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respect to any payment not yet due and owing as of the date of | | death. |
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| | | 9.__Effect of no award or termination of spousal support.__A | | final judgment that does not award spousal support forever | | precludes such an award in that action.__The complete termination | | of a spousal support award pursuant to the terms of the award or | | a final post-judgment order forever precludes the reinstatement | | of spousal support in that action. |
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| | | 10.__Application.__This section applies to orders granting or | | denying spousal support entered on or after September 1, 2000, as | | well as the modification, termination and enforcement of orders | | granting spousal support entered on or after that date. |
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| | | This bill is a recommendation of the Family Law Advisory | | Commission pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 19-A, | | section 354, subsection 2. This bill replaces the current law on | | spousal support with more comprehensive requirements concerning | | the award of spousal support. The Family Law Advisory Commission | | prepared this bill in response to the following recommendation by | | the Maine Commission on Gender, Justice and the Courts in its | | December 4, 1996 report. |
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| | | "Although the alimony statute offers parties and their lawyers | | a broad array of bases for pursuing an alimony award, the | | Legislature should consider amending the statute to provide a | | clear statement of the purpose for alimony to guide the court in | | weighing the various factors." |
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| | | The bill requires the courts to approach the determination of | | spousal support in a uniform manner. The bill also establishes 2 | | rebuttable presumptions designed to bring greater uniformity and | | predictability to spousal support determinations. The absence of | | any criteria has increased the unpredictability of spousal | | support determinations, which, in turn, promotes contested | | litigation. Because the presumptions are rebuttable, the courts | | will retain their traditional discretion to fashion spousal | | support awards that are responsive to the particular | | circumstances of each case. |
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| | | The bill also permits a spousal support award to provide that | | all or a portion of the award, including, but not limited to, the | | limitations associated with the award, is not subject to future | | modification. Under existing law, the question of whether a | | spousal support award may be modified can be the subject of |
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