APPROVED CHAPTER
JUNE 11, 2025 260
BY GOVERNOR PUBLIC LAW
STATE OF MAINE
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IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE
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H.P. 408 - L.D. 640
An Act Requiring That Certain Fees Charged by the Courts for Court-
ordered Payments Be Capped and Paid by the Defendant
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 4 MRSA §556, 3rd ¶, as amended by PL 1989, c. 501, Pt. P, §5, is further
amended to read:
Whenever any of these funds are ordered by the courts to be paid to a person entitled
to these funds, all accrued interest shall must be paid to the claimant less a 5% fee based
on the total proceeds. Before receiving any funds under this section, the clerk shall inform
all prospective parties to the court judgment or decree that a 5% fee will be assessed on all
accrued interest as required by this section. The nonprevailing party or parties shall pay the
court a fee equal to 5% of all interest accrued, but in no event may the fee exceed $1,000,
unless otherwise ordered by the court. Whenever any of these funds remain unclaimed for
20 years from the date when payable under the court judgment or decree, the clerk shall
obtain an order from the court, under whose judgment or decree these funds were placed
in the clerk's custody, that a comprehensive abstract of the facts be advertised for 3 weeks
successively in a newspaper of general circulation published in the county, and if no one
appears to claim these funds within 60 days after the date of the last publication, the funds
shall become forfeited to the State and must be paid by the clerk to the Treasurer of State.
That portion of this section providing for the forfeiture of unclaimed funds shall apply
applies to funds held by the clerk of courts for 20 years or more prior to September 16,
1961.
Page 1 - 132LR1195(03)


Statutes affected:
Bill Text ACTPUB , Chapter 260: 4.556