Terms Used In Maine Revised Statutes > Title 19-A > Part 3 > Chapter 63 - Child Support Guidelines

• Adult: means a person who is 18 years of age or older. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 101
• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Basic support entitlement: means the sum derived from the child support table appropriate for each child and the parties' gross income. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 2001
• Child care costs: means the actual child care costs incurred by the parties for each child for whom support is being established that are related to that party's employment, education or training and are reasonable or customary in the area in which that party resides. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 2001
• Child support: means money paid directly to a parent, to another person or agency awarded parental rights and responsibilities with respect to a child or to the department on behalf of a child receiving public assistance and medical or dental insurance coverage provided on behalf of a child pursuant to court order. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 1501
• Child support table: means the schedule that has been adopted by the department under section 2011. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 2001
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Health and Human Services, a designee or an authorized representative. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 101
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Cost of private health insurance: means the cost of adding the child to existing coverage or the difference between self-only and family coverage, unless that cost is determined to be unjust by a court or the Department of Health and Human Services. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 1501
• Department: means the Department of Health and Human Services and its agents and authorized representatives. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 101
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Enhanced support entitlement: means the basic support entitlement multiplied by a factor of 1. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 2001
• Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
• Extraordinary medical expenses: means recurring, uninsured medical expenses in excess of $250 per child or group of children per calendar year that can reasonably be predicted by the court or hearing officer at the time of establishment or modification of a support order. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 2001
• Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
• Gross income: means gross income of a party as follows. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 2001
• Medical support: means an amount ordered to be paid toward the cost of health insurance provided by a public entity or by another parent through employment or otherwise or for other medical costs not covered by insurance. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 1501
• minor child: means a person who has not attained the age of 18 years. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 101
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Obligor: means any person owing a duty of support. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 101
• Parent: means the legal parent or the legal guardian when no legal parent exists. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 101
• Parental support obligation: means the portion of total basic or enhanced support obligation a party is ordered to pay in money as child support. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 2001
• Person: means an individual, trust, estate, partnership, association, company, corporation, political subdivision of the State, instrumentality of the State or other entity. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 101
• Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
• Primary residence: means the residence of a child where that child receives residential care for more than 50% of the time on an annual basis if the parents do not provide substantially equal care as defined in subsection 8?A. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 2001
• Primary residential care provider: means the party who provides residential care for a child for more than 50% of the time on an annual basis if the parents do not provide substantially equal care as defined in subsection 8?A. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 2001
• Private health insurance: means fee-for-service, health maintenance organization, preferred provider organization and other types of coverage available to either parent under which medical services could be provided to a child. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 1501
• Reasonable cost: means the cost of private health insurance to the parent responsible for providing medical support that does not exceed amounts adopted by the Department of Health and Human Services in a rule implementing a cost-reasonableness standard. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 1501
• state: means any state, territory or possession of the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 101
• Substantially equal care: means that both parents participate substantially equally in the child's total care, which may include, but is not limited to, the child's residential, educational, recreational, child care and medical, dental and mental health care needs. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 2001
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Support guidelines: means the child support table and the criteria for application of the table set forth in section 2006. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 2001
• Total basic support obligation: means the sum of money determined by adding the basic support entitlement, child care costs, extraordinary medical expenses and health insurance premiums. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 2001
• Total enhanced support obligation: means the sum of money determined by calculating the enhanced support entitlement. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 2001
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.