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Old June 23rd 03, 05:00 PM
MaineGuy
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Default Request for action - Let them know you care.....




Maine child support table do not take into account visitation expenses.
Policy Studies, Inc., the organization that prepared those tables for the
State, includes a reference to that deficiency in their report, and notes
that several other states do, in fact, take into aco**** visitation
expenses when figuring child support.


Until a few weeks ago there was a provision in Maine law that permited
(but did not require) an adjustment to be made to child support if the
non-custodial parent spends more then 30% of the time with the children.
The ultra-feminist Family Law Advisory Commission brought into the 2003
legislative session a proposed law that would eliminate that adjustment.
This will affect primarily women who are "custodial parents" - in Maine
although 27% of the single family homes are headed by men, men make up
only 8% of the child support recipients. So, this is not a "children's
bill" - this is almost strictly a women's bill.

The effect of this change in the law will push some non-custodial parents
(especially men) out of their children's lives. Those parents will be
required to pay their share of the "cost of raising children" to the
custodial parent 100% of the time - when the children may be with the
custodial parent only 60% of the time. The remaining 40% the NCP will be
required to pay twice - once in direct expenses, and once again in cash
payments to the CP. With child support running at a rate around 1/3 of
take home pay for NCPs, many NCPs will no longer be able to afford to
maintain an adequate hosusehold for their children.


You can call the office of Governor John Baldacchi at 207-287-3531 to
protest this policy which serves again to push divorced fathers out of the
lives of their children. The bad law is known as: "LD 234".