English
EspañolPaso 2: Presentar y hacer la notificación de la petición
The legal paperwork that starts a parental rights and responsibilities (custody) case is called a complaint. You will usually file your complaint in the family court or a court of a different name that hears custody cases. Generally, you will file in the county where the child lives.
The exact petition you file may depend on whether or not you are married to the child’s other parent, as you can see in the chart below.
| If you and the other parent are… | Then you can usually file for custody in… |
|---|---|
| married and getting divorced | the divorce case. |
| married but not divorcing | a separate parental rights and responsibility case. |
| not married | a separate parental rights and responsibility case, but legal fatherhood (paternity) may need to be established first or during the custody case. |
Sometimes, non-parents can also file for custody or visitation rights. To find out about filing as a non-parent, go to Can a non-parent get custody or visitation? or talk to a lawyer.
The custody forms
you need will be available at your local courthouse. Some courts may have a court assistance officer or other staff who can help you complete the forms you need to file. However, court staff cannot advise or represent you. It’s best to get help from a lawyer to make sure that you have all of the forms and fill them out correctly. You can use our North Dakota Courthouse Locations, Download Court Forms, and Finding a Lawyer pages to find your county’s court, the forms, and local lawyers.
When you file, you will also need to pay the court filing fee. If you cannot afford it, you can file a fee waiver request in which you ask the judge not to make you pay the court costs.1
Depending on what’s going on with the child and the other parent, you may be able to ask for a temporary parental rights and responsibilities order when you file your complaint. That may require appearing in front of the judge. However, in most cases, you will just file the complaint, and then the clerk will tell you a date to return to court a few weeks or months later. If your child’s well-being is in danger, make sure to mention this on the complaint and notify local authorities as needed. It may also be possible to file for a restraining order, also called a protection order and get temporary custody as part of the protection order.
After you file, the papers will need to be given to the other parent. This is called “service of process,” and there are specific rules on how to do it. You may want to ask the clerk for the instructions on how the other party must be served in your state.
1 N.D. Cent. Code § 27-01-07
