How Connecticut calculates alimony
Connecticut calls this "alimony," and like several other states covered on this site, it has no calculation formula at all. Conn. Gen. Stat. §46b-82 gives judges a list of factors to weigh in deciding whether to award alimony and how much, rather than a percentage or a worksheet. That list covers the length of the marriage; the causes of the annulment, dissolution, or legal separation; the age, health, station, occupation, income amount and sources, vocational skills, education, employability, estate, and needs of each party; any property-division award already made under the companion statute §46b-81; and, when one party has custody of minor children, whether it is desirable and feasible for that parent to seek employment.
The factor that sets Connecticut apart from most of the states in this project is the second one on the list: the causes of the breakdown. Colorado, Minnesota, Kentucky, and Oregon all instruct courts to decide alimony "without regard to marital misconduct," or simply leave fault out of the statute entirely. Connecticut does the opposite. By naming "the causes for the... dissolution of the marriage" as a statutory factor, §46b-82 lets a judge weigh adultery, cruelty, or other marital misconduct directly when setting the amount and length of an award. It isn't a bar like South Carolina's adultery rule, and it isn't a strict prerequisite like Louisiana's fault-free requirement. It's closer to how Alabama and Texas treat misconduct: one input among several, but a named one, which gives it real weight in a Connecticut courtroom in a way that states with silent or explicitly no-fault statutes don't allow. Our calculator reflects this with a fault-relevance selector: attributing the causes of the breakdown mainly to the higher earner nudges the estimate up, attributing them mainly to the lower earner nudges it down, and it's an estimate either way, not a prediction.
Duration is the other place Connecticut stands apart. There is no statutory formula or table capping how long alimony can run. A judge sets duration using the same §46b-82 factors used to set the amount, and for long marriages, that can mean an award with no end date at all. Secondary sources estimate that only around 15 states still permit this kind of true permanent, open-ended alimony, and Connecticut is one of them. That's a meaningfully different landscape from a state like Oklahoma, which flatly requires every award to have a defined end date, or Alabama, where the duration cap only lifts at the 20-year mark. In Connecticut, there's no statutory mark to hit; a shorter marriage can still, in principle, support open-ended alimony if the §46b-82 factors point that way, and a long marriage doesn't automatically guarantee it either.
That open-ended structure has drawn reform attention, but so far only attention. Two companion bills, HB 5532 and SB 844, were introduced in the 2024 legislative session with a Massachusetts-style approach: tying maximum alimony duration to a formula based on how long the couple was married. Neither bill made it out of committee, and as of this writing neither has been reintroduced and passed. If you see either bill number referenced as if it were current law, that's out of date. The factor-based, no-cap system described above remains how Connecticut alimony actually works today.
None of this changes the basic mechanics for someone trying to plan ahead: gather both incomes, be honest about the length of the marriage, and think through which §46b-82 factors genuinely apply to your situation, including whether the causes of the breakdown are likely to come up. A Connecticut family-law attorney can tell you how a specific judge in a specific court is likely to weigh them, something no calculator, including this one, can promise.
Last reviewed: July 2026. Statute citation: Conn. Gen. Stat. §46b-82 (alimony); companion property-division statute §46b-81. Failed reform bills referenced: HB 5532 and SB 844 (2024 session, not enacted).
Primary source: read the official Connecticut statute text →
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Connecticut have an alimony formula?
No. Conn. Gen. Stat. §46b-82 gives judges a list of factors to weigh instead of a calculation. This tool applies a common non-statutory guideline so you have a planning number, clearly labeled as an estimate, not a prediction of what a Connecticut court will order.
Does fault or adultery affect alimony in Connecticut?
Yes, directly. Section 46b-82 tells the court to consider "the causes for the annulment, dissolution of the marriage, or legal separation." That makes marital fault, including adultery, a named statutory factor a Connecticut judge may weigh in setting amount and duration, unlike most other states, where fault is either excluded entirely or absent from the statute.
Is there a cap on how long alimony lasts in Connecticut?
No. Connecticut has no statutory duration formula or cap. It is one of a shrinking group of states, roughly 15 by secondary-source estimates, that still permit true permanent, open-ended alimony when the facts support it.
Did Connecticut pass a duration-cap reform law?
No. Two bills, HB 5532 and SB 844, were introduced in the 2024 legislative session to add Massachusetts-style duration caps tied to marriage length. Neither passed out of committee. Current Connecticut law remains open-ended and factor-based.
What factors does a Connecticut judge weigh under §46b-82?
Length of the marriage; the causes of the breakdown; age, health, station, occupation, income amount and sources, vocational skills, education, employability, estate, and needs of each party; any property-division award already made under §46b-81; and, for a custodial parent, the desirability and feasibility of that parent securing employment.