CONTENTS
Before You Start
Should
I get a lawyer?
Other
important tips for using this guide
Here's What to Do
Step One: Get the Court
Forms
Step Two: Fill Out the Forms
Step Three: Serve and File the Forms
Step Four: Magistrate Conference
Step Five: Mediation
Step Six: Status Conference
Step Seven: Interim Divorce Hearing
(or Final Parental Rights Hearing)
Step Eight: Second Mediation
Step Nine: Status or Pre-Trial Conference
Step Ten: Final Hearing
Review
Glossary of
Legal Terms
Questions and Answers
Divorce and the sharing of parental rights are serious matters. For most
people, this is a difficult, stressful time. In this guide, we try to explain
and simplify the court process for you. We hope that this will help you feel
more confident about dealing with the legal system. You can get through this.
Begin here and take one step at a time.
Should I get a lawyer?
We provide this information for low-income people who cannot afford to
hire lawyers. If you can afford the cost, we advise you to get a lawyer.
But, if you cannot afford one, here are some guidelines.
You should try to get a lawyer if your divorce is complicated by:
- property issues such as pensions or real estate
- arguments over children
- domestic violence, or
- other difficult problems.
You may want to try to do it yourself if:
- you and your spouse have agreed on the terms of the divorce,
- you do not feel that your spouse is a threat, and
- you have little property or debts, which you can divide fairly.
If you think you need a lawyer and cannot afford one, call the Maine Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP):
1-800-442-4293.
They may be able to refer you to a free lawyer for some or all of your case. They cannot find a free lawyer for everyone who calls.
Other important tips for using this guide:
- If you are not married but have children, you can still
use this information.
- Sometimes lawyers and Judges speak in "legalese." If
you come across a linked word that you don't understand, click on
it. This will take you to the
Glossary and a plain English meaning for the word.
(To get back to where you were reading, click on "Back"
at the upper left-hand corner of your screen.)
- Call
Pine Tree Legal Assistance if you need help with:
- Getting food or shelter
- Paying for medical care
- Public benefits
- Housing issues
- Escaping domestic violence
Remember:
Take
one step at a time.
Step One:
Get the Court forms
Go to your local District Court and ask the
clerk
for a forms packet. Tell the clerk if you are married
and if you have mutual children. The clerk
will give you the right set of court forms.
The packet also has a page of instructions telling you what to do with the
forms. You can also
get the forms online,
except for the Summons. You must pay the court clerk $5.00 for a signed Summons.
Getting a divorce costs money. Here are some of the costs:
If you have a very low income and cannot pay these costs,
you can ask the
court to pay them for you. Ask the clerk for an Application to Proceed
Without Payment of Fees (fee waiver form) and an Indigency Affidavit.
Check all of the boxes near the top of the fee waiver form to show that
you need all costs waived. On the affidavit form,
list all of your income and expenses. If you get TANF, SSI or general assistance, the court should waive the fees.
(Contact Pine Tree Legal if you are denied). If your income is higher,
the court
will look at your income and expenses and decide whether you qualify for the
waiver. (If you want to get these forms on line, or you need more help with filling out these forms,
go to our page on
Court Fee Waivers.)
Step
Two: Fill Out The Forms
Next, you need to fill out the forms you got from the court.
The information sheet at the front of the forms packet gives you some help.
Read it carefully.
Tips
- If you cannot fill out the forms by yourself, ask for help.
774-4348 (from the Portland calling area), or
1-800-442-4293 (from the rest of Maine)
They will tell you when you can get over-the-phone help from a lawyer.
- If you want your address and phone number on court papers to be
kept private because you are afraid of the other party,
click here to read about
what to do.
- When you file any paper with the court, always mail a copy to the other party,
or his lawyer, if he has one.
- Make a second copy of all your court papers. Put them in a file and keep the file updated.
Take it to court each time you go there. You may also want
to keep dated notes about what is going on with your case.
Step
Three: Serve and File the Forms
Go back to the information sheet that came with your court forms packet.
Read it carefully. It tells you how to serve and file
your forms.
More Tips
- If you try certified mail service and the defendant does
not sign the green postal card, this means either that she refused
to sign or that the mail was undeliverable.
If the defendant refused to sign, you can send the papers by
regular mail, then file with the court clerk the green card and
an affidavit stating how you served the papers.
If the green card comes back saying that the mail was undeliverable,
then you must try one of the other service methods.
- If you think that one of the two mail methods will work, serve copies of
your papers before you file the originals with the court.
- If the mail methods don't work because the defendant is avoiding service,
use the Service by Sheriff method. This costs more. If you cannot afford
the fee, you can file your papers with the court first, along with your
fee waiver application. Explain in your application
why you need to use Service by Sheriff. If the court approves your application,
the court will pay for the cost of Sheriff Service.
- You may not be able to find the other party. If you have made all reasonable
efforts but still cannot find the defendant, the court may let you do:
"Service by Publication." Ask the court clerk for a free Service by Publication
forms packet. Follow the instructions on the cover sheet. This is the most expensive kind of
service. Again, you may ask for a fee waiver if you cannot afford the cost.
|
Important Notice to Both Parties
Notify the court in writing right away if your mailing address changes. If you don't do this, you may not get court notices,
which will cause you to miss important court dates.
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Step
Four: Magistrate Conference
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Attention Portland Court users! This court is trying out a pilot project. You will
follow different steps from this point forward. See a video
and read more.
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About
two weeks after you serve and file the court papers, the court
will send both
parties a notice. The notice tells you that a Case Management Conference
has been scheduled. It will give you the date and time of the conference.
(In some of the busier courts, you may wait longer for the notice and meeting
date.)
Be sure to go to the conference. Try to complete the Child Support Worksheet
before the conference, if you can. (If you want more detailed instructions,
go to our page Calculating Your Child Support. Our
" self-calculating look-up" form will do the math for you.
You will need an updated version of Adobe Acrobat Reader to use this form. If you
need help downloading this free software click
here. If you still can't figure it out, ask the Family Law Magistrate for help with
this form at the conference.)
If you are the defendant and the
court has not heard from you or your lawyer, the clerk
will send you these two forms with the conference notice:
- Entry of appearance.
- Child support affidavit.
Fill out the forms. Sign the affidavit form
in front of a notary public. File the original
forms with the clerk before the conference. Send copies to the
plaintiff.
Read on. The rest of this information applies to you as well as the
plaintiff.
The conference is run by a Family Law Magistrate (or
"Magistrate"). The Magistrate will try to move your case
along by:
- Finding out if there is an issue of domestic violence in the family.
- Helping you to come to an agreement, if you can, about any issues--
especially issues that affect your children, like visitation and child support.
- Finding out what issues you have not been able to agree upon.
- Giving a written order that says what you have agreed on, what issues
still need to be decided, and scheduling the next steps.
Tips:
- The Magistrate has the duty to do what is in the best interests
of your children. The Magistrate will tell you about how important it is for you, too, to focus
on this goal. Before you go into the conference, think about what should happen
so that your children will get what they need. If you are talking with the other parent about an agreement,
remember that the
court will be looking to see if the children's needs are being met. If you are having trouble deciding these issues,
the Magistrate may appoint a guardian ad litem to represent the children.
Please
read more about the parental rights issues you will need to consider.
- This is also the time to request that a Judge hear certain issues, if you prefer, rather than the Magistrate.
If the only contested
issues in your case concern child support (including insurance and tax exemptions) the Magistrate will hear those issues. If there are
contested issues concerning other parental rights, those issues will have a
final hearing before a Judge.
Unless you object, the Magistrate may also hold interim hearings (see Step Seven) concerning these other
parental rights issues. If you
prefer that a Judge hear these issues at your interim hearing, you must raise your objection before or during this Conference. (Be aware
that in many courts you will have to wait longer to get an interim hearing date before a Judge.)
- If you have agreed on all issues before the conference, the Magistrate
can help you to by-pass the rest of the steps.
- If you have not agreed on all issues, the next step will be mediation. Be
ready to pay the fee ($160 total, or $80 each, unless you get a
fee waiver)
and to set a mediation session for a time when you can both be there. (If you are afraid of the other
party, read about waiving mediation.)
Step Five:
Mediation
At the mediation, a court mediator will try to help
the two of you agree to as many issues as you can. Again, the court wants
to take care of your children’s needs first. So, the mediator will look
for agreement on these issues:
- How you plan to share parental
rights and responsibilities
- Where the children will live
- When the children will visit with the other parent
- Amount of child support
- How the children’s health care will be covered
- Who will pay housing costs
- Spousal support
- Any other issues that will have an immediate impact on the children
If all of these issues are resolved and there is still time, you may also
talk about whether you can agree on other issues, such as:
You must mediate in "good faith," but you don't have to agree
to anything that you believe is wrong or wouldn't work. The mediator will meet
with each party privately at the beginning. If the other party has abused you or
you are afraid, tell the mediator about this in the private
meeting. You can ask to be in a separate room from the other party during the mediation.
(Read more about this issue in Questions
and Answers.)
Note:
You can choose to use a private mediator, rather than the court mediator.
But you must pay whatever fee that mediator charges.
At this point, your case could be sent along one of several paths. The
next steps describe how a typical case might go.
But the Magistrate
will direct you in a way that will best fit your case, to move it along
quickly but carefully.
Step Six: Status Conference
Your next step may be a status conference with the Magistrate.
At this meeting, the Magistrate will review what happened at your mediation.
If you have agreed on all issues, the Magistrate can hold a final
uncontested
hearing. After this brief hearing, the Magistrate will give you a final order.
Your case will be done.
If there are child-related issues you have not been able to resolve, the
Magistrate will schedule an interim hearing. This will be held by the
Magistrate, unless you opted at the first case management conference for a
Judge-help hearing.
Note: If you need an interim hearing to resolve emergency issues before
all of the above steps have been completed, the Magistrate may move you directly from
Step Four to Step Seven.
Step
Seven: Interim Divorce Hearing
(or Final Parental Rights Hearing)
This is a formal court hearing. The Judge or Magistrate will
hear each side. You can speak for yourself, bring witnesses, and present documents.
Court rules of evidence and procedure will be followed.
After the hearing, the Judge or Magistrate will give an interim
order saying what will happen with the children and issues that affect
them until your divorce, or parental rights case, is final.
Step
Eight: Second Mediation
If you still have unresolved issues about dividing up property, dividing
up debts, or other disputes, the court may require you to go through a second
mediation.
After mediation, if you agree on all remaining issues, the
mediator
will help you to write up your agreement. You will both sign the agreement.
Then the clerk will set a time for your final
uncontested
hearing. At that hearing, the Magistrate will
ask a few simple questions, will review your agreement and sign a
final order.
If there are still issues you cannot agree on, you will go on to the next
step.
Step
Nine: Status or Pre-Trial Conference
The Magistrate will probably meet with you one more time
to assess where you are with your case and to help you figure out where to
go from here. These are some things that can come from the conference:
- If the Magistrate thinks that more mediation would help you to resolve more issues,
you may be ordered to mediate again. (The $160 fee covers two sessions. If
you go beyond two sessions, you must pay another fee--unless you got a fee
waiver.)
-
If you have resolved all issues since the last mediation, the Magistrate will hold
a brief uncontested hearing, review your
agreement and sign a final order.
-
If you still have issues you cannot agree upon and the
Magistrate thinks you are ready for a final hearing, she will give you a "conference
order" which includes:
- The date and time of your final hearing.
- Whether a Judge or a Magistrate will hear your case.
(Your case will now go to a Judge unless child
support is the only remaining issue.)
- Your deadline for telling the other party what
witnesses and documents you will be using at the
hearing (if any).
- A list of the unresolved issues.
Step
Ten: Final Hearing
This is a formal hearing, like the interim hearing.
The Judge or Magistrate hears both sides then issues a
final order. You may give your own testimony,
present witnesses and documents. You may cross-examine the other party. The
court rules of evidence and procedure apply.
If you disagree with any part of a Magistrate’s final order, you can file written
objections to the order. Deliver or mail this to the clerk and send
a copy to the other party. The deadline for filing objections is 21 days from the
date the clerk entered the order on the court docket (usually soon after the Magistrate signed the
order). Then a Judge will review the Magistrate’s order and your objections and give a
final order.
If you miss this 21-day deadline, you waive your right to any further appeals.
The deadline for appealing a Judge's final order to the Law Court is
21 days after
the clerk enters the order on the docket. File any appeal with the District
Court clerk. You will probably need a lawyer to help
you go forward with an appeal. Although some of the costs can be waived, appeals are expensive.
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Review
- Decide if you should get a lawyer or if it is safe
to go forward on your own.
- Read the entire Electronic Guide.
- Get your court forms packet.
- Read the court forms instruction sheet.
- Fill out the forms. Get help if you need it.
- Serve and file the forms.
- Go to the Case Management Conference with the Magistrate.
- Follow the steps and directions you get from the Magistrate.
- Look back at this Guide and ask for help when you have questions.
- Take one step at a time.
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| Here's what they mean...a glossary of legal terms
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You may see words in the court forms that you don’t understand.
The court clerks and Magistrates may
use words you don’t know. Here are some legal terms, explained in plain
English.
Affidavit means a written sworn statement
where you say, under oath, that the statement is true. You must sign an affidavit
in front of a notary public.
Clerk is the person you go to for court forms.
The clerk also files your papers in your court file. The clerk sets the time
for conferences and hearings.
Complaint is one of the court forms you file
and serve, to start your divorce or parental rights case.
Contested hearing is a formal court
hearing, held when the parties do not agree on one or more issues. A Judge or Magistrate hears both parties tell their stories
and then makes a decision. You can speak for yourself,
bring witnesses, and present documents. Court rules of evidence and procedure
will be followed.
Defendant is the person who gets the court
papers (including the complaint and summons) from the
plaintiff.
Family Law Magistrates: See "Magistrates."
Fee waiver is granted by the court if you cannot afford the
court costs. Read more.
Filing a paper with the court simply means handing
it, or mailing it, to the court clerk.
Final order is the last step of your case
(unless you appeal). This order is where the Judge or Magistrate says
in writing what each party’s ongoing rights and responsibilities are.
Guardian ad litem, or GAL, is a person appointed by the court
to "protect and promote the best interests" of a child. The GAL interviews the child, the parents,
and others involved with the child. Then the GAL files a report with the court, recommending a
parental rights decision that he believes to be in the child's best interests.
Read more about GAL's.
In
forma pauperis means getting the Court to waive your court fees because
you can’t afford to pay. If you need this, ask the clerk
for an "Application to Proceed Without Payment of Fees" and
an "Indigency Affidavit." Read more
Interim Order is the court order you
will get soon after you file your case. In this order, the court tries to
take care of your children’s needs until your case is finally resolved.
Later, a final order will take the place
of this order.
Law Court is the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, acting as the appellate court.
Under recent rule changes, all appeals in family law cases go
directly to the Law Court. This Court reviews whether the trial court made any errors of law.
It does not hear new evidence or retry the
facts of your case.
Magistrates have some, but not all, of the powers of Judges. For
example, the Magistrate can order how much child support must be paid. Also, the
Magistrate helps you to understand the court process and to move your case along.
The Magistrate will hold your first court meeting. You may meet with the Magistrate again
later in your case, or with a Judge, depending on the issues to be decided.
Marital property is property that
either of you got during your marriage. Generally speaking, property
each of you got before you were married, as well as gifts made to you alone during the marriage,
are not marital property. The divorce
order must include how all of your property is going to be divided. If you have pensions,
retirement plans, or other property issues, try to get a lawyer. Read
more about dividing property.
Mediator is a person who helps you figure
out whether there are issues you can agree upon. The mediator cannot order
you to do anything. However, the court requires both parties to make
a "good faith" effort to mediate.
Motion is a paper you file with the court, asking
the Judge or Magistrate to decide an issue. Begin the motion by
copying the heading (court location, names of plaintiff
and defendant) from your complaint
form. Then substitute "Motion" for "Complaint," to help
the clerk identify and file your paper. Then explain what you are asking the
court to do, such as waive mediation.
Some courts will accept a less formal request. So, if this is too difficult, see if the
clerk will accept a letter from you, stating what you are asking the
court to do and why. You must mail a copy to the other party.
Mutual children are children the two parties
had together. Usually the court will deal with mutual children only. But the Maine courts have
started granting parental rights and responsibilities to step-parents in certain cases, where
the step-parent has become the "de facto parent," or where future contact is in the best interests
of the child.
Notary public is a person who can be
a witness when you sign papers that have to be "sworn to" or
"notarized."
(See affidavit.) When a court form calls for this,
go to your local "notary," a bank or law office, or the court
clerk,
to find a person who can watch you sign the form.
Parental Rights and Responsibilities
case is the type of case you bring if you and the other parent are not married.
If you are married and are getting a divorce, the court’s order will
address parental rights and responsibilities issues, as well as property
and spousal support issues. (Read more
in Questions and Answers.)
Plaintiff is the person who files and
serves
the court papers to start the case.
Pro se means doing your own court case without
a lawyer.
Public assistance benefits,
in the court complaint form, means TANF (formerly
AFDC) and MaineCare (formerly Medicaid).
Serve (or "service") means giving
the court papers to the other party. Court rules say how this must be done.
Spouse means your husband or wife.
Summons is one of the court forms you file
and serve,
to start your divorce or parental rights case. You cannot get this form on line.
You must buy it from the clerk for $5.00.
Uncontested hearing is the type
of hearing you will have at the end of your case if you have agreed on all
issues. It is a very short formal court hearing where the Magistrate
or Judge asks a few simple questions. The Magistrate or Judge will also review your
agreement with you, to make sure everyone understands what the
final
order will say.
| But I still have lots of questions...
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So far, we have explained the basics of how the court’s family division
works. And we’ve told you what some of the legal terms mean. But there’s
still more to know. Here are some answers to questions many people ask.
Q. What if I need a divorce but we
have no children?
A.
On one hand, your divorce case will be simpler because you don’t
have to deal with children’s issues. You will not go through any of the
Magistrate steps explained above. You will go through mediation
if you cannot agree on all issues (division of property and debts and alimony).
You will have to move your own case along, by asking the clerk
to schedule your court dates. Follow the steps outlined in your court
forms packet information sheet.
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If you are the defendant,
file either an Entry of Appearance form or an
Answer and Counterclaim within 20 days of being
served
with the court papers (summons and
complaint).
- Entry of Appearance: This is a simple
form that you can get from the court clerk or from our
forms page. Fill it out, give or mail
a copy to the plaintiff,
and give or mail the original to the court
clerk.
- Answer and Counterclaim: This is
a longer form that you may want to file and
serve.
If the plaintiff decides not to go through
with the court case, you can move forward
on your own "counterclaim."
Click below to get the forms you
need.
Click here if you you need help
getting the forms.
If you do not file one of these two papers (Appearance or Answer), then
the court will assume that you don't care about how the case comes
out. It can go ahead and decide all of the issues in the case without notifying
you.
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Q. What about stepchildren?
A. Until recently, the court did not make any decisions about stepchildren. Typically,
a party who was not a biological parent had no legal rights or responsibilities. However, the Maine
courts are changing their view. In April 2004 the Maine Law Court ruled that the trial court can
decide whether a stepparent who wants visitation, or other parental rights and responsibilities:
- should be awarded visitation, as a "third party," or
- should be treated as a "de facto parent," having on-going rights and responsibilities, as would a biological parent.
This new ruling
raises many unanswered questions.
If you are a stepparent wanting to be treated as a "de facto parent," you must prove that you have been acting
as a real parent to the child. The Court said that you can be considered a "de facto parent" only if you have "fully
and completely undertaken a permanent, unequivocal, committed, and responsible parental role in the child's life."
As with all children's issues, the court's primary goal is to meet "the best interests of the child."
Q. How is a parental rights case (for unmarried parents) different from a
divorce?
A. The Steps explained above are similar. Here are
the major differences:
- The court will not decide any property issues. The only issues are
parental
rights and responsibilities.
- If you are the mother of a child and the father disputes that he is the
father, then you will have to go through some more steps to prove that the
defendant is the father of your child. If this
is an issue, check the box on the complaint that asks for "blood or
tissue typing tests."
- The court will give a child support order but cannot order spousal
support (alimony).
Q. What
"parental rights and responsibilities" issues have to be decided?
A. Here are the issues you
need to think about, and discuss with the other parent, if you can:
- Where will the children be living - with one parent most of the time ("primary
residence") or "shared residence"?
- When and under what conditions will the children be visiting the other
parent? If you and the other parent can talk about this issue, you may want
to agree to a flexible order, like "visits will be at reasonable times."
On the other hand, if you expect problems, then you may want to set a schedule
so that you can avoid future arguments. If you have good reasons to ask
that conditions be put on visits (such as supervision by another family
member, or no use of alcohol or drugs during visits), raise those issues
with either the other parent or the Magistrate, or both.
- How much child support will be paid? You can find this
amount by filling out the "Child Support Worksheet" included in the court forms packet.
Where both parents will be providing "substantially
equal care," you must fill out a Supplemental Worksheet,
as well.
If you have trouble with these forms, get help from the
"Helpline,". Or use our
Calculating Child Support information. We also post a
"self-calculating look-up" version of the basic Worksheet, which will do the math for you. Sometimes
you can agree to a different amount, if the court approves the reasons for
the change. This is called a "child support deviation."
- How will you cover your child’s health care expenses? Can either
of you get medical insurance at work? Is your child eligible for
MaineCare coverage through the state? How will you share any unmet
medical expenses?
- Are there any other child-related issues that you want to include in your
agreement? For example, is religious upbringing or medical treatment an
issue?
There are three ways to divide up parental rights and responsibilities:
"shared,"
"sole" and "allocated." In most cases, the parental
rights and responsibilities will be "shared." The court order will
tell how those will be shared. In certain cases, where one
parent has abandoned the child or is violent, the court may give "sole
parental rights" to the other parent. Sometimes the court will "allocate"
the rights and duties by directing one parent to take care of a certain task
(religious upbringing, for example).
In difficult cases the court may appoint a guardian ad litem to
represent the children. This person assists the court in deciding what outcomes would be in
the children's "best interests." If you think your children need a guardian ad litem, ask the
Magistrate about getting one.
Q. How long will my court case take?
A. That depends on several
things. If you are getting divorced, even if you have agreed on all issues,
you still must wait at least 60 days after serving the complaint before you
can have a final uncontested hearing.
If you’re unmarried, it may not take as long. If you’ve agreed
on all issues, ask the Magistrate at the first conference
to give a final order based on your agreement.
If you do not agree on all issues, then your case could take several months.
Q. What do I put on the complaint form as
"grounds" for divorce?
A. Most divorces in Maine are granted on the grounds of "irreconcilable
differences." Maine statute includes nine different grounds for divorce,
including adultery and extreme cruelty. But you do not have to show fault to get
a divorce in Maine. If you want to get a divorce based on fault (extreme cruelty,
for example), you should get a lawyer. If you list this as the only grounds and
you do not prove "extreme cruelty," the court may not grant the
divorce. If either spouse tells the court that there are
"irreconcilable differences," the court can order a divorce. So, as
a practical matter, this is the grounds the court almost always uses, even when
a party is at fault.
Serious abuse may be relevant to other decisions the court must make, like
division of parental rights and
responsibilities and need for spousal support.
Q. If I’m the Defendant
and got the divorce papers in the mail, am I agreeing to everything in the
Complaint if I sign and return the "Acknowledgment
of Receipt" form?
A. No. By signing
and returning the form, you are only agreeing that you got the divorce papers.
You will have the chance to explain where you stand on issues at the conference,
the mediation, and any formal hearings you may have.
Notify the court in sriting right away if your mailing address changes. If you don't do this, you may not get court notices,
which will cause you to miss important court dates.
Q. In a divorce, if we file the "Certificate
in Lieu of Case Management Conference," do we still have to go to the
conference?
A. This is a court form you
can file to ask that the first Magistrate conference be
waived because you have resolved all child-related issues. However, unless
you get a written order from the court waiving the conference, you must still
go. Assuming you don’t have a lawyer, consider going to the
conference in any case. The Magistrate can answer your questions and help
you to move your case along.
Q. If I am afraid of the other party, do I
have to say where I am living
when I fill out the court forms?
A. No. You can write "confidential"
where the forms ask for address and telephone. Then ask the
clerk
for an Affidavit for Confidential Address form. If the court
doesn't have one, draft your own affidavit.
Write down why you think this information must be kept private, for the safety
of you or your children. Sign it in front of a notary
public. Then give it to the clerk
along with your other papers. The clerk will then "seal" this
information, so that the other party can't get it. The other party can
object to this in writing. Then the court would hold a hearing to decide
whether the clerk must still keep the information secret.
Q. Do
I have to go to mediation if I am afraid of my spouse or former partner?
A. The court
may waive mediation "for extraordinary cause." For example, if you
think trying to mediate will cause the other party to hurt you or your children,
you may ask the court in writing to let you skip mediation. This is called
a motion. On another page, explain what has happened
to make you afraid of the other party. This is called an
affidavit.
You must sign your affidavit under oath in front of a notary
public. File both papers with the court clerk. She
will ask the Judge to look at them and decide whether or not you will have
to mediate.
Some courts may accept a letter, instead of a formal motion. Attach a copy of your
Protection from Abuse Order, if you have one. Or ask the Magistrate to
waive mediation when you meet with him. See Step 4.
If you get to mediation and you are still afraid, ask the
mediator
to talk to you in private about your concerns. The mediator can allow you
to stay in separate rooms. In extreme cases, the mediator can decide that
mediation won’t work, or can stop mediation after it starts if someone
is threatened.
If you are in this situation, we encourage you to try
to get a lawyer. For a list of legal resources and other support, see
Divorce
and Separation: Where Can I Get Help?
Q. In a divorce,
how do we divide up property and debts?
A. That isn’t an easy
question to answer. If you have a lot of property or debts, you should try
to get a lawyer. Make sure that you are getting a fair share
of real estate, pensions and retirement accounts.
If you don’t have much property, try to divide it fairly. Each of you may claim your non-marital property. Those are
things you got before the marriage and gifts to you alone during the marriage. Everything else is
marital property and should be divided as fairly as possible.
The same rules apply to debts. However, no matter how you divide up your debts, a creditor can still go after you for debts you both
signed for while you were married. If a creditor forces you to pay a joint debt that the divorce court has ordered the other party to pay,
you can sue your former spouse to pay you back.
If you own a house or other real estate and don’t have a lawyer, get this court form:
Certificate Regarding Real Estate.
Fill it out with the correct Registry of Deeds information, and file it with the clerk. Send a
copy to the other party. The court will use
this information in drafting your final order. Also, the court will order either you or the other party to prepare another form:
Abstract of Divorce Decree. Submit this completed form to the clerk along with the Registry
filing fee.
Send a copy to the other party. The clerk will complete the process. Once the Abstract is filed in the Registry of Deeds, third parties,
like future buyers, can trace how the divorce affected the ownership of the property.
Q. How does the court decide on spousal support, or alimony?
A. First, Maine law no longer uses the term "alimony." It's now
called "spousal support." Unlike child support, the court does not have
a set formula for determining spousal support. If this is an issue in your case,
you should try to get a lawyer. You must ask for spousal support now. You cannot
come back to the court later, after your divorce, to ask for it.
There are three types of spousal support in Maine:
- General support
- Transitional support, and
- Reimbursement support
Here are some of the factors that the court will look at to decide whether to
award spousal support, for how long, and for what amount:
- The length of the marriage
- The ability of each party to pay
- The age of each party
- The employment history, employment potential, income and education of each party
- The health of each party
- The contributions of either party as homemaker
- Economic misconduct
- Tax consequences
- Any other factors the court considers appropriate
Q. What happens if I don't go to
a court meeting or hearing?
A. It is important that you show up for
court dates. Be on time and be prepared. If you don't go, you
can be "defaulted," which means that the court gives the other party
what he wants because you didn't appear. The court can also charge you
for costs, such as court fees or the other party's attorney fees.
Notify the court right away if your mailing address changes. If you don't do
this, you may not get court notices, which will cause you to miss important court dates.
Q. If the court orders that child
support be paid to me, how do I collect it?
A. You have choices. You can wait to see if the other parent pays regularly.
If this happens, you don't have to do anything to enforce the order.
If you are not getting the payments, or think that you'll need help collecting,
you have other choices.
- You can ask the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to collect the money and send it to
you. Ask the clerk for a DHHS Child Support Services brochure,
an application form, and contract form. Fill out the forms and send them to:
Department of Health and Human Services
Division of Support Enforcement and Recovery
Central Office Supervisor
11 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333-0011
Be sure to submit with the forms all of the documents DHHS asks for. If you don’t include all of the required information,
they may return your documents, and you will have to start over. This will cause delay and could lead to lost documents.
After DHHS gets your forms and opens a case file, they will be contacting you for
more information. To get child support sooner, always get back to them promptly.
If you or your children get TANF or MaineCare, you do not have to sign up for
DHHS collection services. You get this service automatically.
- You can give the other parent's employer a copy of your Immediate Income
Withholding Order.
Get this from the court clerk. This paper orders the
employer to withhold wages and send the money to DHHS. DHHS then forwards it to
you. Keep DHHS informed of your current mailing address. If you choose this
option, you will get "limited services" from DHHS. They will forward
money they get to you but will not take any other steps to enforce the
court order.
If the other parent does not get a regular paycheck, collecting support may
be much harder. Your choices are to ask for DHHS services, hire a lawyer, or try
to take the other parent back to court on your own. The last choice may be
difficult, depending on the facts of your case. Read about
Post-Judgment
Motions. Then decide if you can do a Motion to Enforce or Motion
for Contempt on your own.
