Annulment, divorce, and separation are the three most common methods of ending a marriage. An annulment is a dissolution of an invalid marriage. A divorce is a court proceeding which terminates the marriage relationship, as well attends to various issues relating to such termination, such as custody, property, maintenance, as well as other economic issues. A separation is a legal alternative to divorce, and is generally used for temporary arrangements, or when religious or economic reasons make it preferable to divorce. With all three procedures, there is a residency requirement of six months at the time the Judgment is filed. Although a lawyer is not required by law in any of these proceedings, it is highly recommended, as the relevant law can be fairly complex, and an attorney may be able to better advocate for various terms that will be favorable to a particular party.

A divorce is initiated in the same manner as any other civil proceeding: one party files a Summons and Complaint as Plaintiff, after which the other party files an Answer as the Defendant. However, unlike most civil proceedings, neither party need prove any wrongdoing took place in order to proceed with the divorce. The moving party merely needs to cite to one of the eight grounds upon which divorce may be based; the most common is “irreconcilable differences.”

Also, an Interim Order may be issued. This is a temporary order designed to deal with economic, custody, and other issues relevant to the two parties, and lasts until the court proceeding is completed.

Generally, parties can reach a Settlement as to a majority of the terms of the divorce Judgment. Those that cannot be mutually agreed upon must be adjudicated before a judge. After all the issues have been decided, a judge will sign the appropriate documents, and the action will be finalized. If either party fails to comply with the Judgment, they may be held liable for contempt, and may be either jailed or fined, according to the discretion of the presiding judge.

North Dakota law requires a “fair, just and equitable” division of property when determining how property will be divided. Alimony may be available to a spouse in need of financial support. Bills and debts will also be divided, and it is worth noting that creditors may not be bound by the terms of the divorce Judgment. There are no hard and fast rules for any of these elements of division, and each situation is decided on a case by case basis.