Divorce

Generally, the judge will follow these guidelines when deciding how long your spousal support will last based on how long you were married: 

• If the length of the marriage is less than five years, spousal support will last for up to 50% of the length of the marriage.
• If the length of the marriage is between five and ten years, spousal support will last for up to 60% of the length of the marriage.
• If the length of the marriage is between ten and fifteen years, spousal support will last for up to 70% of the length of the marriage.
• If the length of the marriage is between fifteen and twenty years, spousal support will last for up to 80% of the length of the marriage.
• If the length of the marriage is twenty years or more, spousal support will last for some time that the spouses agree upon or the judge decides.¹

If the judge believes it is necessary to go outside of these guidelines, the judge must specifically explain in writing the reasons why.¹ 

Note: When determining the “length of the marriage,” the judge will consider the end of your marriage to be the day that either spouse served a summons for legal separation or divorce.²

However, your spousal support will end earlier than the guidelines mentioned above if any of these things happen:

1. you die;
2. you remarry. In this situation, it is your responsibility to immediately notify your former spouse when you remarry by sending a notice to his/her last known address;³
3. you have been living with an intimate partner in a relationship that is similar to marriage for one year or more, the judge can terminate your spousal support after holding a hearing where the paying spouse proves this;⁴ 
4. your spouse paying the support is old enough to meet the ”full retirement age” for Social Security purposes. However, the judge can order that payments continue based on the following factors:
   
   • how old you and your spouse were when you got married, when the judge ordered spousal support, and when your spouse applied for retirement;
   • how much you financially relied upon your spouse during the marriage;
   • whether during the divorce case, you gave up any claims, rights, or property in exchange for a more substantial or longer spousal support award;
   • how long the spousal support has been paid or the amount already paid;
   • the health of both spouses at the time of the retirement application;
   • the assets of both spouses at the time of the retirement application;
   • all sources of income, both earned and unearned, for both spouses, including whether the paying spouse intends to continue working;
   • your ability to have saved enough for retirement; and
   • any other factors the judge thinks are relevant.⁵

¹ N.D. Cent. Code § 14-05-24.1(5)
² N.D. Cent. Code § 14-05-24.1(1)
³ N.D. Cent. Code § 14-05-24.1(9)
⁴ N.D. Cent. Code § 14-05-24.1(10)
⁵ N.D. Cent. Code § 14-05-24.1(11)