articles and filings still use the former name. New Haven, Hamden, North Haven, Branford, East Haven, Woodbridge, and Wallingford are in the Judicial District of New Haven. Waterbury, Naugatuck, Middlebury, Prospect, Southbury, Watertown, Wolcott, and Woodbury are in the Judicial District of Waterbury. Our Shelton office is within about twenty minutes of all four courthouses.

Attorney Cuddy handles intake personally. If he is in the office when a new client calls, he takes the call himself. If he is in court or on trial, his paralegal takes your information and Attorney Cuddy calls you back — under nearly all circumstances the same day. He also conducts every initial consultation himself rather than routing it to staff. Communication is the single most common complaint clients have about attorneys, and same-day contact is a deliberate standard at this firm rather than an aspiration. If you retain the firm, Attorney Cuddy is the attorney who works your file from start to finish. Your case is not passed to a junior associate.