How To File For Divorce In Maine (2024 guide)

Reviewed By Reviewed By Published: Jan 8, 2024, 2:01am Table of Contents There are 3.2 divorces per 1,000 people in Maine, which is above the average in the United States. If you are thinking of ending your own marriage, you need to know how to file for divorce in Maine as well as what the process of ending your marriage lookd like.

This guide explains everything you need to know so you’ll be prepared to make informed choices during this challenging time in your life. Featured Partners 1 Divorce.com $449 (and up) Document prep, Mediation, Case management, Lawyer services 100% guaranteed court accepted forms 1 Divorce.com On Divorce.com's Website 2 OnlineDivorce $159 (and up) Ready to file forms, Name changes, Co parenting support 30 days 2 OnlineDivorce On OnlineDivorce's Website 3 3StepDivorce $299 (and up) Document prep, Lawyer services, Mediation, Financial services 100% guaranteed court accepted forms 3 3StepDivorce On 3StepDivorce's Website 4 DivorceNet $159 (and up) Document preparation, Free case evaluation, Mediation 100% guaranteed court accepted forms 4 DivorceNet On DivorceNet's Website Who Can File for Divorce in Maine? Maine has residency requirements that you must meet in order for the courts to have jurisdiction—or authority—to dissolve your marriage.

To meet these requirements, any one of the following must be true: What Are the Grounds to File for Divorce in Maine? When you file your paperwork with the court, you must list grounds for your divorce. This means you must specify a reason why you want your marriage to come to an end. Irreconcilable differences can be the grounds to end your marriage.

These are considered no fault grounds because you are not that your spouse is at fault for the end of your marriage. If you list irreconcilable differences as the reason you’re divorcing and your spouse denies that these differences exist, the court can require both parties to undergo counseling by a qualified professional.

The counselor will provide a report to the court and the spouses. If the person denying that there are differences refuses to go to counseling, this refusal is seen as evidence of those differences. You can also list a specific cause of your breakup. When you do this, it is usually called a fault divorce as you must prove these grounds exist.

The specific justifications allowed in Maine include: You may want to talk with a family law attorney about what grounds to list when you file for divorce in Maine. In most cases, irreconcilable differences are listed on court paperwork as this is a faster, simpler and easier approach rather than trying to prove a specific cause.

How to File for Divorce in Maine You must submit court paperwork in Maine to move forward with ending your marriage. The forms you need depend on whether there are children in the marriage and whether your spouse is willing to cooperate with the process or not. Some of the forms you may have to submit include the following: Most of these forms can be found online, but the Family Matters Summons and Preliminary Injunction is available only from the court clerk and you are required to pay a small fee in order to get it.

You need to pay a court filing fee of $120 when you submit your documents and initiate your case. If you can’t afford to cover this cost, you can submit an . You must serve your spouse with the paperwork, and can either mail or hand deliver all of the original forms to the district court in the area where you or your spouse live.

You can find the right court to submit your forms using the website. The also has links to the forms that you will need to file for divorce on its website, as well as step by step instructions for how to complete the required process. While you can find these forms online and may be able to complete them yourself, it is often a good idea to get an attorney.

Many aspects of your future life will be determined based on how your divorce proceedings go, including your financial situation and time with your children. With such high stakes, it can be beneficial to get professional legal advice to protect your rights and ensure the process goes as smoothly as possible.

Serving Divorce Paperwork in Maine When you file for divorce in Maine, you must serve your spouse with the documents. This means giving them formal legal notice of your court actions to end your marriage so they have a chance to respond. There are three options for serving divorce papers including: It is important to make sure your spouse is properly served in order to move forward.

Your spouse will need a chance to respond to the court filing so that your case can proceed. Contested or Uncontested Divorce You need to decide if you want to pursue a contested or an uncontested divorce in Maine if you are moving forward with ending your marriage. In an uncontested divorce, all of the issues are agreed upon.

You don’t need the court to make any rulings for you. You and your spouse both want to end the relationship based on the same grounds, and you have a plan for how to divide up assets, debts and custody of the children. You are also in consensus on alimony and child support. All you need is for the court to make your agreement legal and officially dissolve your legal relationship.

In a contested divorce, there are things you disagree on. Points of conflict could range from why you must break up (or whether you should) to how property or custody should be split up to how much support, if any, is appropriate. An uncontested process can be faster and easier for all parties involved.

You’ll work together instead of being adversaries in court and can also make your own choices about issues affecting every aspect of your financial and personal life instead of having a judge hand down those decisions. Unfortunately, this is not always possible if you and your spouse simply cannot agree.

An experienced family law attorney can help you work towards an uncontested outcome by assisting you in setting realistic expectations for a settlement and working together without emotion to find a fair deal. Or, your attorney can represent you and protect your interests in a contested case if necessary.

Need Help To File A Divorce? Get premium online divorce solution that is simple, affordable and private. Complete your documents easily, and at your convenience. Divorce made simple with 3StepDivorce. What Is the Waiting Period for a Maine Divorce? Maine requires a 60 day waiting period between the time you file your divorce papers and the time that the final hearing takes place to dissolve the marriage.

In some cases, your case will take longer than 60 days–especially if you and your spouse pursue a contested case and have issues that the court needs to decide. Getting Legal Help With a Divorce in Maine Getting the right legal advice can make all the difference in the outcome of your dissolution.

Be sure to talk with an experienced family law attorney in Maine as soon as you begin considering ending your marriage so you can understand how best to protect yourself and move forward within the state’s legal system. As Hard As Divorce Might Be, An Online Divorce Service Can Make It Easy Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Maine is an equitable distribution state.

This means that the court divides up assets and debts in an equitable or fair way, not necessarily just by giving each spouse 50% of property and debt. The court considers many factors in determining how to fairly divide up property, and the spouse who paid for a particular asset doesn’t necessarily get to keep it.

Couples can also choose to work out an agreement themselves if they don’t want the court to decide for them. Alimony may be available when a marriage ends if there is an earning disparity between the spouses–especially one that is likely to persist for a long period of time. The court considers many factors in awarding either temporary or ongoing alimony, including the length of the marriage, each party’s contributions to the marriage and the ability of a lower earning spouse to become self supporting.

There is a 60 day waiting period from the time you file divorce papers until the time the court can officially end your marriage. However, the process could take longer if you pursue a contested divorce and you and your spouse must ask the court to decide on custody, division of property and debt, and other issues.

Working with an attorney can help you to move your case forward as quickly as possible as your lawyer can help you find compromise and file the correct paperwork..