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| 1. Motion to modify support. A party, including the department, | may file a motion to modify support. The commissioner may | designate employees of the department who are not attorneys to | represent the department in court proceedings to hear a motion to | modify support filed by the department or any other party. Unless | a party also files a motion to amend the divorce judgment, a | petition to amend under section 1653, subsection 10 or a motion for | judicial review under Title 22, section 4038, the child support | obligation is the sole issue to be determined by the court on a | motion to modify support. The court, in its discretion, may | bifurcate the support issue from other issues presented by the | party's pleadings. |
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| | Sec. 7. 19-A MRSA §2103, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, | §2 and affected by Pt, E, §2, is amended to read: |
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| | 2. Enforcement of support obligations. The department may, | for a fee, locate absent parents, defend against child support | reductions orders, establish support obligations, seek motions to | increase modify support obligations, enforce support obligations | and determine paternity on behalf of applicants who are not | recipients of public assistance, by actions under an appropriate | statute, including, but not limited to, remedies established in | subchapter II 2, article 3, to establish and enforce the support | obligations. The department and the applicant shall sign an | agreement in duplicate describing the fee. The department may | defer or waive that fee. |
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| | Sec. 8. 19-A MRSA §2201, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, | §2 and affected by Pt. E, §2, is amended by amending the last | paragraph to read: |
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| The notice must include the address and telephone number of the | department's support enforcement office that issues the notice | and a statement of the need to obtain a written confirmation of | compliance from that office as provided in subsection 8. The | department shall attach a copy of the obligor's order of support | to the notice. Service of the notice must be made by certified | mail, return receipt requested, or by service in hand, or as | specified in the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure. For purposes of | this section, authorized representatives of the commissioner may | serve the notice. |
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| | Sec. 9. 19-A MRSA §2304, first ¶, as amended by PL 2001, c. 264, §12, | is further amended to read: |
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| | When a support order has not been established or a support | order has not addressed a time period when child support may be | owed, the department may establish the responsible parent's |
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