Maine Title 19-A §951-A: Types, Factors, and Modification

Maine spousal support is governed by Title 19-A, Section 951-A, which lets a divorce court award five different types of financial support between former spouses, sets the factors a judge must weigh, and controls when an award can later be modified or ended. The statute focuses on financial equity, not fault, and aims to keep one spouse from absorbing a disproportionate share of the economic loss when a marriage dissolves.

The Five Types of Support a Maine Court Can Award

Section 951-A(2) recognizes five categories, and a court can combine more than one in the same case. The type awarded shapes both how long payments last and what ends them.¹

General support is the category most people picture when they think of alimony. It applies where one spouse has substantially less income potential than the other, and the goal is that both can maintain a reasonable standard of living after the divorce. Two rebuttable presumptions shape it. General support is presumed inappropriate if the marriage lasted fewer than ten years. For marriages between ten and twenty years, it is presumed inappropriate for a term exceeding half the length of the marriage. Marriages over twenty years carry no such cap. A court can override either presumption by finding that applying it would produce an inequitable result.

Transitional support covers short-term disruptions tied to the divorce itself: relocation costs, vocational training, education, or the physical and emotional rehabilitation a spouse may need to re-enter the workforce.

Reimbursement support is available only in exceptional circumstances and only when property division alone cannot address the inequity. It is meant for situations like substantial contributions one spouse made to the other’s education or career advancement, economic misconduct that reduced the marital estate, or economic abuse.

Nominal support preserves the court’s authority to award support in the future without setting a current dollar amount. Courts use it when a spouse does not currently need support but may need it later because of foreseeable changes.

Interim support provides assistance while the divorce case is still pending, bridging the gap between filing and the final decree.

What Judges Weigh Before Setting an Award

Section 951-A(5) requires the court to consider seventeen specific factors before ordering any type of support. No single factor is automatically decisive, and the same list applies both to the original award and to any later modification.¹

Length of the marriage.
The ability of each party to pay.
The age of each party.
The employment history and employment potential of each party.
The income history and income potential of each party.
The education and training of each party.
The provisions for retirement and health insurance benefits of each party.
The tax consequences of the property division, including the tax consequences of the sale of the marital home, and of the spousal support award.
The health and disabilities of each party.
The tax consequences of a spousal support award.
The contributions of either party as homemaker.
The contributions of either party to the education or earning potential of the other.
Economic misconduct by either party resulting in the diminution of marital property or income.
The standard of living of the parties during the marriage.
The ability of the party seeking support to become self-supporting within a reasonable period of time.
The effect of the following on a party’s need for spousal support or ability to pay: income and property received during the marriage from an inheritance, gift, or other source unrelated to employment; and child support paid or received during the marriage.
Economic abuse by either party, and any other factors the court considers appropriate.

Homemaker contributions and career sacrifices for the other spouse get explicit statutory recognition, so a lower earner who spent years supporting a partner’s career or raising children is not treated as if that time simply did not happen.

How Federal Tax Rules Affect the Number

Tax treatment sits inside the statutory factor list for a reason: it changes the real cost of support on both sides. Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, for any divorce or separation agreement executed after December 31, 2018, the paying spouse cannot deduct spousal support payments, and the receiving spouse does not include those payments in gross income.²

For agreements finalized before 2019 that have not been modified, the older rules still apply: the payer deducts payments and the recipient reports them as income. If a pre-2019 agreement is later modified and the modification expressly states that the repeal of the alimony deduction applies, the new treatment takes over.²

Under the old rules a higher-earning payer effectively shared part of the tax burden with a lower-bracket recipient, which lowered the after-tax cost of support. Under the current rules the payer absorbs the full tax burden on the income used to make payments. Because Maine courts are required to consider tax consequences when structuring an award, this shift directly influences the dollar amounts judges set.

When Support Can Be Modified or Ended

Spousal support orders are not fixed for life. Either party can file a motion to modify if there has been a substantial change in financial circumstances that was not anticipated when the original order was entered. Involuntary job loss, a serious decline in health, or a significant increase in the paying spouse’s income are common triggers. The person requesting the change carries the burden of proving the shift is real and substantial enough to justify a new arrangement.¹

Unless the order says otherwise, the obligation ends automatically when either the payer or the recipient dies. Payments already due at the date of death remain collectible, but no new obligation accrues.¹

Remarriage of the Recipient

Remarriage does not automatically terminate support under Maine law. The statute lets the court write a remarriage-related limitation into the original order. If the order contains that provision, remarriage ends or reduces the obligation on its own terms. If it does not, the paying spouse has to file a motion to modify and show that the remarriage is a substantial change in financial circumstances.¹

Cohabitation

Maine treats cohabitation separately. When the recipient and another person have entered into a mutually supportive relationship that is the functional equivalent of marriage, and that relationship has existed for at least twelve months within an eighteen-consecutive-month window, the court may modify or terminate spousal support. The paying spouse has to file a motion and show the relationship meets that statutory threshold. Casual dating or brief cohabitation does not qualify.³

Enforcement When Payments Stop

The primary enforcement tool is an income withholding order sent to the paying spouse’s employer. Federal regulations require the employer to send withheld amounts to the State Disbursement Unit within seven business days of payday. An employer who ignores a valid withholding notice becomes personally liable for the amounts that should have been withheld, and it is illegal to fire or discipline an employee because of a support withholding order.⁴

Federal law caps how much of the payer’s disposable earnings can be garnished for support. The Consumer Credit Protection Act limits depend on whether the paying spouse is supporting a new spouse or dependent child, and whether the arrearage exceeds twelve weeks:

50% of disposable earnings if the payer supports a new spouse or child and no arrears exceed twelve weeks.
55% if the payer supports a new spouse or child and arrears exceed twelve weeks.
60% if the payer does not support a new spouse or child and no arrears exceed twelve weeks.
65% if the payer does not support a new spouse or child and arrears exceed twelve weeks.

These caps are substantially higher than the 25% limit for ordinary consumer debt garnishment, reflecting the priority federal law gives to support obligations.⁵

Related Financial Issues the Award Touches

Health Insurance

Losing coverage through a spouse’s employer plan is one of the fastest financial hits after divorce. Under federal COBRA rules, a spouse who loses group health coverage because of divorce or legal separation can elect continuation coverage for up to 36 months. The divorced spouse must notify the plan administrator within 60 days of the divorce, and the administrator then has 14 days to provide an election notice.⁶

COBRA is expensive. The covered spouse pays the full premium (employee share plus employer share) plus up to a 2% administrative fee. Because Maine courts have to consider health insurance provisions as a statutory factor, the cost of COBRA or a replacement policy can affect the amount of support the judge orders.

Retirement Accounts

When one spouse has a pension or 401(k) and the other does not, dividing that asset generally requires a Qualified Domestic Relations Order. A QDRO directs the plan administrator to pay a portion of the participant’s benefits to an alternate payee, typically the former spouse. ERISA otherwise shields retirement benefits from creditors, and a QDRO is the specific exception that allows the transfer without triggering early withdrawal penalties.⁷

A QDRO must identify both the participant and the alternate payee by name and address, specify the amount or percentage assigned, identify the plan, and state the number of payments or the period covered. Plan administrators review each order against federal requirements, and a rejected QDRO means going back to court to fix it.

Social Security

A divorced spouse may collect Social Security benefits on a former spouse’s work record, without the ex-spouse’s knowledge or consent, if: the marriage lasted at least ten years; the applicant is at least 62; the applicant is currently unmarried; and the applicant is not entitled to a higher benefit on their own record. If the ex-spouse has not yet filed for benefits, the applicant can still qualify as long as they have been divorced for at least two years and the ex-spouse is at least 62.⁸

The ten-year threshold matters for couples close to it. A marriage that ends at nine years and eleven months leaves one spouse permanently ineligible for divorced-spouse benefits. Claiming on an ex-spouse’s record does not reduce the ex-spouse’s own benefit or affect a current spouse’s eligibility.

1
Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 19-A – Spousal Support
2
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 452, Alimony and Separate Maintenance
3
Maine Legislature. Maine Public Law Chapter 327 – An Act to Amend the Laws Governing the Award of Spousal Support
4
eCFR. 45 CFR 303.100 – Procedures for Income Withholding
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1673 – Restriction on Garnishment
6
U.S. Department of Labor. FAQs on COBRA Continuation Health Coverage for Workers
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 1056 – Termination or Suspension of Benefit Accruals Under Individual Account Plans
8
Social Security Administration. 20 CFR 404.331 – Who Is Entitled to Wife’s or Husband’s Benefits as a Divorced Spouse