SJC invites comments on proposed Maine Rules of Family Procedure to govern family-related cases in the District Court in place of the Rules of Civil Procedure. Comments due by June 9, 2025

Date: 4/14/2025

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court invites comments on the proposed adoption of the Maine Rules of Family Procedure, which would govern Family Division cases in the District Court. For purposes of these rules, "Family Division cases" means family cases, protection from abuse and protection from harassment cases, child protection cases, and family-related probate cases. These rules would operate as a standalone body of rules for Family Division cases, replacing the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure, including Rules 100 to 129, for these cases. The rules were proposed by the Family Rules Advisory Committee, at the request of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, to set forth procedures better tailored to the needs of Family Division cases.

The proposed amendment and accompanying appendix are available at the links below.

PLEASE NOTE: Given the breadth of the project, it was not possible to indicate the proposed changes in redline or legislative format. Instead, the proposed rules are accompanied by an appendix that provides, for each rule, (1) a rule summary, (2) the rule's derivation, and (3) any departures from the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure. The rules that generated the most discussion or that include the most substantive changes are highlighted in blue in the appendix. The proposed rules and appendix are intended to be reviewed together, side by side.

Any comments must be filed with the Executive Clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court by 11:59 p.m. on Monday, June 9, 2025. Comments may be in writing, mailed to the address below, or in an email sent to lawcourt.clerk@courts.maine.gov. If the comments are in an attachment to the email, the attachment must be a document in native (text-based and not scanned) portable document format (.pdf). The Clerks Office will acknowledge receipt of the email via reply email.

All comments must contain (1) the name and mailing address of the individual submitting the comments (except as necessary to ensure the safety of the individual) and (2) the name, mailing address, and primary telephone number of the organization (if any) on whose behalf the comments are submitted. An individual need not be an attorney to submit comments individually or on behalf of an organization.

Comments are public documents and may be posted on the Courts website.

Dated: April 14, 2025

Matthew Pollack
Executive Clerk
Maine Supreme Judicial Court
205 Newbury Street Room 139
Portland, Maine 04101
(207) 822-4146
lawcourt.clerk@courts.maine.gov

Supporting documents

Proposed Maine Rules of Family Procedure

Appendix to proposed Maine Rules of Family Procedure

PDF version of this notice