Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 19-A, § 952

Payment of spousal support, fees and support

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section ME-LEGlegislature.maine.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

1. Definition. As used in this section, "decree of spousal support, support or costs" means a decree or order:

A. For spousal support or payment of money instead of spousal support; [PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 (NEW); PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. E, §2 (AFF).]

B. For support of children; [PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 (NEW); PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. E, §2 (AFF).]

C. For support pending a divorce action; [PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 (NEW); PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. E, §2 (AFF).]

D. For payment of related attorney's fees; [PL 2005, c. 323, §7 (AMD).]

E. For alteration of an existing decree or order for the custody or support of a child; or [PL 2005, c. 323, §7 (AMD).]

F. For division and disposition of property ancillary to a divorce judgment, including, but not limited to, proceedings to effectuate a qualified domestic relations order; to reach, attach or liquidate property; or to quiet title. [PL 2005, c. 323, §8 (NEW).]

[PL 2005, c. 323, §§7, 8 (AMD).]

2. Order pending petition. Pending a petition to enforce a decree of spousal support, support or costs and after notice and opportunity for a hearing, the court may order either spouse to pay to the other spouse or to the other spouse's attorney sufficient money for the prosecution of or defense against the petition.

[PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 (NEW); PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. E, §2 (AFF).]

3. Attorney's fees. Attorney's fees awarded in the nature of support may be made payable immediately or in installments.

[PL 2005, c. 323, §9 (AMD).]

4. Enforcement. The court may enforce an order as provided under chapter 65.

[PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 (NEW); PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. E, §2 (AFF).]

SECTION HISTORY

PL 1995, c. 694, §B2 (NEW). PL 1995, c. 694, §E2 (AFF). PL 2005, c. 323, §§7-9 (AMD).

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 17 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1998–2022 · leading case: Dargie v. Dargie

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Dargie v. Dargie (2001) me · cites it 2× “[¶ 30] Finally, Roger argues that the court exceeded the bounds of its discretion in ordering him to pay a portion of Deborah's attorney fees.”

Miele v. Miele (2003) me “” 19-A M.R.S.A. § 952(3) (1998). Such an award is “based on the parties’ relative capacity to absorb the costs of litigation!,]” Smith v.”

Corcoran v. Marie (2011) me · cites it 2× “" It is within a court's discretion to assess a party for support in arrears, see 19-A M.R.S. §§ 952(4), 2603 (2010), and the *79 court, on a motion to enforce, has no affirmative statutory obligation to ensure that a party can make an immediate payment of arrearage.”

Molly G. (Lachance) Jandreau v. Daniel L. Lachance (2015) me “§ 105(1) (2014), and may in a divorce proceeding award attorney fees “in the nature of support,” 19-A M.R.S. § 952(3) (2014). In a family proceeding, the court may award attorney fees as a sanction for a party’s failure to file a child support affidavit without good cause.”

Jarvis v. Jarvis (2003) me “94 in attorney fees, pursuant to 19-A M.R.S.A. § 952(3) (1998). The court reasoned that Robert had the greater ability to absorb the costs of litigation and had “to some extent, contributed to the legal costs incurred by [Tamara].”

Murphy v. Murphy (2003) me “This Court has previously recognized that the legislature has given trial courts broad discretion in determining whether or not to award attorney fees to a party in a divorce action.”

Arn H. Pearson v. Mary Lou Wendell (2015) me “§ 952(1)(D) (2014), those findings are sufficient to explain the justification for an award of support in the form of attorney fees, just as they are an articulation of the reasons for the court’s award of monthly support. [¶ 46] Beyond that, although the court’s order on…”

Helge Riemann v. Kristina A. Toland (2022) me “Finally, we interpret the meaning of these provisions in context and glean from the language of 19-A M.”

In Re Estate of Ricci (2003) me “25 to Benton for the attorney fees Benton incurred, through July 1, 2002, in pursuing the claim for spousal support. Terry argues that this was error because the Probate Code provision regarding attorney fees, 18-A M.”

Clum v. Graves (1999) me “That presumption, and the corresponding burden of proof to rebut the presumption, are consistent with the shared enterprise theory of marriage expressed in the statute, and are designed to ensure that property value attributed to the marriage enterprise is credited fairly to…”

Largay v. Largay (2000) me “Largay’s contention that the court abused its discretion when it denied her request for attorney fees.”

Brasslett v. Brasslett (In Re Brasslett) (1999) meb “It provides, in part: "When making a final decree, the court may order a party to pay reasonable attorney’s fees.”

Show all 17 citing cases →

— Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 19-A, § 952(1)(D) — 1 case

Arn H. Pearson v. Mary Lou Wendell (2015) me “§ 952(1)(D) (2014), those findings are sufficient to explain the justification for an award of support in the form of attorney fees, just as they are an articulation of the reasons for the court’s award of monthly support. [¶ 46] Beyond that, although the court’s order on…”

— Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 19-A, § 952(3) — 11 cases

Dargie v. Dargie (2001) me “[¶ 30] Finally, Roger argues that the court exceeded the bounds of its discretion in ordering him to pay a portion of Deborah's attorney fees.”

Miele v. Miele (2003) me “” 19-A M.R.S.A. § 952(3) (1998). Such an award is “based on the parties’ relative capacity to absorb the costs of litigation!,]” Smith v.”

Molly G. (Lachance) Jandreau v. Daniel L. Lachance (2015) me “§ 105(1) (2014), and may in a divorce proceeding award attorney fees “in the nature of support,” 19-A M.R.S. § 952(3) (2014). In a family proceeding, the court may award attorney fees as a sanction for a party’s failure to file a child support affidavit without good cause.”

Jarvis v. Jarvis (2003) me “94 in attorney fees, pursuant to 19-A M.R.S.A. § 952(3) (1998). The court reasoned that Robert had the greater ability to absorb the costs of litigation and had “to some extent, contributed to the legal costs incurred by [Tamara].”

Murphy v. Murphy (2003) me “This Court has previously recognized that the legislature has given trial courts broad discretion in determining whether or not to award attorney fees to a party in a divorce action.”

— Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 19-A, § 952(4) — 2 cases

Corcoran v. Marie (2011) me “" It is within a court's discretion to assess a party for support in arrears, see 19-A M.R.S. §§ 952(4), 2603 (2010), and the *79 court, on a motion to enforce, has no affirmative statutory obligation to ensure that a party can make an immediate payment of arrearage.”

Lewis v. Lewis (2003) me

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.