Timeline in Connecticut

The Return Date and the 90-Day Contested Floor

Connecticut's clock runs from the return date, not the day the complaint is filed or served. Under Conn. Gen. Stat. Title 46b, Chapter 815j, no contested trial for dissolution or legal separation may begin until at least 90 days after the return date. If the defendant doesn't appear after being personally or abode served, the plaintiff can seek a default judgment no sooner than 30 days after the return date. If the defendant was served another way, such as by publication, a default judgment instead requires a hearing held at least 60 days after the return date. These are three separate floors. All three tie to the same reference point, not to the filing or service dates directly.

Residency: No Floor to File, But a Test Before the Decree

Connecticut doesn't require a minimum period of residency before you can file a complaint. Filing is allowed as soon as either spouse has established residence in the state. What matters is that one of three tests is met by the time of the final decree. The most common: 12 months of Connecticut residency right before filing or before the decree. The other two are domicile in Connecticut at the time of marriage with a return intending permanent residence, or the cause of the dissolution arising after either spouse moved into Connecticut. There's no additional county residency rule. Connecticut cases are filed by judicial district, not by county.

The Faster Path: Nonadversarial Dissolution

Connecticut offers a separate statutory track called nonadversarial dissolution, under Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 46b-44a through 46b-44d. Couples file a joint petition (JD-FM-242) instead of a complaint. To qualify, both spouses attest under oath to several facts. The marriage lasted 9 years or less. Neither spouse is pregnant. No children were born to or adopted by the couple, and neither owns real property. The couple's combined property must be worth under $80,000 after debt. Neither party can have a defined benefit pension, and no other related legal actions or protective orders can be pending.

Eligible couples get a disposition date assigned at least 30 days after the joint petition is filed. The court can enter the decree on that date or up to five days later. Neither spouse has to appear before a judge. The total timeline is typically 35 days or less.

What Restarts or Delays a Case

Connecticut's floors run from the return date, not from filing or service. A case can lose time before the clock even starts, if there's confusion about the assigned return date or a defect in how the complaint was served. Once a case is filed on the standard track using the JD-FM-159 complaint, disputes over property, custody, or support keep it moving through the regular family docket. That pushes it past the 90-day contested floor. A case that would otherwise qualify for the nonadversarial track loses that option entirely if any eligibility fact changes. Examples include a pending protective order, or the couple's combined property exceeding the statutory ceiling. Either one sends the case back onto the standard complaint process.