• Acrimony between you and your spouse.
• Domestic violence or substance abuse.
• Unreasonableness, bullying, a party trying to hide something, a communications breakdown or lack of trust.

During divorce litigation, you need to be represented by an attorney who has the experience and perseverance to zealously protect your interests at a time of high emotional stress.  GILL Law Practice knows what to expect, how to protect you, your family and your property.

About Connecticut divorce and Legal Separation:

In Connecticut, a married person can obtain a divorce on the grounds of irretrievable breakdown.  While the law allows divorcing couples to use other grounds for divorce or legal separation (e.g., adultery, desertion and intolerable cruelty), there is no need to allege any of these grounds because a simple statement that the marriage has irretrievably broken down is sufficient.

Initial Restraints:

Upon the commencement of a divorce action, several orders of the court automatically apply to both parties.  Among other things, these orders restrain each party from (1) selling, concealing or disposing of any property of the parties; (2) incurring unreasonable debts; (3) relocating permanently from the state of Connecticut any minor child of the parties; (4) changing the beneficiaries of any life insurance policy; and (5) removing from the health insurance coverage the other party or any minor children of the marriage; (6) denying the other party use of the current primary residence.  This last item often leads to contention and sometimes litigation when one of the parties is unable to live under the same roof with the other.  Not surprisingly, the other area of frequent dispute is whether one party has dissipated or concealed assets. 

The Process:

A divorce action is initiated by the delivery of a Summons and Complaint by an indifferent person.  Delivery of the papers can be accomplished by several means, the most desirable of which is by hand.  When the whereabouts of the defendant spouse is unknown or when the defendant lives out-of-state, the method of providing notice becomes more complicated, requiring initial court actions too detailed to discuss here.  The Complaint contains basic information about the marriage and any children, and the filing party asks the court to order such things as alimony, child support and a division of property.  The service of process can sometimes present thorny issues, as for example, when the party to be served evades service or, when finally served, rips up the documents. 

If your spouse begins a divorce and papers are delivered to you, it is highly advisable to file an answer and a cross-complaint in response to the plaintiff’s allegations and claims.  There is a ninety-day waiting period by which you must respond, and a final decree of divorce cannot be granted until the end of the waiting period.  The filing of a cross-complaint assures that you can obtain a divorce or legal separation even if your spouse decides to withdraw the action.

Parenting:

Parties involved in a divorce are required to attend a parenting education program as a pre-condition to obtaining a divorce.  The court has selected approved providers of parenting education programs.  A list of these providers is available to our clients at our office or at the Clerk’s Office at the Superior Court.

If you are contemplating or facing divorce in Connecticut, a skilled divorce lawyer can help you understand your legal options and work with you to protect your interests and those of your family.  GILL Law Practice takes great care to not only zealously protect your rights but to be with you all the way and provide you with regular status report updates so you’re never in the dark from start to finish.

Please Contact us today to confidentially discuss your divorce and family law needs.
We offer a free 30-minute initial consultation.