Divorce in Maine
While Scheffee Law is not taking new clients in contested, litigation cases, our goal is still to make the legal process of your divorce easy to understand and to serve as your trusted advocate and advisor in all divorce-related legal matters. Divorce often involves disputes over child custody (including allocation of parental rights and parenting time), alimony, division of assets, allocation of debt, and other ancillary financial matters. Scheffee Law seeks to minimize the stress surrounding these varied facets of divorce by bringing clarity about the process and compassionate advice about all possible avenues to clients.
Ways that Liz can help you in a divorce:
– Consultations with referrals to attorneys and mediators who fit the specific needs of the client
– Second opinions and case evaluations
– Limited-scope representation: advising clients on the forms needed and legal process to represent themselves in family matters
– Providing reasonably priced flat-fee packages for drafting of agreements and any forms needed for clients to accomplish an amicable divorce
Drawing on more than three decades of experience as a divorce attorney in Maine, Liz Scheffee possesses the experience needed to assist her clients. Liz prioritizes transparency with her clients and is honest about possible outcomes.
Facts About Divorce in Maine
Maine law allows divorces to be granted based on “irreconcilable differences” between spouses, also known as no fault divorce.
To file for divorce in Maine, one spouse must have resided in Maine for at least six months previous to filing for divorce.
In Maine, the law does not define a specific financial amount for spousal support payments. Maine law does provide for a term limit and varying reasons for support. For example, if two people have been married for less than 20 years, the term for spousal support may be half the length of marriage. It also provides for transitional support, rehabilative support and reimbursement support.
Maine’s child support guidelines are available online.
The Maine divorce complaint is also available online.
Tip: If you start the case, then you are the plaintiff. If your spouse files the lawsuit, you are the defendant.
To contact Scheffee Law for family law assistance
Definitions:
- Adoption: involves the complete transfer of parental rights and responsibilities from one person to another or to a couple.
- Annulment: treats the marriage as if it never existed and is granted when a court determines a marriage to be invalid.
- Child Custody/Visitation: a court decides how parental rights of minor children are allocated between the parents. This consists of both physical and legal components. Read about how the State of Maine defines shared, sole and allocated parental rights, as well as parental rights and responsibilities.
- Child Support Payments: determined based upon the Maine Child Support Guidelines, and include the basic support entitlement, health insurance and uninsured medical expense costs (including dental and counseling), and day care. May also include extra-curricular expenses and, if the parties agree, a contribution to educational expenses. Child support payments can be paid by wage withholding, electronic transfer, or through the Department of Human Services.
- Divorce: ends a legally valid marriage.
- Domestic Violence: violent crime/abuse within the family structure. Protection from Abuse petitions request the immediate removal of an abusive family member from the home, and include a prohibition against fire arms, payment of support, and other conditions specific to the case.
- Estate Planning: arranges for the transfer of an individual’s estate at the time of death.
- Paternity: the legal acknowledgement of the relationship between a parent and his/her/their child.
- Spousal Support/Alimony: a court-imposed financial obligation on one spouse to continue supporting the other spouse after the divorce or separation.
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ELIZABETH J. SCHEFFEE, ESQ.
7 ESTATE DRIVE GORHAM, ME 04038
