Maine § 19-A §2301 Creation of debt to department

Maine Statutes

§ 19-A §2301 — Creation of debt to department

Maine § 19-A §2301

Title 19-ADOMESTIC RELATIONS

Part 3PARENTS AND CHILDREN

Ch. 65SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT

This text of Maine § 19-A §2301 (Creation of debt to department) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 19-A, § 19-A §2301 (2026).

Text

1.Public assistance. Debts due the department for public assistance are as follows.

2.Failure to pay child or spousal support. For actions initiated pursuant to section 2103, failure to pay support obligations under a support order creates a debt due the applicant. Upon execution of a contract between the department and the applicant, the department may take action to establish, enforce or collect the debt under any appropriate statute, including, but not limited to, remedies contained in this article. The department is subrogated to the rights of the payee as provided in section 2351.

3.Default judgment. If the responsible parent defaults or otherwise fails to appear, and no support order has been established, the court or administrative hearing officer shall presume that the responsib

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1.
Public assistance.
Debts due the department for public assistance are as follows.
2.
Failure to pay child or spousal support.
For actions initiated pursuant to section 2103, failure to pay support obligations under a support order creates a debt due the applicant. Upon execution of a contract between the department and the applicant, the department may take action to establish, enforce or collect the debt under any appropriate statute, including, but not limited to, remedies contained in this article. The department is subrogated to the rights of the payee as provided in section 2351.
3.
Default judgment.
If the responsible parent defaults or otherwise fails to appear, and no support order has been established, the court or administrative hearing officer shall presume that the responsible parent has an earning capacity equal to the average weekly wage of a worker within this State as determined by the Department of Labor statistics for the applicable years. A different annual income than the one specified by this subsection may be used if there is sufficient reliable evidence to conclude reasonably that the responsible parent earned a greater or lesser actual income.
4.
Interstate cooperation.
With the execution of an application for nonwelfare services between a state and a resident of that state, the state may request the department to enforce or collect any unpaid support debt belonging to the applicant. Upon written request by a state to the department, the department may attempt to collect either the welfare or nonwelfare debt by action under any appropriate laws, including, but not limited to, remedies established by this article.

Legislative History

PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 (NEW). PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. E, §2 (AFF). PL 1997, c. 466, §16 (AMD). PL 1997, c. 466, §28 (AFF). PL 2001, c. 264, §11 (AMD).