Maine Divorce Petition

Filing a Divorce Petition in Maine

A Maine divorce begins when the plaintiff files a Complaint for Divorce (Form FM-025) with the District Court, Family Division, and pays the $120 filing fee. Before that filing can proceed, 19-A M.R.S. § 901(1) requires that the plaintiff resided in good faith in Maine for six months before commencing the action. The residency test is also satisfied if the parties were married in Maine, if the plaintiff is a Maine resident and the defendant resides in Maine, or if the defendant is a resident of Maine. Because that six-month residency requirement is jurisdictional, a court will dismiss a complaint filed by a plaintiff who cannot establish it, so confirm residency first. Maine keeps the older label. This case is a "divorce," never a "dissolution of marriage," and the spouses are the plaintiff and the defendant.

Grounds and Timing

Maine offers both no-fault and fault paths. Most petitioners plead the no-fault ground of "irreconcilable marital differences" under 19-A M.R.S. § 902(1)(H). Section 902 still preserves fault grounds, including adultery, impotence, extreme cruelty, desertion for three consecutive years, gross and confirmed habits of intoxication, nonsupport, and cruel and abusive treatment. The no-fault route avoids litigating spousal conduct, which is why "irreconcilable marital differences" dominates modern Maine filings. Whichever ground you plead, Maine's divorce statute sets no statutory waiting or cooling-off period; how quickly the case resolves depends on the court's schedule and whether it is contested. After the defendant is served, the matter proceeds through the Family Division of the District Court, which typically sets a case management conference and, in contested cases, further hearings before a judgment is entered. Maine imposes no requirement that the spouses live separate and apart before filing.

Serving the Defendant and Dividing Property

Alongside the complaint, the plaintiff serves the Family Matter Summons and Preliminary Injunction (Form FM-050), which triggers automatic restraints on both spouses. That preliminary injunction bars both spouses from transferring or concealing property and from disturbing the other's peace while the case is pending. When the court reaches the merits, it divides marital property under 19-A M.R.S. § 953 by equitable distribution, splitting marital assets in just proportions rather than a rigid 50/50 share. Maine is not a community property state, so "just proportions" gives the District Court discretion to weigh each spouse's contribution, economic circumstances, and any non-marital property. Assets owned before the marriage or received by gift or inheritance are generally set aside to the owning spouse before the § 953 division begins.

Where to File

The Family Division of the Maine District Court is the standard venue for a divorce petition (/legal-document/divorce-petition). A plaintiff may alternatively file in Superior Court, but the District Court handles the overwhelming majority of Maine family matters. Filing the correct forms, meeting the six-month residency rule, and staying on top of the court's scheduling are the levers that keep a Maine divorce on track.