IN PLAIN ENGLISH
How custody works in Maine
In Maine, what other states call custody is called parental rights and responsibilities. [ME-P2] A judge decides it based on the best interest of your child, and the law tells the judge to treat your child's safety and well-being as the first concern when deciding where your child lives and how much contact each parent has. [ME-P1]
There are three kinds of orders. [ME-P2] Shared, the most common, means both parents have an equal say on big issues like school, religion, health care and where the child lives. [ME-P2] Allocated means the judge divides those decisions between the parents, and sole means one parent makes them alone. [ME-P2] Who makes decisions is separate from where your child lives: with shared rights, your child can still live mainly with one parent, or the parents can share primary residence. [ME-P1, ME-P2]
Maine's policy is that children should have frequent and continuing contact with both parents after a separation, unless that is not in the child's best interest. [ME-P1] Maine has no statewide standard schedule; parents are encouraged to work out a predictable schedule built around their child's needs, and the court decides if they cannot. [ME-P2] Before a contested hearing, the court sends parents to mediation. [ME-P1]
Maine's official online statutes say they reflect changes made through the 2026 legislative session and are current through October 1, 2026. [ME-P9] Laws can still change, so check with the court clerk or a legal aid office if you are unsure whether a newer change applies to your case. [ME-P9]
Words you’ll see in your papers
- Parental rights and responsibilities
- Maine's term for custody: the right to make decisions about your child, to live with your child and to have contact with your child. [ME-P2]
- Shared parental rights and responsibilities
- Both parents keep equal rights and make major decisions together, and both can see school, medical and other records. [ME-P2, ME-P6]
- Primary residence
- The home your child lives in most of the time. If your child spends equal time in each home over the year, the parents have shared primary residence. [ME-P2]
- Parent-child contact
- Maine's term for the time a child spends with a parent, often called visitation elsewhere. [ME-P2]
- PR&R case
- Short for Parental Rights and Responsibilities case, the kind of case unmarried parents file to get a court order about their children. [ME-P3]
COMMON QUESTIONS
What parents in Maine ask first
Does Maine start from 50/50?
No. [ME-P1] Maine favors shared decision-making and frequent contact with both parents, but no rule gives each parent equal nights. [ME-P1] If parents agree to shared parental rights, the judge must order it unless there is substantial evidence against it, and if a parent asks for shared primary residence and does not get it, the judge must explain why. [ME-P1]
What does the judge look at?
Safety and well-being come first. [ME-P1] The judge also considers your child's age; your child's relationship with each parent and others; your child's preference if old enough; how long the current living arrangement has lasted and how stable the proposed one is; each parent's motives and ability to give love and guidance; how your child is doing at home, school and in the community; whether each parent supports contact with the other parent; how well the parents cooperate; any domestic abuse or child abuse; and anything else that affects your child's well-being. [ME-P1, ME-P2] For a child under one year old, the judge also considers breastfeeding. [ME-P1]
Does my child get to choose?
No age gives your child the final say. [ME-P1, ME-P2] The judge considers your child's preference if your child is old enough to express a meaningful one, as one factor among many. [ME-P1, ME-P2]
Can I move away with my child?
If you have shared or allocated parental rights, you must give the other parent at least 30 days' notice before you move with your child, or notice as soon as possible if the move must happen sooner. [ME-P1, ME-P2] If telling the other parent would put you or your child in danger, you notify the court instead, and the court gives notice in a safe way. [ME-P1] A move can be grounds to ask the court to change the order. [ME-P4]
Can the order be changed later?
Yes. [ME-P4, ME-P5] To change an order about parental rights, you must show a substantial change in circumstances since it was made. [ME-P4, ME-P5] Examples include a parent's move that would disrupt the contact schedule, and the law treats a move of more than 60 miles as presumed to disrupt contact. [ME-P4, ME-P5]
We were never married. What happens first?
Without a court order, Maine law presumes unmarried parents have equal rights and responsibilities for their children. [ME-P3] Either parent can file a Parental Rights and Responsibilities case to get a written order; the court form is a Complaint for Determination of Parentage, Parental Rights and Responsibilities, and Child Support (FM-006). [ME-P3, ME-P7]
What if I am not safe?
A protection from abuse order can give one parent temporary parental rights and set temporary contact terms. [ME-P8] In a custody case, a parent who has committed domestic abuse can get primary residence or contact only if the judge finds it is best for the child and that the child and the abused parent can be kept safe; the judge can order protected exchanges, supervised visits, no overnights or other conditions. [ME-P1]
Free, official places to start
- Maine Judicial Branch: Decisions about Children
The court's plain-language guide to shared, allocated and sole rights, residence, schedules and the 30-day move notice.
- Maine Judicial Branch: Court Process in a Family Matters Case
Step-by-step filing guide with links to the statewide forms you need to start a case.
- Pine Tree Legal Assistance: How To Navigate Your Divorce or Parental Rights Case
A free legal aid walkthrough of each step of a Maine divorce or parental rights case.
THE DETAILED GUIDE · WHAT KIND OF SCHEDULE THE LAW PROVIDES
No fixed statewide schedule identified
Research overview
No fixed statewide parenting-time calendar identified. Statute differentiates allocated, shared and sole rights/responsibilities and requires child-specific residential/contact arrangements. The statewide complaint packet is procedural, not a custody schedule. [ME4][ME5]
Legal force and applicability
Case-specific calendar; no fixed statewide calendar identified in reviewed sources. Any custody/allocation presumption is separate.
Authority and geographic scope
Statewide law; case-specific court order controls
Custody and parenting-time presumptions
Public policy favors frequent continuing contact and shared child-rearing unless contrary to best interests. An agreed shared-rights/responsibilities award is required absent substantial evidence against it. Shared responsibility can coexist with one primary residence; a court declining requested shared primary residential care must explain why. None prescribes equal nights. [ME4, § 1653(1),(2)]
Schedule & conditions
Read these topics together with your actual order. A model, form, or presumption does not automatically supply an enforceable calendar.
Regular school-year schedule
Parents’ agreement or judicial order supplies the weekdays/weekends. The court distinguishes decision-making from physical residence/contact. No fixed repeating schedule in the statewide sources. [ME4][ME2]
Holidays and school breaks
Family-specific; no mandatory statewide odd/even holiday table or Christmas split in reviewed law/court guidance. [ME4][ME2]
Summer and vacation time
Family-specific; no mandatory statewide vacation-week allotment in reviewed law/court guidance. [ME4][ME2]
Age and development
Age and a meaningful preference when the child is old enough are best-interest factors. Section 1653(3)(P) specifically requires consideration of breastfeeding when the child is under one year. These considerations do not create fixed infant, toddler or school-age calendar entitlements. [ME4]
Distance, travel, and relocation
No mileage-triggered calendar appears in the reviewed section. Under section 1653(14), an order involving shared or allocated parental rights must require notice of intended child relocation at least 30 days beforehand, or as soon as possible if relocation must occur sooner. If notice would endanger the relocating parent or child, notice goes to the court so it can provide safe notice to the other parent. Stability and practical contact arrangements remain individualized. [ME4]
Safety & exceptions
Child safety and well-being are primary. Under section 1653(6), a domestic-abuse perpetrator may receive primary residence/contact only with a best-interest finding and adequate safety for the child and victim; protected exchanges, supervision, no overnights and other safeguards may be ordered. Section 1653(6-A) separately limits contact following child-related sexual-offense convictions; section 1653(6-B) addresses specified sexual assault and nonconsensual condom removal/tampering findings. These provisions require individualized findings and conditions. [ME4]