If you only remember one point about alimony in Connecticut, remember this: Connecticut calls it alimony. Discretionary multi-factor analysis: length of marriage, causes for dissolution, age, health, station, occupation, estate, and needs. No percentage formula. Forms include Pendente lite and post-judgment alimony; awards may be time-limited or open-ended depending on the facts.. Procedure, examples, and the opinions below hang off Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-82. Duration: Duration is equitable and case-specific; longer marriages more often support longer or modifiable awards. Termination: Death, remarriage, or cohabitation under statutory standards; court-ordered end dates also control.
Types of alimony in Connecticut
Pendente lite and post-judgment alimony; awards may be time-limited or open-ended depending on the facts.
Labeling matters. Rehabilitative awards usually require a plan (schooling, retraining, re-entry to the workforce). Durational or term awards run for a fixed period. Lump-sum or reimbursement awards may be non-modifiable depending on the judgment language and statute.
Walking through Connecticut facts
Use this walkthrough to see which Connecticut authority does the work at each step.
One spouse asks a Connecticut court for alimony after a divorce filing.
- Use the label and statute Connecticut actually uses: alimony under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-82.
- There is no formula. Apply the statutory factors: Discretionary multi-factor analysis: length of marriage, causes for dissolution, age, health, station, occupation, estate, and needs. No percentage formula.
- Set duration from Connecticut rules: Duration is equitable and case-specific; longer marriages more often support longer or modifiable awards.
- Identify what ends the award: Death, remarriage, or cohabitation under statutory standards; court-ordered end dates also control.
Yes, in appropriate long-marriage cases, subject to modification and termination events. Fault: Causes for the dissolution (including fault) are an express statutory factor. Federal TCJA rules apply to post-2018 decrees. Connecticut state tax treatment generally tracks the federal characterization for those instruments.
How amount is set
Connecticut does not use a statewide calculator for final alimony. Judges weigh the statutory factors and the record. Online “alimony calculators” are at best rough illustrations and are not controlling.
Temporary support while a divorce is pending often follows different local practices or guidelines than the final award. Confirm what your county or division actually uses.
How long alimony lasts
Duration is equitable and case-specific; longer marriages more often support longer or modifiable awards.
Permanent / indefinite support. Yes, in appropriate long-marriage cases, subject to modification and termination events.
When alimony ends or can be changed
Death, remarriage, or cohabitation under statutory standards; court-ordered end dates also control.
Either party may usually seek modification upon a substantial change in circumstances unless the award was expressly made non-modifiable. Retirement, disability, remarriage, cohabitation, and large income swings are frequent triggers — but the statutory test and burden of proof are Connecticut-specific.
Taxes
Federal TCJA rules apply to post-2018 decrees. Connecticut state tax treatment generally tracks the federal characterization for those instruments.
Child support remains non-deductible and non-taxable. Do not assume alimony treatment mirrors child support.
Case law: how Connecticut courts decide alimony
These LawDiver opinions illustrate how Connecticut appellate courts discuss need, ability to pay, duration, and related issues:
Mildred D. Bunche v. Oscar A. Bunche
Mildred D. Bunche v. Oscar A. Bunche, 180 Conn. 285 (1980)
…court in the presence of their counsel, concerning custody, alimony and the division of their property. It also ordered that the provisions of the stipulation be incorporated in the decree. One of those provisions gave the plaintiff wife the option to purchase the husband’s interest in the jointly owned home of the parties providing she exercised the option on or before April 1…
Practitioners open Mildred D. Bunche v. Oscar A. Bunche when Connecticut alimony turns on the distinction in this sentence: "It also ordered that the provisions of the stipulation be incorporated in the decree." Do not lift it out of the facts the court was deciding.
Ann Jacobsen v. Philip G. Jacobsen
Ann Jacobsen v. Philip G. Jacobsen, 177 Conn. 259 (1979)
…which modified a prior judgment by terminating an award of alimony. The plaintiff and defendant were married on February 23, 1952; on August 24, 1972, the plaintiff was granted a divorce. The court in its decree incorporated by reference a stipulation of the parties relating to alimony, support and custody of two minor children. Custody of one of the children, Kevin, was award…
On alimony, Ann Jacobsen v. Philip G. Jacobsen speaks to the Connecticut dispute in this passage: "The plaintiff and defendant were married on February 23, 1952; on August 24, 1972, the plaintiff was granted a divorce. The court in its decree incorporated by reference a stipulation of the parties relating to alimony, support and custody of two minor children." The surrounding opinion shows how the court applied that language to the record.
Joan Barrett Pittsinger Grinold v. Raymond Wade Grinold
Joan Barrett Pittsinger Grinold v. Raymond Wade Grinold, 172 Conn. 192 (1976)
…nting the defendant husband’s motion to modify or terminate alimony. The court ordered that the alimony should be reduced to the rate of $50 per week and that all alimony should terminate by the end of three years, upon the parties’ youngest child reaching the age of twenty-one years. The plaintiff wife has appealed to this court. By judgment rendered January 20, 1967, the plai…
Practitioners open Joan Barrett Pittsinger Grinold v. Raymond Wade Grinold when Connecticut alimony turns on the distinction in this sentence: "The court ordered that the alimony should be reduced to the rate of $50 per week and that all alimony should terminate by the end of three years, upon the parties’ youngest child reaching the age of twenty-one years. The plaintiff wife has appealed to this court." Do not lift it out of the facts the court was deciding.
Diane A. Scoville v. Homer G. Scoville
Diane A. Scoville v. Homer G. Scoville, 179 Conn. 277 (1979)
…udgment included, inter alia, the following order regarding alimony: “The defendant shall pay the plaintiff alimony of $100.00 per week for a period of three years from the date of this memorandum. At the end of the three year period, the payment order of alimony shall terminate.” *278The sole issne on this appeal is whether that alimony order is modifiable. In September of 197…
Connecticut opinions such as Diane A. Scoville v. Homer G. Scoville are cited where alimony is disputed. The court stated: "The defendant shall pay the plaintiff alimony of $100.00 per week for a period of three years from the date of this memorandum. At the end of the three year period, the payment order of alimony shall terminate." That is the language to brief; the rest of the decision supplies the procedural posture.
Leona B. Smith v. F. Gordon Smith
Leona B. Smith v. F. Gordon Smith, 185 Conn. 491 (1981)
…ed the marriage between the parties. The referee awarded no alimony and ordered that the plaintiff retain full title to her home in Greenwich. The referee also ordered that the defendant pay any federal income tax deficiency found for the years 1973-1977 and that he hold the plaintiff harmless and indemnify her against any liability for such tax. The plaintiff appeals from two…
Practitioners open Leona B. Smith v. F. Gordon Smith when Connecticut alimony turns on the distinction in this sentence: "The referee awarded no alimony and ordered that the plaintiff retain full title to her home in Greenwich." Do not lift it out of the facts the court was deciding.
Elizabeth J. Krueger v. Charles G. Krueger
Elizabeth J. Krueger v. Charles G. Krueger, 179 Conn. 488 (1980)
…nia decree purporting to terminate a modifiable Connecticut alimony decree must be enforced in this state, either under the full faith and credit clause of the United States constitution or as a matter of comity, where the California court acted without first establishing the Connecticut decree as a California judgment. Our short answer to this question is no. The parties to th…
Elizabeth J. Krueger v. Charles G. Krueger is worth reading on Connecticut alimony because the court put the point in its own words: "Connecticut alimony decree must be enforced in this state, either under the full faith and credit clause of the United States constitution or as a matter of comity, where the California court acted without first establishing the Connecticut decree as a California judgment." Use that passage as the starting point, then read the facts that precede it.
Practical checklist
- Identify the correct statutory label (alimony) and controlling section (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-82).
- Assemble income, budget, and health evidence for both spouses.
- For rehabilitative requests, prepare a concrete plan and timeline.
- Address fault only if Connecticut law makes it relevant to eligibility or amount.
- Search LawDiver for recent Connecticut decisions before mediation.
- Cross-check child support interactions via the Connecticut child support guide.
Key takeaways
- Connecticut uses the term alimony under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-82.
- Amount and duration are largely discretionary, guided by statutory factors. Discretionary multi-factor analysis: length of marriage, causes for dissolution, age, health, station, occupation, estate, and needs. No percentage formula.
- Common forms include: Pendente lite and post-judgment alimony; awards may be time-limited or open-ended depending on the facts.
- Duration framework: Duration is equitable and case-specific; longer marriages more often support longer or modifiable awards.
- Permanent / indefinite support: Yes, in appropriate long-marriage cases, subject to modification and termination events.
- Companion child-support guide: Connecticut child support guidelines.
What alimony is (and is not)
Alimony is court-ordered support from one spouse to the other after separation or divorce. It is separate from child support (see Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 46b-215a, 46b-215b; Connecticut Child Support Guidelines) and from property division. A single judgment may include all three, but each has its own legal tests.
No spouse is automatically entitled to alimony. Courts typically ask whether one party has a genuine need and whether the other has the ability to pay, then apply Connecticut's statutory framework.
Eligibility and statutory factors
Discretionary multi-factor analysis: length of marriage, causes for dissolution, age, health, station, occupation, estate, and needs. No percentage formula.
Fault. Causes for the dissolution (including fault) are an express statutory factor.
Document income, earning capacity, health, length of marriage, contributions as homemaker or to the other spouse's career, and the marital standard of living. Those facts drive both temporary (pendente lite) and final awards.
Frequently asked questions
Does Connecticut still award permanent alimony?
Yes, in appropriate long-marriage cases, subject to modification and termination events.
How is alimony calculated in Connecticut?
Connecticut leaves amount largely to judicial discretion under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-82, guided by statutory factors rather than a mandatory statewide calculator.
How long do I have to be married to receive alimony?
Duration is equitable and case-specific; longer marriages more often support longer or modifiable awards. Short marriages rarely produce long-term awards; longer marriages support broader remedies where the statute allows.
Does remarriage or cohabitation end alimony?
Death, remarriage, or cohabitation under statutory standards; court-ordered end dates also control.
Is alimony taxable?
Federal TCJA rules apply to post-2018 decrees. Connecticut state tax treatment generally tracks the federal characterization for those instruments.
Where can I read Connecticut alimony opinions?
Open the cases linked above or search LawDiver scoped to Connecticut. For support of children, see the Connecticut child support guidelines guide.
Disclaimer
This article provides general information about Connecticut alimony and is not legal advice. Confirm the current text of Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-82 and consult a licensed Connecticut family-law attorney before acting on any rule described here.