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CONNECTICUT STATUTES AND CODES
Sec. 46b-56. (Formerly Sec. 46-42). Orders re custody, care, education, visitation and support of children. Best interests of the child. Access to records of minor child by noncustodial parent. Orders
Sec. 46b-56. (Formerly Sec. 46-42). Orders re custody, care, education, visitation and support of children. Best interests of the child. Access to records of minor
child by noncustodial parent. Orders re therapy, counseling and drug or alcohol
screening. (a) In any controversy before the Superior Court as to the custody or care
of minor children, and at any time after the return day of any complaint under section
46b-45, the court may make or modify any proper order regarding the custody, care,
education, visitation and support of the children if it has jurisdiction under the provisions
of chapter 815p. Subject to the provisions of section 46b-56a, the court may assign
parental responsibility for raising the child to the parents jointly, or may award custody
to either parent or to a third party, according to its best judgment upon the facts of the
case and subject to such conditions and limitations as it deems equitable. The court may
also make any order granting the right of visitation of any child to a third party to the
action, including, but not limited to, grandparents.
(b) In making or modifying any order as provided in subsection (a) of this section, the rights and responsibilities of both parents shall be considered and the court shall enter orders accordingly that serve the best interests of the child and provide the child with the active and consistent involvement of both parents commensurate with their abilities and interests. Such orders may include, but shall not be limited to: (1) Approval of a parental responsibility plan agreed to by the parents pursuant to section 46b-56a; (2) the award of joint parental responsibility of a minor child to both parents, which shall include (A) provisions for residential arrangements with each parent in accordance with the needs of the child and the parents, and (B) provisions for consultation between the parents and for the making of major decisions regarding the child's health, education and religious upbringing; (3) the award of sole custody to one parent with appropriate parenting time for the noncustodial parent where sole custody is in the best interests of the child; or (4) any other custody arrangements as the court may determine to be in the best interests of the child.
(c) In making or modifying any order as provided in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, the court shall consider the best interests of the child, and in doing so may consider, but shall not be limited to, one or more of the following factors: (1) The temperament and developmental needs of the child; (2) the capacity and the disposition of the parents to understand and meet the needs of the child; (3) any relevant and material information obtained from the child, including the informed preferences of the child; (4) the wishes of the child's parents as to custody; (5) the past and current interaction and relationship of the child with each parent, the child's siblings and any other person who may significantly affect the best interests of the child; (6) the willingness and ability of each parent to facilitate and encourage such continuing parent-child relationship between the child and the other parent as is appropriate, including compliance with any court orders; (7) any manipulation by or coercive behavior of the parents in an effort to involve the child in the parents' dispute; (8) the ability of each parent to be actively involved in the life of the child; (9) the child's adjustment to his or her home, school and community environments; (10) the length of time that the child has lived in a stable and satisfactory environment and the desirability of maintaining continuity in such environment, provided the court may consider favorably a parent who voluntarily leaves the child's family home pendente lite in order to alleviate stress in the household; (11) the stability of the child's existing or proposed residences, or both; (12) the mental and physical health of all individuals involved, except that a disability of a proposed custodial parent or other party, in and of itself, shall not be determinative of custody unless the proposed custodial arrangement is not in the best interests of the child; (13) the child's cultural background; (14) the effect on the child of the actions of an abuser, if any domestic violence has occurred between the parents or between a parent and another individual or the child; (15) whether the child or a sibling of the child has been abused or neglected, as defined respectively in section 46b-120; and (16) whether the party satisfactorily completed participation in a parenting education program established pursuant to section 46b-69b. The court is not required to assign any weight to any of the factors that it considers.
(d) Upon the issuance of any order assigning custody of the child to the Commissioner of Children and Families, or not later than sixty days after the issuance of such order, the court shall make a determination whether the Department of Children and Families made reasonable efforts to keep the child with his or her parents prior to the issuance of such order and, if such efforts were not made, whether such reasonable efforts were not possible, taking into consideration the best interests of the child, including the child's health and safety.
(e) In determining whether a child is in need of support and, if in need, the respective abilities of the parents to provide support, the court shall take into consideration all the factors enumerated in section 46b-84.
(f) When the court is not sitting, any judge of the court may make any order in the cause which the court might make under this section, including orders of injunction, prior to any action in the cause by the court.
(g) A parent not granted custody of a minor child shall not be denied the right of access to the academic, medical, hospital or other health records of such minor child, unless otherwise ordered by the court for good cause shown.
(h) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (b) and (c) of this section, when a motion for modification of custody or visitation is pending before the court or has been decided by the court and the investigation ordered by the court pursuant to section 46b-6 recommends psychiatric or psychological therapy for a child, and such therapy would, in the court's opinion, be in the best interests of the child and aid the child's response to a modification, the court may order such therapy and reserve judgment on the motion for modification.
(i) As part of a decision concerning custody or visitation, the court may order either parent or both of the parents and any child of such parents to participate in counseling and drug or alcohol screening, provided such participation is in the best interests of the child.
(P.A. 73-373, S. 15; P.A. 74-169, S. 8, 18; P.A. 75-530, S. 12, 35; P.A. 77-488, S. 2; P.A. 78-230, S. 27, 54; 78-318, S. 28; P.A. 80-29; P.A. 81-402, S. 1; P.A. 84-42; P.A. 93-319, S. 3, 4; P.A. 99-137; P.A. 01-186, S. 12; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-7, S. 35; P.A. 03-19, S. 105; P.A. 05-258, S. 3.)
History: P.A. 74-169 made minor changes in wording; P.A. 75-530 replaced reference to filing date of complaint with reference to return day of complaint; P.A. 77-488 added provision authorizing court to make orders re visitation rights for third parties such as grandparents; P.A. 78-230 divided section into Subsecs. and restated provisions; P.A. 78-318 qualified court's power to make orders re care, custody and visitation by adding "if it has jurisdiction under the provisions of Ch. 815o"; Sec. 46-42 transferred to Sec. 46b-56 in 1979 and references to other sections within section revised as necessary to reflect their transfer; P.A. 80-29 authorized assignment of joint custody in Subsec. (a); P.A. 81-402 amended Subsec. (a) to provide that the court is subject to the provisions of Sec. 46b-56a in assigning custody and changed the order of possible custody assignments so that "to the parents jointly" is listed first, and amended Subsec. (b) to provide that the court may consider the causes for the dissolution or legal separation if the causes are relevant in a determination of the best interests of the child; P.A. 84-42 added Subsec. (e) re access of noncustodial parent to academic, medical, hospital or other health records of minor children; P.A. 93-319 added a provision in Subsec. (b) requiring the court to consider whether a party has completed a parenting education program when making or modifying a custody or visitation order, effective January 1, 1994, and applicable to actions pending on, or filed on or after, that date; P.A. 99-137 added Subsec. (f) re order of psychiatric or psychological therapy for a child if it would be in the best interests of the child and would aid the child's response to a modification of custody or visitation; P.A. 01-186 added Subsec. (g) re court-ordered participation in counseling and drug or alcohol screening; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-7 amended Subsec. (b) to add provision requiring the court upon issuance of any order assigning custody of the child to the Commissioner of Children and Families, or not later than 60 days thereafter, to make a determination whether the Department of Children and Families made reasonable efforts to keep the child with his or her parents prior to the issuance of such order and, if such efforts were not made, whether such reasonable efforts were not possible considering the best interests of the child, effective August 15, 2002; P.A. 03-19 made technical changes in Subsec. (a), effective May 12, 2003; P.A. 05-258 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting "at any time" and replacing "education and support of the children and of care, custody and visitation" with "custody, care, education, visitation and support of the children" re court making or modifying proper order, replacing "assign the custody of any child to the parents jointly," with "assign parental responsibility for raising the child to the parents jointly, or may award custody" and replacing "third party" with "third party to the action" re visitation rights, amended Subsec. (b) by replacing former Subdivs. (1) and (2) and other provisions re custody or visitation order with provisions re consideration of rights, responsibilities and involvement of both parents and new Subdivs. (1) to (4) re provisions that may be included in orders, added new Subsec. (c) re best interests of the child and factors that court may consider, designated provisions of existing Subsec. (b) re order assigning custody to Commissioner of Children and Families as new Subsec. (d) and made a technical change therein, and redesignated existing Subsecs. (c) to (g) as new Subsecs. (e) to (i) and made technical changes therein.
Annotations to former section 46-23:
Settlement of child not affected by award of custody. 2 C. 20. Defendant not bound to defray expenses of divorce suit containing prayer for custody of children. 18 C. 424. Court has continuing jurisdiction over custody, whether child in this state or elsewhere. 131 C. 690. Refers to children of the marriage. 134 C. 316. Cited. 140 C. 254. Cited. 142 C. 558. Where controversy is between mother and grandparents, the former has prior right to custody. 146 C. 104. Gives court power to open a judgment after the expiration of the term in which it was rendered. 165 C. 95. Cited. Id., 735. Cited. 168 C. 144.
Court is without jurisdiction to make custodial or support orders for minor children after denying a decree of divorce. 1 CS 149. Where no order for custody of the child was made part of the divorce judgment, there can be no order to "annul or vary" as the statute provides. 3 CS 352. Cited. 11 CS 248. Statute relates only to matter of custody of minor children. Id., 398. If no order for the support of minor children is made a part of the divorce judgment, the court may not pass such an order thereafter. 13 CS 119. Court cannot award custody of husband's illegitimate child to wife. 14 CS 391. Cited. 16 CS 70; Id., 87. Orders of the superior court with respect to custody and support are incidental to its exclusive jurisdiction of divorce. 19 CS 372. Cited. 27 CS 296. Cited. 30 CS 49. Appointment of independent counsel is in best interest of a child where motion made to change order for its custody. 31 CS 340.
Circuit court has no jurisdiction of action to recover payments made for support of minor son to former wife in compliance with superior court decree of divorce since such support matters are within continuing exclusive jurisdiction of superior court. 3 Conn. Cir. Ct. 318.
Annotations to former section 46-24:
Court will not take daughter from custody of mother, when child is well cared for, and not liable to be by father. 2 R. 461. Power of court to modify order, even where children have been removed to foreign jurisdiction. 83 C. 479. Jurisdiction of superior court limited to habeas corpus and orders incidental to divorce decree; distinction between custody of person and custody of estate. 97 C. 442. To recognize foreign judgment determining custody accords with or public policy. 131 C. 388. Applies only to children of the marriage. Superior court will not interfere with petition for adoption pending before probate court. 134 C. 312. Cited. 140 C. 254. Grants wide discretion and any condition imposed can be assailed only on abuse of that discretion. 141 C. 235. Cited. 142 C. 558. Plaintiff sought to modify decree granting custody of children to former husband on the ground that former husband not legally married to his present wife who previously had obtained an Alabama divorce; held that plaintiff had no standing to question validity of the Alabama divorce unless it was to prove lack of moral character in present wife because divorce was obtained through fraud or perjury. 148 C. 1. Decree of Florida court re custody of child is entitled to full faith and credit in this state, and since the Florida court could modify the decree upon proof that circumstances had materially changed, the courts of this state can so act on similar proof. Id., 255.
Cited. 1 CS 150. This statute did not give the superior court any original independent jurisdiction to entertain matters involving custody of minor children apart from that which it already had incident to divorce and in habeas corpus proceedings. 10 CS 275. Court may award custody of child to defendant who had not asked for it in the pleadings. 11 CS 246. Cited. Id., 398. Aliter. Id., 252. Court cannot award for support to wife for husband's illegitimate child. 14 CS 391. Superior court has the power to enter an order for support conditioned upon the granting to the defendant of the rights of visitation to which he may be entitled. 18 CS 20. Orders of superior court with respect to custody and support are incidental to the jurisdiction over divorce. 19 CS 372. Cited. 20 CS 278. Court refused to entertain habeas corpus proceedings for custody of child (1) because plaintiff had not exhausted remedies in a juvenile court decision on this issue and (2) because proceedings affecting the custody of the child were then pending in probate court. 21 CS 73. Fact that superior court originally awarded custody of a child in a divorce action does not mean that it retains exclusive jurisdiction over custody of the child. Id. Connecticut court may grant custody of children to a wife whose husband obtained a valid divorce out of state if the court which granted such divorce could make such an order regarding custody after the time of the divorce. Id., 378. Cited. 28 CS 129.
Circuit court has no jurisdiction of action to recover payments made for support of minor son to former wife in compliance with superior court decree of divorce since such support matters are within continuing exclusive jurisdiction of superior court. 3 Conn. Cir. Ct. 318.
Annotations to former section 46-42:
Cited. 171 C. 433. Cited. 172 C. 341. Decision of trial court with respect to custody and care of minor children must stand unless court has abused its discretion. 173 C. 161. Discussion of ante nuptial agreements relating to property rights upon dissolution of the marriage. 181 C. 482.
Annotations to present section:
Cited. 177 C. 47. Court has no authority to issue an order of support against a husband as neither the biological nor adoptive parent of the child. 180 C. 114. Court did not exceed its authority by setting aside certain personal property for the use of the minor children. Id., 528. Cited. 181 C. 622. Cited. 182 C. 545. Restrictions on visitation rights discussed. 184 C. 36. Cited. 185 C. 275. Until entry of final decree the court has discretion to modify custody without first finding material change of circumstances since previous award. 186 C. 118. Cited. Id., 709. Cited. 190 C. 345. Statute read together with Sec. 46b-61 and Sec. 46b-93 provide that it is permissible under certain circumstances to award child support even though child is not within this jurisdiction. 191 C. 92. Cited. 196 C. 10; Id., 260. Cited. 201 C. 50. Cited. 212 C. 441. Temporary custody order is final judgment for purposes of appellate review. Appellate court's dismissal of appeal reversed. 224 C. 749. Sec. 46b-56 et seq. cited. 236 C. 582. Cited. 239 C. 336. Trial court had subject matter jurisdiction to order pendente lite child support, regardless of whether child at issue is considered a "child of the marriage". 248 C. 487. In order to uphold constitutionality of section, court imposed a standing requirement that a third party allege a parent-like relationship with the child for third party custody awards and third parties seeking intervention in existing custody proceedings. 285 C. 24.
Cited. 2 CA 472. Cited. 4 CA 94. Cited. 8 CA 50. Cited. 13 CA 300. Cited. 14 CA 296. Cited. 18 CA 622. Cited. 19 CA 146. Cited. 22 CA 802. Cited. 25 CA 693. Cited. 35 CA 421. Cited. 37 CA 397. Cited. 41 CA 716. Cited. 42 CA 583; Id., 651. Substantial modification of visitation order requires evidentiary hearing to determine best interest of child. 54 CA 50. Court had sufficient evidence to modify custody order even without the benefit of prejudgment psychological evaluation of defendant. 61 CA 175. Trial court properly decided parental relocation with child pursuant to statutory best interest of child standard because the interests and circumstances of the parties at the postjudgment stage differ from those existing at time of the dissolution. 68 CA 173. Central to courts' review of modifications of custody orders under section is the concept that courts must be guided by best interests of the child. 72 CA 528. Although both parties to marital dissolution action agreed to unrestricted authority of the arbitrator-attorney for the minor children in the event of a controversy by binding arbitration with no express language restricting the breadth of issues, no reservation of explicit rights and no contingency for court review, the very limited review runs afoul of statute which requires that court exercising its equitable jurisdiction re custody assure itself that its judgment will serve best interests of the child and was an improper delegation of judicial authority. 83 CA 115.
Cited. 35 CS 237. Cited. 41 CS 258; Id., 429. Does not confer parents, acting as grandparents, whose son's parental rights have been terminated, the authorization to bring a habeas corpus petition to seek custody of a grandchild. 47 CS 273.
Subsec. (a):
Cited. 183 C. 353. Cited. 185 C. 249. Cited. 201 C. 229. Cited. 207 C. 217. In a custody proceeding pursuant to this section, the third party must prove by a fair preponderance standard that the party has a parent-like relationship with the child, parental custody would be detrimental to the child and third party custody would be in the child's best interest. 285 C. 24.
Joint custody discussed. 5 CA 649. Cited. 7 CA 745. Cited. 41 CA 861; judgment reversed, see 241 C. 490. Cited. 43 CA 327. Trial court properly determined that in the absence of controversy before the court involving custody or care of minor children, section does not provide an alternative statutory basis to Sec. 46b-59 so as to allow grandparents to pursue an action for visitation. 103 CA 125.
Subsec. (b):
Court not obligated to interview each child before decision on custody. 178 C. 254. Cited 179 C. 287. Court did not abuse its discretion by awarding custody to mother in accordance with thirteen-year-old child's wish despite mother's failure to appear at the hearing. 180 C. 132. While the rights, wishes and desires of the parents must be considered it is nevertheless the ultimate welfare of the child which must control the decision of the court. Id., 533. Statute which vests discretion in trial court to determine the best interest of a child in awarding custody without objective guidelines is not unconstitutionally vague. Id., 705. Neither applicable statutes nor case law recognize any presumption in custody matters. 181 C. 622. Cited. 183 C. 353. Cited. 201 C. 229. Cited. 207 C. 48; Id., 217. Cited. 212 C. 63. Cited. 224 C. 776. Cited. 235 C. 82. Subdiv. (1) cited. 241 C. 767.
Court must resolve issue of custody in the best interests of the child whatever agreements have been made between the parents. 1 CA 356. Cited. 5 CA 649. Cited. 23 CA 509. Cited. 24 CA 426; Id., 804. Cited. 38 CA 263. Visitation by respondent mother was not in child's best interest when respondent had not been consistent in maintaining visitation with the child, scheduled visits had not gone well, the child had become attached to her aunt and uncle, respondent had not related naturally or interacted appropriately with the child and respondent's visits had been upsetting to the child. 63 CA 493. Court improperly incorporated parties' prior stipulated agreement into its final decree without making a best interests determination re children 17 months later at time of final decree. 98 CA 63.
Cited. 38 CS 37.
Subsec. (c):
Cited. 186 C. 191.
Plain meaning of Sec., read within context of related statutes within Ch. 815j, makes clear that this Subsec. is intended to apply only in dissolution of marriage, legal separation and annulment actions. 103 CA 746. The language of this Subsec. does not compel the consideration of any particular factor or factors when determining the best interest of a child; rather, the court is free to consider the factors it determines to be most appropriate given the facts of each individual case. 108 CA 813.
Subsec. (e):
Cited. 201 C. 229.
(b) In making or modifying any order as provided in subsection (a) of this section, the rights and responsibilities of both parents shall be considered and the court shall enter orders accordingly that serve the best interests of the child and provide the child with the active and consistent involvement of both parents commensurate with their abilities and interests. Such orders may include, but shall not be limited to: (1) Approval of a parental responsibility plan agreed to by the parents pursuant to section 46b-56a; (2) the award of joint parental responsibility of a minor child to both parents, which shall include (A) provisions for residential arrangements with each parent in accordance with the needs of the child and the parents, and (B) provisions for consultation between the parents and for the making of major decisions regarding the child's health, education and religious upbringing; (3) the award of sole custody to one parent with appropriate parenting time for the noncustodial parent where sole custody is in the best interests of the child; or (4) any other custody arrangements as the court may determine to be in the best interests of the child.
(c) In making or modifying any order as provided in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, the court shall consider the best interests of the child, and in doing so may consider, but shall not be limited to, one or more of the following factors: (1) The temperament and developmental needs of the child; (2) the capacity and the disposition of the parents to understand and meet the needs of the child; (3) any relevant and material information obtained from the child, including the informed preferences of the child; (4) the wishes of the child's parents as to custody; (5) the past and current interaction and relationship of the child with each parent, the child's siblings and any other person who may significantly affect the best interests of the child; (6) the willingness and ability of each parent to facilitate and encourage such continuing parent-child relationship between the child and the other parent as is appropriate, including compliance with any court orders; (7) any manipulation by or coercive behavior of the parents in an effort to involve the child in the parents' dispute; (8) the ability of each parent to be actively involved in the life of the child; (9) the child's adjustment to his or her home, school and community environments; (10) the length of time that the child has lived in a stable and satisfactory environment and the desirability of maintaining continuity in such environment, provided the court may consider favorably a parent who voluntarily leaves the child's family home pendente lite in order to alleviate stress in the household; (11) the stability of the child's existing or proposed residences, or both; (12) the mental and physical health of all individuals involved, except that a disability of a proposed custodial parent or other party, in and of itself, shall not be determinative of custody unless the proposed custodial arrangement is not in the best interests of the child; (13) the child's cultural background; (14) the effect on the child of the actions of an abuser, if any domestic violence has occurred between the parents or between a parent and another individual or the child; (15) whether the child or a sibling of the child has been abused or neglected, as defined respectively in section 46b-120; and (16) whether the party satisfactorily completed participation in a parenting education program established pursuant to section 46b-69b. The court is not required to assign any weight to any of the factors that it considers.
(d) Upon the issuance of any order assigning custody of the child to the Commissioner of Children and Families, or not later than sixty days after the issuance of such order, the court shall make a determination whether the Department of Children and Families made reasonable efforts to keep the child with his or her parents prior to the issuance of such order and, if such efforts were not made, whether such reasonable efforts were not possible, taking into consideration the best interests of the child, including the child's health and safety.
(e) In determining whether a child is in need of support and, if in need, the respective abilities of the parents to provide support, the court shall take into consideration all the factors enumerated in section 46b-84.
(f) When the court is not sitting, any judge of the court may make any order in the cause which the court might make under this section, including orders of injunction, prior to any action in the cause by the court.
(g) A parent not granted custody of a minor child shall not be denied the right of access to the academic, medical, hospital or other health records of such minor child, unless otherwise ordered by the court for good cause shown.
(h) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (b) and (c) of this section, when a motion for modification of custody or visitation is pending before the court or has been decided by the court and the investigation ordered by the court pursuant to section 46b-6 recommends psychiatric or psychological therapy for a child, and such therapy would, in the court's opinion, be in the best interests of the child and aid the child's response to a modification, the court may order such therapy and reserve judgment on the motion for modification.
(i) As part of a decision concerning custody or visitation, the court may order either parent or both of the parents and any child of such parents to participate in counseling and drug or alcohol screening, provided such participation is in the best interests of the child.
(P.A. 73-373, S. 15; P.A. 74-169, S. 8, 18; P.A. 75-530, S. 12, 35; P.A. 77-488, S. 2; P.A. 78-230, S. 27, 54; 78-318, S. 28; P.A. 80-29; P.A. 81-402, S. 1; P.A. 84-42; P.A. 93-319, S. 3, 4; P.A. 99-137; P.A. 01-186, S. 12; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-7, S. 35; P.A. 03-19, S. 105; P.A. 05-258, S. 3.)
History: P.A. 74-169 made minor changes in wording; P.A. 75-530 replaced reference to filing date of complaint with reference to return day of complaint; P.A. 77-488 added provision authorizing court to make orders re visitation rights for third parties such as grandparents; P.A. 78-230 divided section into Subsecs. and restated provisions; P.A. 78-318 qualified court's power to make orders re care, custody and visitation by adding "if it has jurisdiction under the provisions of Ch. 815o"; Sec. 46-42 transferred to Sec. 46b-56 in 1979 and references to other sections within section revised as necessary to reflect their transfer; P.A. 80-29 authorized assignment of joint custody in Subsec. (a); P.A. 81-402 amended Subsec. (a) to provide that the court is subject to the provisions of Sec. 46b-56a in assigning custody and changed the order of possible custody assignments so that "to the parents jointly" is listed first, and amended Subsec. (b) to provide that the court may consider the causes for the dissolution or legal separation if the causes are relevant in a determination of the best interests of the child; P.A. 84-42 added Subsec. (e) re access of noncustodial parent to academic, medical, hospital or other health records of minor children; P.A. 93-319 added a provision in Subsec. (b) requiring the court to consider whether a party has completed a parenting education program when making or modifying a custody or visitation order, effective January 1, 1994, and applicable to actions pending on, or filed on or after, that date; P.A. 99-137 added Subsec. (f) re order of psychiatric or psychological therapy for a child if it would be in the best interests of the child and would aid the child's response to a modification of custody or visitation; P.A. 01-186 added Subsec. (g) re court-ordered participation in counseling and drug or alcohol screening; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-7 amended Subsec. (b) to add provision requiring the court upon issuance of any order assigning custody of the child to the Commissioner of Children and Families, or not later than 60 days thereafter, to make a determination whether the Department of Children and Families made reasonable efforts to keep the child with his or her parents prior to the issuance of such order and, if such efforts were not made, whether such reasonable efforts were not possible considering the best interests of the child, effective August 15, 2002; P.A. 03-19 made technical changes in Subsec. (a), effective May 12, 2003; P.A. 05-258 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting "at any time" and replacing "education and support of the children and of care, custody and visitation" with "custody, care, education, visitation and support of the children" re court making or modifying proper order, replacing "assign the custody of any child to the parents jointly," with "assign parental responsibility for raising the child to the parents jointly, or may award custody" and replacing "third party" with "third party to the action" re visitation rights, amended Subsec. (b) by replacing former Subdivs. (1) and (2) and other provisions re custody or visitation order with provisions re consideration of rights, responsibilities and involvement of both parents and new Subdivs. (1) to (4) re provisions that may be included in orders, added new Subsec. (c) re best interests of the child and factors that court may consider, designated provisions of existing Subsec. (b) re order assigning custody to Commissioner of Children and Families as new Subsec. (d) and made a technical change therein, and redesignated existing Subsecs. (c) to (g) as new Subsecs. (e) to (i) and made technical changes therein.
Annotations to former section 46-23:
Settlement of child not affected by award of custody. 2 C. 20. Defendant not bound to defray expenses of divorce suit containing prayer for custody of children. 18 C. 424. Court has continuing jurisdiction over custody, whether child in this state or elsewhere. 131 C. 690. Refers to children of the marriage. 134 C. 316. Cited. 140 C. 254. Cited. 142 C. 558. Where controversy is between mother and grandparents, the former has prior right to custody. 146 C. 104. Gives court power to open a judgment after the expiration of the term in which it was rendered. 165 C. 95. Cited. Id., 735. Cited. 168 C. 144.
Court is without jurisdiction to make custodial or support orders for minor children after denying a decree of divorce. 1 CS 149. Where no order for custody of the child was made part of the divorce judgment, there can be no order to "annul or vary" as the statute provides. 3 CS 352. Cited. 11 CS 248. Statute relates only to matter of custody of minor children. Id., 398. If no order for the support of minor children is made a part of the divorce judgment, the court may not pass such an order thereafter. 13 CS 119. Court cannot award custody of husband's illegitimate child to wife. 14 CS 391. Cited. 16 CS 70; Id., 87. Orders of the superior court with respect to custody and support are incidental to its exclusive jurisdiction of divorce. 19 CS 372. Cited. 27 CS 296. Cited. 30 CS 49. Appointment of independent counsel is in best interest of a child where motion made to change order for its custody. 31 CS 340.
Circuit court has no jurisdiction of action to recover payments made for support of minor son to former wife in compliance with superior court decree of divorce since such support matters are within continuing exclusive jurisdiction of superior court. 3 Conn. Cir. Ct. 318.
Annotations to former section 46-24:
Court will not take daughter from custody of mother, when child is well cared for, and not liable to be by father. 2 R. 461. Power of court to modify order, even where children have been removed to foreign jurisdiction. 83 C. 479. Jurisdiction of superior court limited to habeas corpus and orders incidental to divorce decree; distinction between custody of person and custody of estate. 97 C. 442. To recognize foreign judgment determining custody accords with or public policy. 131 C. 388. Applies only to children of the marriage. Superior court will not interfere with petition for adoption pending before probate court. 134 C. 312. Cited. 140 C. 254. Grants wide discretion and any condition imposed can be assailed only on abuse of that discretion. 141 C. 235. Cited. 142 C. 558. Plaintiff sought to modify decree granting custody of children to former husband on the ground that former husband not legally married to his present wife who previously had obtained an Alabama divorce; held that plaintiff had no standing to question validity of the Alabama divorce unless it was to prove lack of moral character in present wife because divorce was obtained through fraud or perjury. 148 C. 1. Decree of Florida court re custody of child is entitled to full faith and credit in this state, and since the Florida court could modify the decree upon proof that circumstances had materially changed, the courts of this state can so act on similar proof. Id., 255.
Cited. 1 CS 150. This statute did not give the superior court any original independent jurisdiction to entertain matters involving custody of minor children apart from that which it already had incident to divorce and in habeas corpus proceedings. 10 CS 275. Court may award custody of child to defendant who had not asked for it in the pleadings. 11 CS 246. Cited. Id., 398. Aliter. Id., 252. Court cannot award for support to wife for husband's illegitimate child. 14 CS 391. Superior court has the power to enter an order for support conditioned upon the granting to the defendant of the rights of visitation to which he may be entitled. 18 CS 20. Orders of superior court with respect to custody and support are incidental to the jurisdiction over divorce. 19 CS 372. Cited. 20 CS 278. Court refused to entertain habeas corpus proceedings for custody of child (1) because plaintiff had not exhausted remedies in a juvenile court decision on this issue and (2) because proceedings affecting the custody of the child were then pending in probate court. 21 CS 73. Fact that superior court originally awarded custody of a child in a divorce action does not mean that it retains exclusive jurisdiction over custody of the child. Id. Connecticut court may grant custody of children to a wife whose husband obtained a valid divorce out of state if the court which granted such divorce could make such an order regarding custody after the time of the divorce. Id., 378. Cited. 28 CS 129.
Circuit court has no jurisdiction of action to recover payments made for support of minor son to former wife in compliance with superior court decree of divorce since such support matters are within continuing exclusive jurisdiction of superior court. 3 Conn. Cir. Ct. 318.
Annotations to former section 46-42:
Cited. 171 C. 433. Cited. 172 C. 341. Decision of trial court with respect to custody and care of minor children must stand unless court has abused its discretion. 173 C. 161. Discussion of ante nuptial agreements relating to property rights upon dissolution of the marriage. 181 C. 482.
Annotations to present section:
Cited. 177 C. 47. Court has no authority to issue an order of support against a husband as neither the biological nor adoptive parent of the child. 180 C. 114. Court did not exceed its authority by setting aside certain personal property for the use of the minor children. Id., 528. Cited. 181 C. 622. Cited. 182 C. 545. Restrictions on visitation rights discussed. 184 C. 36. Cited. 185 C. 275. Until entry of final decree the court has discretion to modify custody without first finding material change of circumstances since previous award. 186 C. 118. Cited. Id., 709. Cited. 190 C. 345. Statute read together with Sec. 46b-61 and Sec. 46b-93 provide that it is permissible under certain circumstances to award child support even though child is not within this jurisdiction. 191 C. 92. Cited. 196 C. 10; Id., 260. Cited. 201 C. 50. Cited. 212 C. 441. Temporary custody order is final judgment for purposes of appellate review. Appellate court's dismissal of appeal reversed. 224 C. 749. Sec. 46b-56 et seq. cited. 236 C. 582. Cited. 239 C. 336. Trial court had subject matter jurisdiction to order pendente lite child support, regardless of whether child at issue is considered a "child of the marriage". 248 C. 487. In order to uphold constitutionality of section, court imposed a standing requirement that a third party allege a parent-like relationship with the child for third party custody awards and third parties seeking intervention in existing custody proceedings. 285 C. 24.
Cited. 2 CA 472. Cited. 4 CA 94. Cited. 8 CA 50. Cited. 13 CA 300. Cited. 14 CA 296. Cited. 18 CA 622. Cited. 19 CA 146. Cited. 22 CA 802. Cited. 25 CA 693. Cited. 35 CA 421. Cited. 37 CA 397. Cited. 41 CA 716. Cited. 42 CA 583; Id., 651. Substantial modification of visitation order requires evidentiary hearing to determine best interest of child. 54 CA 50. Court had sufficient evidence to modify custody order even without the benefit of prejudgment psychological evaluation of defendant. 61 CA 175. Trial court properly decided parental relocation with child pursuant to statutory best interest of child standard because the interests and circumstances of the parties at the postjudgment stage differ from those existing at time of the dissolution. 68 CA 173. Central to courts' review of modifications of custody orders under section is the concept that courts must be guided by best interests of the child. 72 CA 528. Although both parties to marital dissolution action agreed to unrestricted authority of the arbitrator-attorney for the minor children in the event of a controversy by binding arbitration with no express language restricting the breadth of issues, no reservation of explicit rights and no contingency for court review, the very limited review runs afoul of statute which requires that court exercising its equitable jurisdiction re custody assure itself that its judgment will serve best interests of the child and was an improper delegation of judicial authority. 83 CA 115.
Cited. 35 CS 237. Cited. 41 CS 258; Id., 429. Does not confer parents, acting as grandparents, whose son's parental rights have been terminated, the authorization to bring a habeas corpus petition to seek custody of a grandchild. 47 CS 273.
Subsec. (a):
Cited. 183 C. 353. Cited. 185 C. 249. Cited. 201 C. 229. Cited. 207 C. 217. In a custody proceeding pursuant to this section, the third party must prove by a fair preponderance standard that the party has a parent-like relationship with the child, parental custody would be detrimental to the child and third party custody would be in the child's best interest. 285 C. 24.
Joint custody discussed. 5 CA 649. Cited. 7 CA 745. Cited. 41 CA 861; judgment reversed, see 241 C. 490. Cited. 43 CA 327. Trial court properly determined that in the absence of controversy before the court involving custody or care of minor children, section does not provide an alternative statutory basis to Sec. 46b-59 so as to allow grandparents to pursue an action for visitation. 103 CA 125.
Subsec. (b):
Court not obligated to interview each child before decision on custody. 178 C. 254. Cited 179 C. 287. Court did not abuse its discretion by awarding custody to mother in accordance with thirteen-year-old child's wish despite mother's failure to appear at the hearing. 180 C. 132. While the rights, wishes and desires of the parents must be considered it is nevertheless the ultimate welfare of the child which must control the decision of the court. Id., 533. Statute which vests discretion in trial court to determine the best interest of a child in awarding custody without objective guidelines is not unconstitutionally vague. Id., 705. Neither applicable statutes nor case law recognize any presumption in custody matters. 181 C. 622. Cited. 183 C. 353. Cited. 201 C. 229. Cited. 207 C. 48; Id., 217. Cited. 212 C. 63. Cited. 224 C. 776. Cited. 235 C. 82. Subdiv. (1) cited. 241 C. 767.
Court must resolve issue of custody in the best interests of the child whatever agreements have been made between the parents. 1 CA 356. Cited. 5 CA 649. Cited. 23 CA 509. Cited. 24 CA 426; Id., 804. Cited. 38 CA 263. Visitation by respondent mother was not in child's best interest when respondent had not been consistent in maintaining visitation with the child, scheduled visits had not gone well, the child had become attached to her aunt and uncle, respondent had not related naturally or interacted appropriately with the child and respondent's visits had been upsetting to the child. 63 CA 493. Court improperly incorporated parties' prior stipulated agreement into its final decree without making a best interests determination re children 17 months later at time of final decree. 98 CA 63.
Cited. 38 CS 37.
Subsec. (c):
Cited. 186 C. 191.
Plain meaning of Sec., read within context of related statutes within Ch. 815j, makes clear that this Subsec. is intended to apply only in dissolution of marriage, legal separation and annulment actions. 103 CA 746. The language of this Subsec. does not compel the consideration of any particular factor or factors when determining the best interest of a child; rather, the court is free to consider the factors it determines to be most appropriate given the facts of each individual case. 108 CA 813.
Subsec. (e):
Cited. 201 C. 229.
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