General
Citation:
Last Updated:
Authority:
Guidelines Model: Income Shares
Economic Study:
Guidelines Responsibility: Maine’s Division of Support Enforcement and Recovery (DSER)
Guidelines Approval:
Last Guidelines Review (2016)
Previous Guidelines Review (2012)
Basic Child Support Obligation (BCSO) Schedule
Last Updated:
Income Base: Gross Income
Income Measure: Parents’ Combined Income
Frequency: Annual
No. of Children Categories:
Minimum Income Bracket: $12,600
Maximum Income Bracket: $400,000
More than Maximum Income:
BCSO Factors/Assumptions/Adjustments
Age: No
Cost of living: No
Expenditures Measurement:
Low-Income: Yes
Medical Expenses: $250 per year included in table
Parenting Time: Not included in child support table.
Poverty Level: 2007, one person, $10,210
Price Level: 2007
Subsequent Children:
Taxes: N/A
Low-Income1
SSR/LI Adjustment Amt: Schedule has built-in SSR for obligators earning $22,800 or less
Discretionary: No
SSR/LI Adjustment Application: SSR multiplied by no. of children
Deviation Criteria: N/A
Threshold Income: $22,800/year
Limitations: If annual gross income of non-custodial is less than FPL, child support cannot exceed 10% of weekly gross.
Minimum Child Support Amount: None
Limitations on Minimum Child Support Amount: N/A
Notes: N/A
Deviation Factors
1. Education Expenses
Medical Expenses
Childcare Expenses
Added to Basic Child Support Obligation
Education Expenses
Deviation factor
Modification
Variance of 15% or more
Termination5
Age of Majority: 18 years of age
Ends: 18 years of age, unless the child is in secondary school, then 19 years of age or until graduation, whichever occurs first.
Statute: Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 19-A, §1653(12)
Duty to Provide College Support: No statute or case law holding parents to a duty to college support in the absence of an agreement.
Criminal Penalties for Nonpayment3
Citation: Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 17-A, §552, Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 17-A, § 1252, Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 17-A, § 1301
Crime: Class E crime
Maximum Penalty: 6 months, $1,000 fine
Interest and Arrears4
Arrears: Yes
Summary: Fixed at a rate equivalent yield of the average accepted auction price for the last auction of one-year Treasury bills.
Statute: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 45-103
State Contact
Name: Ms. Tonia Sawyer
Title: Program Specialist II
Email: ComplianceTeam.dhhs@maine.gov
Phone Number: (207)624-4100
Address: 19 Union Street, Augusta, Maine 04333
Links
Child Support Calculator
Child Support Guidelines
FindLaw
References
1Judicial Council of California, Review of Statewide Uniform Child Support Guideline, October 25, 2017
2https://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/license-restrictions-for-failure-to-pay-child-support.aspx
3https://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/criminal-nonsupport-and-child-support.aspx
4https://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/interest-on-child-support-arrears.aspx
5https://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/termination-of-child-support-age-of-majority.aspx