Responding to a custody or visitation application in Connecticut

The Resolution Plan Date is not a trial

At the Resolution Plan Date you talk to Family Services about the case. If you and the applicant reach an agreement with Family Services' help, a judge considers it. If not, the judge issues scheduling or other orders. It is where your case gets its shape, so come prepared to state your position.

If you hire an attorney and they file an Appearance by the Resolution Plan Date, your attorney must participate too.

File an Appearance

The Appearance (form JD-CL-12) is one form that tells the court you are in the case and where to reach you. There is no fee to file it. Include an email address you check; court notices go there. File it as soon as you can, and before the Resolution Plan Date. Without an Appearance on file you may not receive notices about your own case, including changes to court dates.

Filing an Appearance is not agreeing with anything in the application.

Court orders already apply to you

The Notice of Automatic Court Orders took effect against you the moment you were served. Until the case ends or a judge changes them, in a case involving children:

• Neither parent may permanently remove the children from Connecticut without the other's written consent or a court order.
• A parent who moves out must give the other a written address for communication within 48 hours.
• Parents living apart must assist the children in having contact with both of them, consistent with the family's habits.
• Neither parent may remove the children from medical, hospital, or dental insurance, and existing coverage must stay in force.
• Both parents must complete the parenting education program within 60 days of the filing of the application.

Violating an automatic order can be contempt of court. Read the full notice in your packet; it controls over any summary.

Your side of the paperwork

What you file depends on what the application asks for:

• If the application seeks child support, both parties' sworn Financial Affidavits (form JD-FM-6) must be on file at least 5 business days before any hearing on support.
• If custody or parenting time is disputed, Connecticut requires a proposed plan for parental decision making and parenting time. The court's form for an agreed plan is the Custody Agreement and Parenting Plan (form JD-FM-284).

Bring to the Resolution Plan Date the facts the court will ask about: where the children have lived for the past five years, their school and medical arrangements, your work schedule, and your proposed schedule for the children.

If you reach an agreement

Agreements reached at the Resolution Plan Date go to the judge the same day. If you and the applicant reach a full written agreement before the date, signed by both of you, the court has forms that ask it to approve an agreement without a hearing; the clerk's office can tell you which applies at your case's stage.

Filing online

You can file through the Judicial Branch's E-Services system at eservices.jud.ct.gov. Enroll to create a User ID and password, activate your account through the emailed link, then request electronic access to your case, which the clerk approves because the applicant started the case, not you. Choose your User ID carefully; it cannot be changed and appears on every document you file. If the Resolution Plan Date is close, paper filing at the clerk's office is the safer route.

What happens next

If there is an agreement, the judge reviews it and can make it a court order. If not, the court issues scheduling orders, and the case moves toward hearings where both parents present facts. Orders about the children require the Affidavit Concerning Children to be on file, and support orders require the financial paperwork above. Keep your Appearance information current; if you move or change email, file a new Appearance so notices reach you.

Where to get help

Connecticut's Court Service Centers offer free help for self-represented parties. The clerk's office can answer questions about procedure but cannot give legal advice. Legal aid organizations serve people who qualify. If you want legal advice, talk to a licensed Connecticut attorney.