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Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-37

(Formerly Sec. 46-10). Joint duty of spouses to support family. Liability for purchases and certain expenses. Abandonment

Known as the Connecticut Premarital Agreement Act

The act spans §§ 46–46 (52 sections).

Applied in 12 court decisions — leading case 572 F. Supp. 1527 - United States v. Edwards (1983)

Most recently applied in Cadle Co. v. DiFabio (In Re DiFabio) (August 2004)

(1949 Rev., S. 7308; 1957, P.A. 191; P.A. 77-288, S. 1; P.A. 78-230, S. 17, 54; P.A. 88-364, S. 58, 123; P.A. 92-140; P.A. 01-195, S. 35, 181.) History: P.A. 77-288 rephrased se…

How often courts cite this section

198319902000200420
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(a) Any purchase made by either a husband or wife in his or her own name shall be presumed, in the absence of notice to the contrary, to be made by him or her as an individual and he or she shall be liable for the purchase.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, it shall be the joint duty of each spouse to support his or her family, and both shall be liable for: (1) The reasonable and necessary services of a physician or dentist; (2) hospital expenses rendered the husband or wife or minor child while residing in the family of his or her parents; (3) the rental of any dwelling unit actually occupied by the husband and wife as a residence and reasonably necessary to them for that purpose; and (4) any article purchased by either which has in fact gone to the support of the family, or for the joint benefit of both.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, a spouse who abandons his or her spouse without cause shall be liable for the reasonable support of such other spouse while abandoned.

(d) No action may be maintained against either spouse under the provisions of this section, either during or after any period of separation from the other spouse, for any liability incurred by the other spouse during the separation, if, during the separation the spouse who is liable for support of the other spouse has provided the other spouse with reasonable support.

(e) Abandonment without cause by a spouse shall be a defense to any liability pursuant to the provisions of subdivisions (1) to (4), inclusive, of subsection (b) of this section for expenses incurred by and for the benefit of such spouse. Nothing in this subsection shall affect the duty of a parent to support his or her minor child.

Official source: Connecticut General Assembly. Reproduced from public-domain Connecticut statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.