Child Support
Residency Requirements and Grounds for Divorce
You must be a North Dakota resident for at least six months before filing for a divorce. If you haven't been a resident that long, you may be granted a divorce if you have been a resident of North Dakota for six months prior to the entry of the divorce decree.
If your spouse is also a resident, start your case by filing a complaint for divorce in the county where he or she resides. If your spouse isn't a resident, you can choose the county in which to file your complaint.
Grounds for divorce are:
- Adultery
- Extreme cruelty
- Willful desertion
- Willful neglect
- Abuse of alcohol or controlled substances
- Conviction of a felony
- Irreconcilable differences
Dividing the Property
North Dakota is an "equitable distribution" state. This means the court divides property and debts in a fair, but not necessarily equal, way. All of each spouse's property, including gifts, inheritances and any property acquired prior to the marriage, is equitably distributed as the court determines is just and proper.
The court may redistribute property in a post judgment proceeding if one spouse failed to disclose property or debts. The court may also redistribute property if one spouse fails to comply with the terms of the court order distributing property and debts.
Be prepared with information on your property, including when you purchased it, an estimate of value, and details such as account numbers, serial numbers and so forth. You'll be ready to meet with a North Dakota divorce lawyer and it can save you a lot of time and money.
Alimony
The court can order either party pay support to the other spouse. These payments may be for life or for a shorter period. The court considers all of the circumstances of the spouses when making a support award.
The court may award one spouse to pay temporary support to the other spouse while the divorce is pending. You must file an application with the court in order for the court to make the temporary award.
Child Custody and Visitation
In North Dakota, the court will make child custody decisions based upon the best interests and welfare of the child. There is no presumption as to which parent should have custody. The court makes custody decisions based on the following factors:
- The love, affection and other emotional ties existing between the parents and child
- The capacity and disposition of the parents to give the child love, affection and guidance and education to their child
- The ability to provide for a child's physical and medical needs
- A child's history in his environment, and whether continuing that situation is desired
- The permanence of the proposed existing custodial home
- Parents' moral fitness
- The mental and physical health of the parents
- The home, school and community record of the child
- The preference of the child, if the child is of sufficient maturity to express a preference
- Evidence of domestic violence
- The interaction and interrelationship of the child with any person who resides in or frequents the household
- False accusations by one parent against the other
- Any other relevant factors
The court usually grants the noncustodial parent rights of visitation so that the child and the noncustodial parent may maintain a parent-child relationship that is beneficial to the child, unless the court finds that the visitation is likely to endanger the child's physical or emotional health.
You may seek a modification of the custody award if you can show that there has been a change of circumstances that affects the best interests of the child and requires a change in custody.
Child Support
In North Dakota, either parent or both parents may be ordered by the court to pay child support. The amount is based on state child support guidelines, and that amount is presumed correct. The court can deviate from the guidelines for reasons such as a parent's decreased ability to pay support due to involuntary job loss or health problems.
Questions for Your Attorney