ME LD1842

Amends Maine's existing Grandparents and Great-grandparents Visitation Act to include stepparents, allowing them to petition courts for visitation rights with stepchildren

Establishes six conditions under which stepparents have standing to seek visitation, including death of the biological parent, divorce proceedings, unknown whereabouts of the parent, or when denial of visitation has caused severe harm to the child

Requires courts to first determine whether denying visitation would cause substantial mental, emotional, or physical harm to the child before considering best interest factors

Creates a rebuttable presumption that parental decisions regarding visitation are not harmful, placing the burden on stepparents to prove otherwise

Includes special protections for children when stepparents have sex offense convictions, requiring supervised visitation and creating a presumption against contact in cases involving child victims