Hancock County’s probate judge has a warrant out for his arrest after he failed to show up for court yesterday for another contempt hearing over unpaid child support payments to his ex-wife.
After William B. Blaisdell IV failed to appear at his March 12 hearing, a Belfast District Court judge issued a bench warrant for his arrest and set bail at $16,929.50.
Blaisdell technically still holds the position of Hancock County probate judge, though he’s been suspended from serving as either a lawyer or judge. While serving in the part-time judge position, Blaisdell also has worked as a lawyer in private practice, representing clients unconnected to probate manners.
His law license was suspended for one year last April after he was found in contempt of court, violating conditions imposed by the overseers board, the state entity that upholds standards of conduct for licensed lawyers. Nine days later, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court suspended Blaisdell from the bench for the second time in under a year.
Nearly a year later, the county’s website still lists Blaisdell as its probate judge and does not mention his suspension.
During his suspension, Hancock has relied on a multi-county agreement that allows probate judges in neighboring counties to adjudicate its probate cases. Such matters often involve wills and estates, adoptions and name changes, and guardianships and conservatorships.
Blaisdell has faced at least three contempt orders, all issued by different judges, for falling behind multiple times on child support payments to his ex-wife. Since the couple’s 2019 divorce, Blaisdell has dodged more than $67,000 in timely child support payments and attorney fees.
Blaisdell’s ex-wife says he is once again in violation of court orders from last year requiring the probate judge to pay overdue child support payments and his ex-wife’s attorney fees, according to court documents.
Thursday’s hearing was scheduled to address his latest overdue, court-ordered payments.
Blaisdell did not immediately respond to inquiries from the Bangor Daily News.
Blaisdell was first elected as Hancock County’s probate judge in 2014. He narrowly won reelection in 2018 and then was reelected without opposition in 2022.
The county’s probate position is coming up for election again in November. So far, no one — including Blaisdell — has filed paperwork with the state to run for the post this year.
The deadline to run in party primary elections for county and state elections this summer is at 5 p.m. Monday.
Blaisdell was first held in contempt of court in March 2024 after he was overdue on $50,000 of child support bills and attorney fees. He also failed to file federal or state income tax for at least three years, according to court documents.
In February 2025, a Waldo County judge found Blaisdell in contempt after he didn’t pay an additional $17,000 in child support and attorney fees.
Although Blaisdell is an Ellsworth resident, all post-divorce proceedings have been held in Waldo County because of his position as Hancock County’s probate judge.
In November 2025, when facing a previous contempt order, Blaisdell paid $25,684 to his ex-wife’s lawyer and handed over copies of the judge’s financial statements.
Among those statements was a Charles Schwab account with $166,291 and a separate IRA account with $344,080 saved, according to court documents.
Blaisdell had previously testified under oath that he had “depleted all of the brokerage account funds available to him,” and in turn was unable to pay the $25,648 he owed in child support. He testified that was also unable to pay his monthly $1,500 Toyota Sequoia bill, according to court documents.
Despite Blaisdell’s testimony claiming to be in financial distress, his financial statements, dated two days after his Oct. 29 hearing, show he had more than $510,000 in savings.