The state of Connecticut is serious about revamping its child custody laws. Recently, a 10-member legislative panel, called the Task Force to Study Legal Disputes Involving the Care and Custody of Minor Children, issued a report to the Connecticut State Judiciary regarding the state of child custody laws and proceedings in Connecticut. This 43-page report […]
THE DEBATE FOR EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS FOR SAME-SEX SPOUSES IN CONNECTICUT
In recent years the same-sex marriage debate has heated up throughout the entire country. In Connecticut the state legislature recognized the right for same sex couples to marry and receive the same employment benefits as their heterosexual counterparts. However, in the case of a Connecticut nursing home employee, receiving these rights from her employer has […]
THE PARENTAL RIGHT TO OPT CHILDREN OUT OF STANDARDIZED TESTING
Parents across Connecticut are joining the Parent-Teacher “Save our Schools” Alliance, which is quickly gaining traction throughout the state. In fact, earlier this week, members travelled to the state capital in order to encourage legislators to provide parents with the legal right to have their children opt-out of taking standardized testing administered by the Connecticut […]
APPLAUSE FOR THE CONNECTICUT FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT
In 2011, Connecticut became the country’s first state to mandate employer paid sick leave. Section 31-51kk of Connecticut’s Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) requires employers to provide paid family and medical leave to qualifying employees. Three years after the law was enacted, a new study by a Washington think-tank, the Center for Economic Policy […]
FLORIDA-CONNECTICUT KIDNAPPING CASE ILLUSTRATES THE COMPLEXITY OF CHILD CUSTODY LAWS
A long protracted child custody battle in the Connecticut courts illustrates the complications inherently present in multi-state child custody disputes. In February 2014, the case Parker v. DeFreitas was returned from Florida to the Connecticut court system. This case revolves around a custody dispute between two estranged parents that culminated in the parents’ three-year-old child […]
WHAT THE COURT CONSIDERS WHEN AWARDING ALIMONY IN CONNECTICUT
When you are filing for divorce, one of the issues that may be of concern is alimony. There are a number of factors the court can consider when awarding alimony if you are filing for a fault divorce in Connecticut. According to Connecticut law, alimony is awarded based on the spouse’s duty to continue to […]
SAME-SEX MARRIAGE NOW COMPLETELY LEGAL IN THE NORTHEAST U.S.
In May, anti same-sex marriage laws were struck down in three different states, including in Pennsylvania. These events are legally significant because they have resulted in the number of states that legally allow same-sex marriage rising to 19. These historic changes, often through the reversal of same-sex marriage bans, represent interesting family law-related issues. The […]
CONNECTICUT COURT RULES THAT MEDICAID INELIGIBILITY CAN BE CAUSED BY A SPOUSE’S TRUST FUND
At the beginning of June, the Connecticut Supreme Court handed down a ruling that presented another blow to already suffering Medicaid applicants. In a recent case the Connecticut Supreme Court held that the state government and its officials had the right to deny Medicaid coverage for nursing care services when the applicant has a spouse […]
UPTICK IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOMICIDES OCCURRING IN CONNECTICUT
The ending of a relationship is often a difficult, stressful and time consuming process. Such matters can be made worse if domestic violence occurs between the partners. This year in Connecticut there has been an increase in fatal domestic violence cases. This increase has led some to consider if such situations would have had different […]
WHO GETS FIDO IN THE DIVORCE?
In the United States, approximately 50 percent of marriages end in divorce. When a partner files for divorce, the difficult process of wrapping up the marriage begins. As couples begin to drill out the specifics of the divorce with their attorneys, many immediately wonder which spouse is entitled to receive the dog, cat, or other […]