Who Can Get Parental Rights & Responsibilities and Visitation in Maine?

The general standard in Maine is that mothers and fathers have equal rights to custody (parental rights and responsibilities) and child visitation, unless extenuating factors make this contrary to the best interests of the child.

However, what happens if the child is conceived from a sexual assault or one parent has been violent?

Can supervised visits be implemented by court order to protect the child if an abusive parent retains parental rights in Maine?

Maine’s child custody laws are complex and nuanced, covering a wide range of potential scenarios. Below are some examples of situations that may arise.

With divorce mediation, the spouses may meet both separately (at first) and together with a trained and independent mediator, who attempts to facilitate an agreement between the disputing parties regarding their family matters.

The mediator guides discussions to seek common ground and find “win-win” solutions, unlike litigation, which ends up with a “winner” and a “loser”.

Spouses may attend mediation sessions with or without their respective divorce attorneys. They remain in control of any final decisions. The mediator can explain the legal consequences of any agreements made, but cannot provide legal advice or make decisions.

Besides the “win-win” solutions sought in mediation, the other main benefits of divorce mediation are as follows:

• Lower legal costs than litigation, which may involve multiple court appearances and considerable evidence-gathering, all of which costs time and money. With mediation, you generally only pay for the mediator’s time—and some court-ordered sessions may be free.
• Lower stress than litigation. Mediation is conducted in a less formal setting than a courtroom, which can be a stressful environment for some people.
• Preservation of privacy. Courtroom trials are public while mediation is kept confidential. This can be important for spouses who don’t want to share private details of their marriage.

Preservation of the relationship. This is especially important if you have children and need to co-parent after separation. Mediation is less adversarial than litigation and is more likely to end amicably.

When Maine judges decide parental rights and responsibilities, they consider any history of domestic violence or child abuse, including the impact such abuse has on the child’s safety and overall well-being.

Children may be placed primarily with the abusive parent or granted visitation rights only if the court determines that adequate safety measures are in place and the child’s safety and well-being are fully protected.

Safeguards may include supervised visits, counseling for the abusive parent, restrictions on overnight visits, or prohibiting the use of alcohol or drugs by the supervised parent before and during a visit.

It should be noted that even a parent convicted of some child-related sexual offenses may retain the right to child visitation if safety precautions are put in place.

In certain circumstances, mothers or guardians can file a petition in a district court in Maine to terminate the parental rights and responsibilities of a father. Most notably, these are:

• If the child was conceived due to an act of sexual assault
• If the parent has been convicted of sexual abuse of a minor
• If the parent has been convicted of incest

In most cases, if the offender was convicted of such crimes and the other parent requests the termination of the offender’s parental rights and responsibilities, the judge must order it. If the offender was not criminally convicted, the judge may still terminate the offender’s parental rights and responsibilities if enough clear and convincing evidence is provided by the petitioner.

If parental rights and responsibilities are not terminated, the judge must consider whether the nature of the alleged offense poses a risk to the child, along with other relevant factors, before ordering parent-child contact.  The order may include specific provisions to safeguard the child.

If a parent was convicted of offenses in another state, the other parent may still be able to petition the Maine courts for an order to terminate parental rights.

If a child was conceived due to the nonconsensual removal of a condom, can parental rights be terminated?

If a child was conceived due to the nonconsensual removal (or tampering) of a condom during sex, the victim may be able to petition the court for the removal of parental rights. However, the judge will need to consider whether:

• The nonconsensual removal or tampering with a condom indicates that there may be safety concerns for the child.
• It would be in the best interest of the child for the parent to receive any specific counseling or treatment.
• Termination of parental rights would impact the victimized parent.

Supervised visits may be ordered by the judge if parental rights and responsibilities remain in place, but safeguards are needed to protect the wellbeing of the child from an abusive parent.

Visits must be supervised by a counselor, agency, family member or household member that is physically and mentally capable of supervising a visit, who does not have a criminal history or history of abuse or neglect. The supervised parent must usually pay any fees associated with the visit.

Conditions may be specified in the order that help ensure the safety and wellbeing of the child and to ensure that the visits do not damage the relationship between the child and the non-abusive parent.

A grandparent or other relative of the child may be awarded parental rights and responsibilities in Maine if living with either parent would put the child in danger of serious abuse or neglect or if both parents are dead.

Any non-parent seeking custody would require a substantial relationship with the child or a substantial interest in the child’s wellbeing—and the court would need to find that the arrangement would be in the best interests of the child.

For a grandparent to get visitation rights, he/she must show a “sufficient existing relationship” with the child and a compelling reason that justifies granting visitation. The judge must also be convinced that reasonable visitation would be in the best interests of the child and would not significantly interfere with the parent-child relationship.

If you need legal assistance with parental rights and responsibilities or visitation in Maine, speak to an experienced family law attorney at The Maine Divorce Group during an initial consultation.