Custody

The next step in the process to get parental rights and responsibilities is to have “preliminary” court dates. Preliminary means introductory or preparatory. These might have a different name in your state, such as “first appearance,” “status conference,” or something else. They are when certain issues can be dealt with in the early stages of the case. Some of the issues that might be dealt with are:

• problems with service of process;
• referrals to mediation;
• temporary custody and visitation orders; and
• pretrial motions.

During this stage, the judge will often give temporary custody and visitation orders that last while the case continues. In some cases, your child may get assigned a lawyer, also called a guardian ad litem.

In Maine, the first court date is usually a case management conference with a family magistrate. A magistrate is similar to a judge, but doesn’t have as much legal authority. The purpose of the conference is to make clear what each parent wants and note what issues the parents agree or disagree on.

After the case management conference, you and the other parent will usually attend a mediation session.¹ During mediation, a professional mediator will try to help you and the other parent work through your disagreements and reach a compromise that you can both be happy with. If you are afraid of the other parent, you can ask to be in a separate room from the other party during the mediation.² In rare cases, if you file a motion and show there is an “extraordinary cause,” the judge might agree to let you skip mediation.³

If you reach an agreement on a parental rights and responsibilities arrangement, you will attend a final conference so the family magistrate can review the proposed arrangement and make it into a court order, assuming s/he thinks it’s in your child’s best interests. If you and the other parent cannot reach an agreement at mediation, you will attend a hearing in front of a judge. 

For more information to help you prepare for the preliminary court dates, go to The first appearance in our Before the Trial section. 

¹ Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 19A §§ 1653(11); 251
² See Pine Tree Legal Assistance’s website
³ Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 19A § 251(2)(B)