How do you fill out Connecticut's JD-FM-164 affidavit concerning children?

What JD-FM-164 is for

JD-FM-164 is the Connecticut affidavit used in family cases involving children so the court can evaluate custody jurisdiction under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. The official Judicial Branch form says you must provide five years of residence information for each child and swear the answers are true. The underlying statute is C.G.S. § 46b-115s. In practice, that means the form is less about argument and more about accuracy. If the residence timeline or related-case disclosures are incomplete, the court may not have a clean record for custody or visitation decisions.

What to gather before you start

Gather the docket number, exact party names, each child's full legal name, birth date, and a reliable five-year address history before you touch the form. The Judicial Branch divorce filing guide lists JD-FM-164 among the forms used in cases with children, so the safest approach is to keep its facts consistent with the complaint and other opening papers. School records, pediatric records, leases, and old tax documents can help rebuild the timeline if you moved frequently. You also need details about any other custody, guardianship, protective-order, or child-related court matter because JD-FM-164 asks the court to understand the full procedural history, not just the current divorce.

How to complete the residence history without creating gaps

Start with each child's current living arrangement and work backward until you cover the full five-year period requested by the form. The JD-FM-164 PDF asks for the town or city and state, the adults the child lived with, those adults' present addresses, and each person's relationship to the child. If siblings truly shared the same timeline, the second-child shortcut can save space, but only use it when the history is identical. A missing month, an omitted caretaker, or a sloppy move date can make the affidavit look unreliable. When a child has more than two entries worth of information or you have more than two children, plan immediately for the addendum instead of trying to squeeze facts into the margins.

Which disclosures people often understate

Many filers focus on addresses and forget that JD-FM-164 also asks about other court proceedings and whether anyone besides the parents claims custody or visitation rights. Those questions matter because the court is trying to spot competing orders, pending cases, and safety issues before entering new family orders. If there has been another custody case, a probate guardianship matter, a domestic-violence case, or a child-protection proceeding, disclose it clearly instead of hoping it is irrelevant. Linda Douglas, Chief Legal Officer at Untangle, advises treating this section like a risk screen rather than a technicality: the cost of over-disclosing is usually far lower than the cost of appearing to hide a related case.

How to handle signing and filing safely

The official form states that you must swear the affidavit is true and sign it in front of a court clerk, notary public, or attorney who also signs and dates it. Do not sign at home and assume the clerk can accept it later. Review the completed affidavit against the complaint and any parenting paperwork before you swear to it, because once the form is filed it becomes part of the court's jurisdiction record. If your case involves more than two children, attach JD-FM-164A at the same time so the filing tells one complete story about every child covered by the case.

Frequently Asked Questions

JD-FM-164 is easy to underestimate because it looks like a fact sheet, but it has a gatekeeping role in any Connecticut case involving children. These short answers focus on when the affidavit is required, how the sibling shortcut works, when the addendum becomes mandatory, and why the oath rules matter. Use them as a final filing checklist, because the form works best when every child-history fact has already been verified against your records and not left for later cleanup.

Is JD-FM-164 required in every Connecticut divorce with children?

In many divorce, custody, or visitation matters involving minor children, yes. Connecticut Judicial Branch filing guidance includes JD-FM-164 in cases where children are involved because the court needs jurisdictional information before making custody-related orders. The affidavit is not about proving who should win custody. It is about giving the court enough verified background to determine that Connecticut is the right forum and that no competing child-order problem is being ignored at the outset.

Can I use the "same as child above" option for siblings?

Yes, but only when the residence history is truly identical. The form allows the shortcut when the locations, dates, caretakers, and relationships all match the child listed above. If any period differs, complete the lines separately. Using the shortcut on a partly different history can make the affidavit look unreliable and force a correction later. Courts prefer extra detail to a shortcut that hides differences in the record.

When do I need JD-FM-164A with the main affidavit?

You need the addendum when the main affidavit does not have enough space to list all affected children. The JD-FM-164 form tells filers to use JD-FM-164A for additional children. If the family has more than two children, file the addendum with the main affidavit so the court receives one complete child-history record from the start and avoids a deficiency notice. That saves a second trip to fix the packet.

Can I sign JD-FM-164 before I get to the courthouse?

No. The official affidavit says you must sign in front of a court clerk, notary public, or attorney who also signs and dates the document. Signing early can force you to redo the form. It is better to finish the draft, review every address and case disclosure, and bring unsigned copies with you so the oath happens correctly the first time and the court receives a properly sworn affidavit.