Child custody laws in Connecticut are found in Title 46b of the Connecticut General Statutes. These are important guidelines for parents to know as they go through a custody situation.

Parental responsibility plan. There are a few ways, listed in Title 46b Chapter 56, that a parent can get a custody order from the court. The parents can agree on a Connecticut parenting plan that they submit to the court. There can be an award of joint custody where the parents must come up with an agreement about how they will share responsibility, time, and other decisions about the child. One parent can also have sole custody with an adequate visitation plan for the other parent.

Visitation. Chapter 49 is an interesting statute that also affects the Connecticut visitation schedule. This part of the law explains that the court can grant visitation to any person if it is in the child’s best interest. The person needs to apply for visitation with the court, and the judge can make an order. Generally these visitation rights are extended to grandparents and other members of the extended family. If anyone else is given visitation, the schedule must reflect that.

The parenting education class. Chapter 69b contains a requirement for a parenting education class. This class is offered by the court to educate parents about the impact that the restructuring of families has on the children. The course can include information about the developmental stages of children, how children can adjust to parental separation, how parents can resolve disputes and conflict, how to handle visitation, making a Connecticut custody agreement, and how to help the child handle the stresses of the separation. Parents only have to take this class once, and the court can waive the requirement if necessary.

3. Best interest of the child standard. Right in Title 46 it says that all custody decisions, including the making of a Connecticut custody schedule, must be guided by what is in the best interest of the child. This means that the parents should make the children the focus of everything in the plan, and they should be willing to put the child’s needs above their own. If the child is old enough and mature enough to form an intelligent opinion, the court will listen to the wishes of the child. Parents should consider this as they make the agreement. Sometimes the court will also take the circumstances of the parents’ separation into account as they decide custody matters.