A Maine child support order represents a legally binding court directive requiring one parent to provide financial support for their children. Whether you're establishing a new child support order, seeking to enforce an existing one, or need to modify support due to changed circumstances, understanding how these orders work helps ensure your children receive the support they need while protecting your rights as a parent.
What is a Maine Child Support Order?
A child support order is a court-ordered mandate establishing how much one parent must pay to help support their children financially. In Maine, these orders can be part of divorce proceedings, parental rights and responsibilities cases for unmarried parents, or separate child support actions. The Department of Health and Human Services, through its Division of Support Enforcement and Recovery (DSER), plays a central role in administering and enforcing child support orders throughout Maine.
Child support obligations continue until the child turns 18, or if the child is still in high school at age 18, until they graduate or turn 19—whichever comes first. The order can terminate earlier if the child marries, joins the military, or becomes legally emancipated.
Establishing a Child Support Order
Every parental rights and responsibilities order must include a child support order or explain why the court did not order child support. Judges approve all child support orders to ensure they serve the child's best interests, even when parents reach their own agreement.
Required Forms and Documentation
Establishing a child support order requires completing specific forms:
Child Support Affidavit (Form FM-050): Both parents complete this confidential form detailing their income and certain expenses. Each parent signs their affidavit before a notary public, attorney, or court clerk, then files it with the court before the Case Management Conference. Parents exchange copies with each other while the original goes to the court. The affidavit remains confidential in court files and cannot be accessed by the public.
Child Support Worksheet (Form FM-040): After exchanging income information through the affidavits, parents complete one worksheet using combined data. This form designates one parent as the "Primary Care Provider" (the parent with whom children live most of the time) and the other as the "Non-Primary Care Provider."
Supplemental Worksheet (Form FM-040-A): When parents provide "substantially equal care"—meaning both participate substantially equally in the child's residential, educational, recreational, child care, medical, dental, and mental health needs—this additional worksheet is required.
Calculating Child Support Under Maine Guidelines
Maine uses child support guidelines based on the Income Shares Model, which calculates how much parents would spend on children if living together as a family, then divides this proportionally based on each parent's income.
The Calculation Process
Step 1: Determine Gross Income
Gross income includes all pretax income from wages, commissions, self-employment earnings, disability payments, military pay, pensions, investment income, and alimony received from a former spouse who isn't the child's parent. Gross income doesn't include child support received for the children in question.
Parents can deduct:
- Spousal support or child support paid in other cases
- Costs of raising other children in the household
- For self-employed parents, necessary business costs (limited deductions)
If courts believe a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, they may impute additional potential income based on education, experience, and available job opportunities.
Step 2: Apply the Child Support Table
Maine's Schedule of Basic Child Support Obligations shows baseline support amounts based on combined parental income and number of children. The worksheet calculates the basic support by:
- Determining each parent's annual gross income
- Adding incomes together for combined income
- Applying this figure to the child support guidelines
- Multiplying the guideline figure by the number of children
Step 3: Calculate Total Basic Support
To the basic support amount, add:
- Child care costs (for children under 12)
- Health insurance premiums for the children
- Extraordinary medical expenses for the children
Step 4: Divide Between Parents
The total basic support is divided between parents proportionally based on their respective gross incomes. The non-primary care provider pays their proportional share to the primary care provider after subtracting any direct payments for health insurance and child care.
Example Calculation
Family Detail | Amount |
Combined annual gross income | $67,000 |
Mother's income share | 52% |
Father's income share | 48% |
Weekly basic support per child | $129 |
Weekly child care costs | $200 |
Weekly health insurance (paid by father) | $60 |
Total weekly support obligation | $697 |
Father's proportional share (48%) | $334 |
Minus health insurance he pays | -$60 |
Father's weekly payment | $275 |
The mother provides her share ($362) directly through daily care and by paying childcare and extraordinary medical expenses. The father reimburses her for 48% of those expenses.
Substantially Equal Care Calculations
When parents share care substantially equally, the child support calculation changes significantly. The process uses "enhanced support" (basic support multiplied by 1.5) to account for maintaining two residences for children.
The higher-income parent pays the lower-income parent the difference between their proportionate shares of enhanced support and the higher-income parent's share of basic support. Additional adjustments account for child care, health insurance, and extraordinary medical expenses proportional to incomes.
If parents have substantially equal incomes and shared residency, neither may be required to pay child support, though both may still share costs for health insurance, uninsured medical expenses, and child care.
Provisions Required in Every Child Support Order
Maine law requires that child support orders include specific provisions:
Immediate Income Withholding: Nearly all orders include immediate income withholding from the obligor's income, effective from the date of the support order regardless of whether payments are past due. This allows employers to automatically deduct child support from paychecks.
Notice Requirements: Orders must include:
- Amount of income to be withheld for current support
- Instructions on implementing income withholding by serving attested copies and required notices
- Notice that withholding may collect arrearages in addition to current support
- Notice that withholding cannot exceed federal limitations
- Notice that employers must withhold a $2 per pay period fee in addition to support
Low Income Considerations
For obligors with very low income (annual gross income below $16,800), support obligations are typically capped at 10% of income, though courts may increase this based on potential earning capacity.
Parents not working due to caring for a child under age 2 are generally considered unable to work, and courts won't order them to pay child support. When calculating the other parent's obligation, courts won't assign income to the stay-at-home parent.
Deviations from Child Support Guidelines
Courts can order amounts different from guideline calculations when circumstances make strict application inequitable, unjust, or not in the child's best interests. Reasons for deviation include:
- Very high combined income (over $400,000 annually)
- Very low obligor income (under $22,800 annually)
- Number of children exceeds six
- Non-primary provider has child more than 30% of time
- Financial resources of the children themselves
- Standard of living children would have enjoyed if marriage continued
- Physical or emotional conditions requiring special care
- Extraordinary educational needs
- Tax consequences affecting true available income
- Other persons financially dependent on either parent
- Substantial transportation costs for visitation (exceeding 15% of yearly obligation)
Parents requesting deviations must provide written explanations and evidence supporting their position.
Modifying Child Support Orders
Life circumstances change, and Maine law provides mechanisms for modifying court-ordered child support.
Time-Based Modifications
After three years from the original order, either parent can request the court re-examine the order and perform new calculations without showing changed circumstances.
Change-in-Circumstances Modifications
If less than three years have passed, modification requires demonstrating that:
- A change in either parent's income would result in 15% or greater change in the child support amount
- Other substantial changes in circumstances warrant modification
To modify support, file a written motion with the court. Include documentation of changed circumstances such as:
- Income increases or decreases
- Changes in child care costs
- Changes in health insurance expenses
- Modifications to time-sharing arrangements
Enforcing Child Support Orders
When obligors fail to pay child support as ordered, multiple enforcement mechanisms are available.
Immediate Income Withholding
Most effective enforcement involves automatic paycheck deductions. Employers withhold support before issuing paychecks, then send payments directly to the appropriate agency or recipient. Federal law limits withholding to 50-65% of disposable income depending on whether the obligor supports other dependents and whether they're behind on payments.
DSER Enforcement Services
The Division of Support Enforcement and Recovery (DSER) offers comprehensive enforcement services including:
- Collecting past-due support
- Placing liens on property
- Revoking licenses (driver's, professional, recreational, passports)
- Intercepting tax refunds and lottery winnings
- Garnishing bank accounts
- Reporting debts to credit bureaus
- Using the Child Support Lien Network for insurance settlements
- Accessing New Hire Reporting to locate employment
Court Enforcement
Parents can file a Motion to Enforce or Motion for Contempt when support isn't paid as ordered. Courts can impose sanctions including:
- Payment orders for arrearages
- Fines and penalties
- In extreme cases, jail time for contempt
DSER Services and Fees
TANF Recipients: Families receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families automatically receive child support services from DSER. The state may retain some collected support to reimburse itself for TANF assistance provided.
Non-TANF Recipients: Families who've never received TANF can voluntarily request DSER services. The federal government requires DSER to collect a $25 annual fee for cases where the state has disbursed at least $500 in child support.
Applying for Services
To apply for DSER services, contact the Case Initiation Unit at (207) 624-4100 or submit questions through the online form on the Department of Health and Human Services website. You'll need:
- Complete Maine court order (for Maine orders)
- Three certified copies (for out-of-state orders)
- Statement of Child Support Paid form (if arrearages are owed)
Protected Income and Property
Certain income sources cannot be collected for child support:
- TANF, SSI, SNAP, and General Assistance benefits
- Child support received for other children
Individuals receiving TANF or SSI aren't required to pay child support while receiving benefits, even if back support is owed. However, lump-sum payments like settlements or inheritances remain subject to collection.
Domestic Violence Considerations
If you fear the other parent will harm you or your child, help is available:
- Maine Coalition Against Domestic Violence: 1-866-834-HELP
- Available 24/7 for confidential support
TANF recipients fearing danger from naming the other parent may qualify for "good cause" exceptions, allowing benefits without providing this information.
Before you file for a divorce in Maine
Maine child support orders ensure children receive financial support from both parents regardless of custody arrangements. Understanding how orders are established, calculated using child support guidelines, enforced through the Division of Support Enforcement and Recovery (DSER), and modified when circumstances change helps parents navigate this system effectively. Whether you're the parent paying child support or the primary care provider receiving it, knowing your child support obligations and rights protects both you and your children.