CHAPTER 407
S.P. 454 - L.D. 1428
An Act to Amend the Child Support Laws Concerning Notice to Co-owners of Property Subject to Support Liens
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 19-A MRSA §2357, sub-§5 is enacted to read:
5. Notice and hearing prior to disposition. When the department is provided with reliable information that another person, in addition to the responsible parent, has an ownership interest in the property of the responsible parent subject to a support lien, the department shall provide written notice to the other person before the foreclosure or other disposition of the property explaining that:
A. The department has a support lien against the property; and
B. The person may request a hearing to establish the value of that person's interest in the property before the foreclosure or other disposition of the property.
Sec. 2. 19-A MRSA §2361, sub-§3, ¶¶F and G, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 and affected by Pt. E, §2, are amended to read:
F. That, if a record of the proceeding is filed in court and the responsible parent is not making regular child support payments, the burden of proof is on the responsible parent to show why regular payments can not be made; and
G. The penalties as provided by this section that could be incurred by the responsible parent for failure to appear, failure to provide documents, papers and other evidence as required or intentionally providing false information.; and
Sec. 3. 19-A MRSA §2361, sub-§3, ¶H is enacted to read:
H. That the responsible parent must provide to the department the name and last known address of any other person that has an ownership in any property in which the responsible parent has an ownership interest.
Sec. 4. 19-A MRSA §2364, sub-§3 is enacted to read:
3. Liens; hearing to determine ownership interest. Before the foreclosure, the obligor and any other persons who claim an ownership interest in the property subject to the lien have a right to an administrative hearing to establish the value of their relative interest in the property. A request for a hearing must be in writing and must be received by the department within 10 calendar days of the notice of the foreclosure. Upon receiving a request for a hearing, the department shall notify all persons the department has reason to believe have an ownership interest in the property of the time, place and nature of the hearing. At the hearing, the hearing officer shall determine the value of the interests of all persons with an ownership interest in the property.
Sec. 5. Effective date. This Act takes effect October 1, 1997.
Effective October 1, 1997.
| Revisor of Statutes Homepage | Subject Index | Search | Laws of Maine | Maine Legislature |
