What To Expect in Connecticut's Custody Court Process

Seeking child custody is a key parenting decision. It will underlie all the other parenting decisions you'll make as your child grows.

Connecticut's court process, known as Pathways, streamlines cases. You can anticipate what your divorce or custody case will involve, but remember that each case will vary.

What your case will cost

It costs $350 to file for divorce or separation or $360 to file for custody (if you're not divorcing). Serving papers costs about $75. A required parenting education class is an additional $150 per parent. The court may waive all these fees if you can't pay.

If you request (and the court approves) services like mediation, they'll be provided through Family Services at no cost to you. You can also hire a mediator privately.

If you already have a court order regarding custody of your child, it costs $180 to ask to modify it.

Lawyers charge several hundred dollars per hour. You may choose to represent yourself. However, if you have a thorny or time-sensitive custody issue — and especially if the other parent has legal representation — it's generally to your advantage to hire a lawyer.

How long it will take

When someone opens a divorce case, both spouses must turn in initial papers to the court promptly. The court assigns a deadline, known as a return date, that's within 90 days of the opening of the case. From that day, there's a waiting period of another 90 days before the divorce can be finalized.

Spouses who have a child together (or are expectant parents) can't use Connecticut's speedy process for nonadversarial divorces, but they can try asking the court to waive the waiting period if they have a full agreement.

A custody case that doesn't involve divorce doesn't have a mandatory waiting period. If parents have already reached a full agreement, the case may be resolved at their Resolution Plan Date. (See below.) But if they don't agree, the case may take months.

Divorcing or not, your case can take a year or more if there are complex custody issues.

Early stages of your case

One of you (or your lawyer, if you have one) must open a court case.

You must arrange for papers to be served to the other parent, who should respond promptly. You can let the court take care of this.

Your case will have a return date. This is like a start date, though you won't have to go to court on this day. It's always a Tuesday, usually about four weeks after the case is opened. Some court deadlines may be set based on it.

Parenting class

You must attend a parenting class within 60 days of opening your case. Each parent pays $150 unless the court waives the fee. There are multiple in-person locations, or you can attend online. The class will last about six hours, and the court will mail you a certificate of completion.

Financial Affidavit

Complete a Financial Affidavit so child support can be calculated. You must do this even if you've agreed that neither of you will ask for a support order. There's a short version for people with low income/assets and a long version for those who are wealthier.

Have it notarized. (It's free to do this at the court.) File it with the court before your Resolution Plan Date but no more than 30 days after you have it notarized.

Parenting plan

You're not required to write a parenting plan or custody schedule, but it's in the best interests of your child to do so. Presenting an organized plan with a schedule will also speed up your case because the judge may simply approve it (if you and the other parent submit it together) or use it to better understand your areas of disagreement (if you submit separate proposals).

Resolution Plan Date (a conference)

Early in your case, you'll both have to attend a conference called a Resolution Plan Date. It's typically held 30–45 days after your return date (if you're divorcing) or 20–30 days after opening your custody case (if you're not married). It's led by a court employee called a family relations counselor (aka family relations officer).

The family relations counselor seeks a big-picture view of your case to anticipate any court support services you'll need and how long your case might take. Come to your Resolution Plan Date prepared with facts and proposals to focus the discussion. The screening should take less than an hour, and then the court will inform you about your next steps, including scheduling your next appearances.

Timeline for your case: Track A, B or C

Your case will be put on a "track" for how long it's expected to take, based on how complex it is.

Track A: If you've reached a full agreement, the judge can begin to review it, and your case should be resolved within a month and a half after your Resolution Plan Date. (If you're very close to agreement, the family relations counselor can use the Resolution Plan Date to briefly help you negotiate so they can report your full agreement to the judge that day.)

Track B: If it seems likely you'll resolve your argument soon, the court may recommend services to resolve your dispute, like mediation. Around two months after your Resolution Plan Date, you'll come back for a Case Date. (See below.) If you don't settle, you'll be given a trial date. It will probably be within one year of your return date.

Track C: If your case is complex, the Family Relations Office may begin gathering information through methods like a comprehensive evaluation. Around a month or two after your Resolution Plan Date, you'll return for a Case Date (see below) and, four or five months later, for a second Case Date. The court, far in advance, will schedule you for pretrial and trial. The trial should be within one year of your return date.

As your case continues

If you and the other parent remain in conflict, the court will try to help you avoid trial.

Case Date (a hearing)

At your Case Date, the judge may listen to status updates, hear your motions (e.g., a request for a temporary order), schedule another hearing for your motions, or approve an agreement you've reached. Each jurisdiction may use this time differently. If you have a time-sensitive request, ask the court as early as possible whether it can be handled at your Case Date.

Comprehensive evaluation

Sometimes the court orders a comprehensive evaluation (aka custody evaluation) to gather in-depth information about your home environments and your parenting history. It's performed by the family relations counselor.

Alternative dispute resolution

Services offered by the family relations counselor can include:

• Mediation (up to three sessions)
• Conflict resolution conference (like mediation, but focused on making recommendations)
• Case management (like mediation, but the counselor reports details to the court)
• Pretrial settlement conference (the court's last big push to help you reach agreement)

If none of this results in a full agreement, you'll head to trial. You'll submit your witness lists and your evidence to the court in advance. It's a good idea to have a lawyer at this point.

Trial

When parents don't settle all their issues, a judge listens to the evidence at trial.

Connecticut courts tend to prefer in-person trials, but the trial could be online.

Your child probably won't have to testify. The judge can get your child's input indirectly from a court-appointed guardian ad litem or from the family relations counselor.

The judge could issue their decision on the day of the trial or may take up to 120 days to rule.

After you receive your court order

Once you get a court order (aka memorandum of decision), you have to follow it.

If you need a bigger change, you can file to modify your parenting plan or to modify other parts of your court order. This may be appropriate if your circumstances have changed substantially or if it's otherwise in your child's best interest to change the order. Both of you will likely have to appear at a new Resolution Plan Date conference to triage the request.

If one parent is intentionally defying the court order, the other can file a motion for the court to hold the other in contempt.

Throughout the custody process

During the custody process, you may need to create a parenting time schedule, write a parenting plan, keep a log of interactions with the other parent, and more.

The Custody X Change online app enables you to do all of this in one place.

With customizable parenting time calendars, a parenting plan template, a digital journal and other tools, Custody X Change makes sure you're prepared for whatever arises in your journey to child custody.

Throughout your case, take advantage of our technology to stay on top of all the moving parts.

Our professional sources

Costello, Brennan, DeVidas, Sasso and Sinclair PC
Claire DeVidas
Fairfield, CT

Raymond Family Law LLC
Tyler Raymond
Bridgeport, CT

Rich Rochlin Law Group
Attorney Rich Rochlin
Attorney Sydney Legagneur
Remington Copertino
West Hartford, CT