Child Support
19-A M.R.S. § 2006 — both incomes on the table, until 18 or high school ends, at most 19
The parents' annual gross incomes are added together and applied to the child support table for the basic support entitlement. Child care, health insurance premiums and extraordinary medical expenses are added, the total is split in proportion to income, and the parent without primary residential care pays that share.
Who handles this in Maine: Maine Volunteer Lawyers Project and Maine Judicial Branch, Help Topics; and legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Maine directory.
- An order varying more than 15% from the guideline amount is a substantial change in circumstances. Within 3 years of the last order the court modifies it to the guidelines.
- A modification reaches back only to the date notice of the motion was served.
- A party served with a motion to modify has 30 days to ask in writing for a hearing.
Support runs until the child turns 18, or, for a child still in secondary school at 18, until graduation, withdrawal, expulsion or 19 years of age, whichever comes first. Marriage or joining the armed services ends it too.
Sources for this section (3)
- 19-A M.R.S. § 2006 — Support guidelines
- 19-A M.R.S. § 2009 — Modification of existing support orders
- 19-A M.R.S. § 1653 — Parental rights and responsibilities
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Maine attorney.