Know the Laws: North Dakota
UPDATED April 1, 2008
Please consider getting help from an organization in your area before proceeding with court action. To find an organization, please go to the Where to Find Help tab at the top of this page.
- General information
- Definitions
- Who can get custody or visitation?
- How the custody process works
- After a custody order is in place
General information
back to topWhat is custody?
When a judge makes a custody order, he or she will decide about these two types of custody: legal and physical custody.
Legal custody is the right to make major decisions about your child. Some types of decisions included in the right of legal custody are:
- where your
child goes to school,
- whether your
child gets surgery, and
- what kind of religious training your child receives.
Physical custody is the actual physical possession and control of a child (under 18 years old). In other words, it covers who the child lives with on a day-to-day basis.
In North Dakota, the courts often just say "custody" without specifically saying "legal" or "physical" custody. When the court does this, it means both physical and legal custody. The word custody includes both the right to make all the decisions regarding the child and where the child lives. Unless the court specifically says legal or physical custody, it probably means both.
back to topWhat are some benefits of getting a custody order?
There are many reasons some people choose not to get a custody order from a court. Some people decide not to get a custody order because they don't want to get the courts involved. They may have an informal agreement that works well for them or they may think going to court will provoke the other parent into seeking custody or visitation that they do not already have.
You do not have to get a custody order, but it may be a good idea. You should know that getting a custody order can give you:
- The right
to make decisions about your child
- The right
to physical custody of your child (to have your child live with
you)
- The right to child support payments
If your child was born while you were married or you have had paternity established, then you and the other parent have equal rights to all of these things.* The only way to change this is to file for custody of your child.
* Father and mother have equal parental rights without court order stating otherwise. - N.D. Cent. Code, §§ 14-09-04, & 14-09-06
back to topShould I start a court case to ask for supervised visitation?
If you are not comfortable with the abuser being alone with your child, you might be thinking about asking the judge to order that visits with your child be supervised. If you are already in court because the abuser filed for visitation or custody, you probably don't have much to lose by asking that the visits be supervised.
However, if there is no current court case, please get legal advice BEFORE you start a court case to ask for supervised visits. We strongly recommend that you talk to an attorney who specializes in custody matters to find out what you would have to prove to get the visits supervised and how long supervised visits would last, based on the facts of your case.
In the great majority of cases, supervised visits are only a temporary measure. Although the exact visitation order will vary by state, county, or judge, the judge might order a professional to observe the father on a few visits or the visits might be supervised by a relative for a few months -- and if there are no obvious problems, the visits will likely become unsupervised. Oftentimes, the father ends up with more frequent and/ or longer visits than he had before you went into court. He may even end up with joint custody.
In some cases, to protect your child from immediate danger by the abuser, starting a case to ask for custody and supervised visits is appropriate. To find out if that is best in your situation, please go to ND Finding a Lawyer to seek out legal advice.