If You are the Defendant in a Family Law Case: Maine Court Forms

February 2021 Notice: The Court has recently updated many forms - and will be updating many more as electronic filing expands! We do our best to stay on top of all of these changes, please check with the Maine Court's website for the most up-to-date forms. If you find a form here that is out of date or incorrect, please let us know!

Important Notice: Doing your own court case without a lawyer is hard and not always a good idea. Before going ahead, we advise you to read Divorce and Parental Rights in Maine.


If you have been served with a Divorce or Parental Rights complaint, and you wish to be heard by the court, you must fill out, file, and serve certain court forms. Here is a list of the forms you will need.

If you are the defendant, you need to file either an Entry of Appearance form or an Answer and Counterclaim within 20 days of being served with the court papers (Summons and Complaint).

  • Entry of Appearance: This is the simplest way to respond.  You are just telling the court that you want to be notified of all court dates in your case.
FM-020 Entry of Appearance

Get fillable .pdf form

 

  • Answer and Counterclaim: This is a longer form that you may want to file and serve.  If the plaintiff decides not to go through with the court case, you can still do that based on your own "counterclaim."
Divorce Answer and Counterclaim
 

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Parental Rights and Responsibilities Answer and Counterclaim

Get fillable .pdf form

 
  • Other Forms: Depending on your situation and what the Magistrate or Judge requests, you may need some of these other forms.
FM-050 Child Support Affidavit
if the case involves issues of parental rights or child support

Get fillable .pdf form

FM-043 Financial Statement
if the case involves issues of alimony or attorney's fees

Get fillable .pdf form

FM-040 Child Support Worksheet
if requested by the Magistrate or Judge
Get fillable .pdf form

 

Find more court forms.