The rest of what we have written about Connecticut. Every figure is quoted from Connecticut’s own statute or its courts’ own published schedule, and carries the date we last checked it.
Dividing property and money in a Connecticut divorce
The money picture for a divorce in Connecticut: how property gets divided, what Connecticut calls spousal support and how it is decided, whether one spouse can be made to pay the other’s legal fees while the case is running, and — the part nobody publishes — whether Connecticut’s own income tax follows the federal rule on alimony.
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Every claim is traced to Connecticut’s own statute, court rule or revenue department, quoted where the wording carries the meaning. Where we could not verify something, the page says so instead of filling the space. Information, not legal advice — and tax questions in particular need a professional in your state. Corrections: thecusp.app/corrections.
The short version6 points · tap one to jump to it
- Does Connecticut follow the federal alimony rule? — Since 2019, federal law has treated alimony as not deductible by the payer and not taxable to the recipient, for any instrument executed after 31 December 2018.
- How property is divided — Connecticut is an equitable distribution state.
- Alimony — Connecticut calls it alimony.
- Child support — Connecticut uses the income shares model — both parents’ incomes go into the calculation, and the result is apportioned between you.
- Who pays for the lawyers — A fee award that only arrives at final judgment is close to worthless to someone who could not afford a lawyer during the case.
- The thing worth knowing about Connecticut
In this subject 8
Does Connecticut follow the federal alimony rule?
The short version6 points · tap one to jump to it
- Does Connecticut follow the federal alimony rule? — Since 2019, federal law has treated alimony as not deductible by the payer and not taxable to the recipient, for any instrument executed after 31 December 2018.
- How property is divided — Connecticut is an equitable distribution state.
- Alimony — Connecticut calls it alimony.
- Child support — Connecticut uses the income shares model — both parents’ incomes go into the calculation, and the result is apportioned between you.
- Who pays for the lawyers — A fee award that only arrives at final judgment is close to worthless to someone who could not afford a lawyer during the case.
- The thing worth knowing about Connecticut
In this subject 8
Since 2019, federal law has treated alimony as not deductible by the payer and not taxable to the recipient, for any instrument executed after 31 December 2018. Most people assume every state followed. Most did. Not all.
Connecticut adjusted gross income is defined by statute and DRS guidance as the taxpayer’s federal adjusted gross income (as reported on Form 1040, Line 11a) plus a fixed, enumerated list of Connecticut modifications on CT-1040 Schedule 1. Alimony is not among the enumerated modifications, so Connecticut simply inherits the federal AGI figure, which for post-2018 instruments already excludes alimony from the recipient’s income and denies the payer’s deduction under the TCJA.
So the federal answer is your answer: post-2018 instruments, no deduction and no inclusion, on either return.
On 18 September 2026 we put the question to the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services, and its Legal Services Bureau answered the same day:
“The Connecticut return begins with the Federal Adjusted Gross Income (FAGI) from the federal return on Line 1. There is no alimony-specific modification on the Connecticut income tax return.”
Which is the whole answer, from the Department rather than from our reading of the statute. We asked because everything above was an inference from the absence of a modification, and an inference is not a source. What fifteen state revenue departments told us sets out the others.
Source: Connecticut Dept. of Revenue Services, Resident Income Tax Information: ‘Connecticut adjusted gross income is your federal adjusted gross income as properly reported on federal Form 1040, Line 11a… and any Connecticut modifications required to be reported on Form CT-1040, Schedule 1’ · source
Conformity: rolling (Connecticut AGI is defined directly by reference to the current-year federal AGI line, not a fixed IRC date)
Nationally: 37 states follow the federal rule, 9 have no income tax, and 4 are decoupled. The full fifty-state table and what each decoupled state does differently.
How property is divided
Connecticut is an equitable distribution state. That means the court divides marital property fairly, which is not a synonym for equally. What counts as marital rather than separate property is frequently the whole argument.
the Superior Court may assign to either spouse all or any part of the estate of the other spouse
Source: Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-81(a)
Alimony
Connecticut calls it alimony. Using the state’s own word matters when you are searching for forms or reading a statute.
There is no guideline calculation. A judge weighs the statutory factors and reaches a number.
This is the norm and it is why alimony is the least predictable figure in a divorce. Two judges can reach different answers on the same facts and both be right. It also means the strength of your evidence about income, earning capacity and the standard of living during the marriage does real work.
In determining whether alimony shall be awarded, and the duration and amount of the award, the court shall consider the evidence presented by each party and shall consider the length of the marriage, the causes for the… dissolution… the age, health, station, occupation, amount and sources of income, earning capacity, vocational skills, education, employability, estate and needs of each of the parties
Source: Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-82(a)
Child support
Connecticut uses the income shares model — both parents’ incomes go into the calculation, and the result is apportioned between you.
Whichever model applies, this is the most predictable number in your case — there is a formula and a presumption that its output is correct. Deviating from it takes written findings. Run it early; it is free, and it anchors everything else.
Guideline: Connecticut Child Support and Arrearage Guidelines (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-215a et seq.)
Who pays for the lawyers
Fee-shifting provision: Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-62(a)
the court may order either spouse… to pay the reasonable attorney’s fees of the other in accordance with their respective financial abilities and the criteria set forth in section 46b-82
A fee award that only arrives at final judgment is close to worthless to someone who could not afford a lawyer during the case. By then it is over. An interim award is what stops a wealthier spouse winning by attrition.
If you are the lower earner, this is the single most actionable thing on this page. Ask at the first meeting, in these words: “Can we move for an interim award of attorney fees now?” Do not let “we will deal with fees at the end” pass unexamined.
Separately, if custody is contested you may be ordered to pay for a guardian ad litem or a custody evaluator, and the court decides how to split that. What that costs in Connecticut, and who bears it.
The thing worth knowing about Connecticut
Connecticut is a rare ‘all-property’ equitable-distribution state: under § 46b-81(a) the court may assign ‘all or any part of the estate of the other spouse,’ meaning even property owned before the marriage or received by gift/inheritance is subject to division, not just marital-acquired property as in most equitable-distribution states.