(a) Except as otherwise provided in Title 19-A, any proceedings for modification or enforcement of a final judgment in an action under this chapter shall be on a motion for post-judgment relief. The motion shall be served in accordance with Rule 103. A motion made in response to a motion filed by a party represented by an attorney may be served upon the attorney in accordance with Rule 5. A motion, any response, and any opposing motion or memorandum shall be accompanied, as appropriate, by the child support affidavits if required by Rule 108. A motion for contempt may also be brought pursuant to Rule 66. After a hearing on a motion for contempt and a finding of contempt, in addition to other relief, a court may determine that an order amending a judgment or order is necessary to achieve the purposes of the judgment or order that is the subject of the motion for contempt. Post-judgment motions filed in an action under this chapter must be accompanied by a properly completed Summary Sheet, which is available from the clerk.
Rule 120.Post-Judgment Relief
Last amended July 1, 2016 · Last verified July 8, 2026
In one sentenceRule 120 channels any post-judgment modification or enforcement of a Family Division judgment through a motion for post-judgment relief served under Rule 103, requires a hearing unless the parties stipulate to a judgment or a child-support modification qualifies for decision without one, and lets the court, after a contempt finding, amend the underlying judgment to serve its original purposes.
Full Text of Rule 120
(b) The court shall hold a hearing on a motion for post-judgment relief, unless (1) the parties certify to the court that there is a stipulated judgment or amendment and no hearing is necessary, or (2) there is no timely request for a hearing on a motion to modify child support and entry of an order without hearing is authorized by 19-A M.R.S. § 2009(6).
Advisory Committee’s Notes & Reporter’s Notes
Advisory Note - July 2016
The change of numbering in Rule 120(b) was made to improve the readability of the rule.
Advisory Committee’s Note — July 1, 2009
This amendment clarifies that post-judgment motions to modify child support may be acted on without hearing when there is no request for a hearing filed within 30 days pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 105(a) and other conditions of 19-A M.R.S. § 2009(6) requiring that such “without hearing” orders include a child support obligation equal to or greater than specified in the child support guidelines are met. The terms of 19-A M.R.S. § 2009(6) in effect at the time of this rule change state that:
6. Order without hearing. If a party does not request a hearing within 30 days after service, the court may enter an order modifying support without hearing using the proposed order, as long as the proposed modified support obligation is equal to or greater than the obligation resulting from the application of section 2005. If a downward deviation is proposed, the court shall hold a hearing prior to entering an order. The court may apply the presumptions set out in section 2004, subsection 1, paragraph D.
Advisory Notes — June 2008
This rule establishes the procedures for filing post-judgment motions seeking to amend or enforce Family Division orders and judgments that have become final by operation of law. The rule incorporates the provisions of Rule 80(k) but with a qualification noting that enforcement of judgments may also be initiated by a contempt motion pursuant to Rule 66. Service is governed by Rule 103. Responses to motions for post-judgment relief are governed by Rule 105. The filing of a memorandum in support of or opposition to a post-judgment motion is not required.
To avoid multiple appearances by the parties, appearances before two judicial officers for the same issue, and filing of multiple motions, a judge who hears a motion for contempt and finds contempt may consider any orders or amendments of orders necessary to achieve the purposes of the underlying judgment or order. See Rule 66(d)(3).
Plain-English Summary
Except as Title 19-A otherwise provides, modifying or enforcing a final Family Division judgment requires a motion for post-judgment relief, served under Rule 103; a motion responding to one filed by a represented party may instead go to that party's attorney under Rule 5. The motion, any response, and any opposing motion or memorandum must include child support affidavits when Rule 108 requires them, and a motion for contempt may also proceed under Rule 66. After a contempt hearing and finding, the court may, along with any other relief, amend the underlying judgment or order if doing so is necessary to accomplish its purposes. Every post-judgment motion must come with a properly completed Summary Sheet, available from the clerk.
The court holds a hearing on a post-judgment motion unless the parties certify that a stipulated judgment or amendment makes a hearing unnecessary, or the motion seeks only a child support modification with no timely hearing request, which 19-A M.R.S. § 2009(6) allows the court to decide without one. Within five days after notice of a decision under these rules, on a party's motion or the court's own motion, the judge who entered the order must make findings of fact and conclusions of law under Rule 52.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is a Family Division judgment modified or enforced in Maine after it becomes final?
By a motion for post-judgment relief served under Rule 103, accompanied by required child support affidavits and a completed Summary Sheet.
Is a hearing required on a post-judgment motion?
Yes, unless the parties certify a stipulated judgment or amendment makes it unnecessary, or the motion seeks only a child support modification that 19-A M.R.S. § 2009(6) allows the court to decide without a hearing.
Can a contempt finding lead to a change in the underlying judgment?
Yes. After a hearing and a finding of contempt, the court may amend the judgment or order if that's necessary to achieve its original purposes.
Source & verification. The rule text and Advisory Committee’s Notes / Reporter’s
Notes are reproduced verbatim from the official Maine Rules of Civil Procedure (Me. R. Civ. P. 120), prescribed by the
Supreme Judicial Court of Maine (4 M.R.S. § 8, the Rules Enabling Act). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 8, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: post-judgment motion Family Division Mainemodify divorce judgment Mainecontempt motion family court Maine