Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 2301 – Creation of debt to department
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1. Public assistance. Debts due the department for public assistance are as follows.
A. When a support order has not been established, a payment of public assistance for the benefit of the dependent child creates a debt due the department from the responsible parent for past support. The amount of debt due the department is established by application of the most current child support scale to the responsible parent‘s income for the time period in which the department was entitled to support payments. In the absence of sufficient reliable information to calculate a responsible parent’s past income, it is presumed that the responsible parent had 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 may be used if there is sufficient reliable evidence to conclude reasonably that the responsible parent earned a greater or lesser actual income. A present disability to pay child support, legal or otherwise, does not bar a determination of past debt due the department for any relevant period in which the disability did not exist. When the department establishes a periodic support payment by administrative decision, the debt is limited to the amount stated in the decision. [PL 1997, c. 466, §16 (AMD); PL 1997, c. 466, §28 (AFF).]
B. When a support order has been established, the debt due the department from the responsible parent is the amount established under that order.
(1) The debt may not be limited by the amount of public assistance paid for the benefit of the dependent child. Amounts collected by the department in excess of public assistance expended must be distributed pursuant to section 2401.
(2) The issuance of a support order does not relieve the responsible parent of any liability for a debt that previously had accrued under paragraph A. [PL 1997, c. 466, §16 (AMD); PL 1997, c. 466, §28 (AFF).]
[PL 1997, c. 466, §16 (AMD); PL 1997, c. 466, §28 (AFF).]
Terms Used In Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 2301
- 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
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- 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.
- Dependent child: means any minor child who is not emancipated. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 2101
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Parent: means the legal parent or the legal guardian when no legal parent exists. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 101
- Public assistance: means money payments and medical care furnished to or on behalf of dependent children by the State. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 2101
- Responsible parent: means the parent of a dependent child. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 2101
- 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
- Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
- Support order: means a judgment, decree or order, whether temporary, final or subject to modification, issued by a court or an administrative agency of competent jurisdiction for the support and maintenance of a child, including a child who has attained the age of majority under the law of the issuing state, or a child and the parent with whom the child is living, that provides for monetary support, health care, arrearages or reimbursement and may include related costs and fees, interest and penalties, income withholding, attorney's fees and other relief. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 2101
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.
[PL 1997, c. 466, §16 (AMD); PL 1997, c. 466, §28 (AFF).]
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.
[PL 1997, c. 466, §16 (AMD); PL 1997, c. 466, §28 (AFF).]
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.
[PL 2001, c. 264, §11 (AMD).]
SECTION 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).