May 2, 2026

Trusts in Relation to Alimony and Child Support

Last month we looked at a case involving different types of trusts and the extent to which the assets in these trust might be property for purposes of equitable distribution. More simply put, are the assets in a trust assets treated as the spouse’s assets to be taken into account when the court allocates property between the two spouses. The answer was sometimes, depending upon numerous facts specific to the trust at issue.

This month the focus is on trusts and alimony and child support. Can income one spouse receives from a trust be taken into account for purposes of determining alimony and child support. Again, there is not a simple answer. Especially regarding alimony, the analysis requires looking at the specific facts of each situation.

Here are the questions that are relevant to a proper legal analysis:

  • The trustee’s discretion to distribute or reinvest trust assets
  • Whether the trustee has made any historical distributions at the beneficiary’s request
  • The trustee’s ability to favor a current beneficiary in distributing assets
  • Whether the beneficiary has a power of appointment, which facilitates a beneficiary’s ability to transfer assets to others (such a the beneficiary’s children)
  • Any limits on the types of distributions to the beneficiary (such as housing, education, or health)

Regarding child support, the analysis is somewhat simpler than the alimony analysis because The Connecticut Child Support Guidelines specifically state that trust income is included in a parent’s net income for purposes of determining child support. As a result, in many circumstances the stream of income one parent receives from a trust will affect the amount of child support he or she must pay or will receive.

The bottom line is that if either spouse or parent has some interest in any type of trust, whether as trustee or beneficiary, it is important to work with an experienced family lawyer. He or she can then make the analysis necessary to determine the extent to which the trust interest should impact property division, alimony or child support.

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