Eric A. Teele v. Lisa West-Harper

Summary

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the denial of Eric A. Teele’s request for reimbursement of child support paid during a period later covered by retroactive Social Security dependent benefits received by his children. The court held that Maine’s dependent-benefit credit statute requires the credit to be established in the child support order applicable to the relevant period and that the amended order could be retroactive only to the date notice of the modification motion was served.

Holdings

1. Section 2107 permits a credit for dependent benefits only when the applicable child support order expressly establishes the support obligation and includes the required findings that the child receives dependent benefits and that those benefits satisfy part or all of the obligation. Because the 2008 order contained no such finding, the court lacked statutory authority to credit or reimburse Teele for support paid while that order was in effect.
2. Under 19-A M.R.S. § 2009(2), the amended child support order could be made retroactive only to May 13, 2016, the date Teele served his motion to modify on West-Harper. It could not reach back to October 2014, when the disability-related benefit period began.

Questions Presented

1. Whether 19-A M.R.S. § 2107 authorized a credit or reimbursement against child support payments made under an existing support order when the children later received retroactive Social Security dependent benefits and the original order did not authorize such a credit.
2. Whether 19-A M.R.S. § 2009(2) permitted the amended child support order and its dependent-benefit credit to operate retroactively to the beginning of Teele's disability period rather than only to the date notice of the motion to modify was served.

Disposition

affirmed