Spousal Support in North Dakota

Eligibility and the limited-duration rule

A North Dakota court can only order spousal support after two findings are made. First, the recipient must lack sufficient property or income to provide for reasonable needs, considering the marital standard of living. Second, the paying spouse must have the ability to supply that support without undue economic hardship. The statute prohibits permanent support outright. Because of that, every award takes the form of support for a limited period of time. This holds true even in longer marriages.

Factors the court considers

In setting the amount and duration, N.D.C.C. § 14-05-24.1 directs courts to weigh several factors. These include the age of the parties, and each party's earning ability. The list also covers the duration of the marriage, and the conduct of the parties during the marriage. Courts also look at the station in life of each party, and their circumstances and necessities.

Health and physical condition matter too. So does the financial picture shown by the property owned at the time of the divorce, including its value, income-producing capacity, and whether it was acquired before or after the marriage. Unlike many states, North Dakota's list explicitly includes the conduct of the parties during the marriage as a factor. That inclusion sets North Dakota apart from states where marital fault plays no role at all in the support decision.

Types of support and how modification works

Based on those factors, a court may award rehabilitative spousal support. This type is used when it is possible to restore a spouse to independent economic status, or to help equitably divide the burdens created by the divorce. A court may also award general term support, or a lump sum award. Rehabilitative support can be modified if a material change in circumstances occurs during the rehabilitative period. General term support can be modified for a material change in circumstances generally. Lump sum spousal support cannot be modified once the judgment is filed. Parties can also agree in writing, as part of the divorce judgment, to expressly preclude or limit future modification.

Termination: remarriage, cohabitation, and retirement

Spousal support terminates automatically when the recipient remarries, or when either party dies. This happens unless the parties agreed in writing to something different. The recipient must notify the paying spouse's last known address immediately upon remarriage.

Support also terminates for another reason. If the court finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the recipient has been habitually cohabiting with another person in a relationship analogous to marriage for one year or more, support ends. This holds unless the parties agreed otherwise in writing. Separately, there is a rebuttable presumption that support terminates once the paying spouse reaches full retirement age for Social Security purposes. That presumption can be overcome, based on factors like the parties' ages, the recipient's economic dependency during the marriage, and the recipient's ability to have saved for retirement.

Where North Dakota spousal support cases are filed

Divorce cases in North Dakota, including any request for spousal support, are filed in district court, in the county where one of the spouses resides. Courts typically decide spousal support together with property division, since the same statutory section groups both topics. Where children are involved, custody and child support are also generally addressed as part of the same case rather than filed separately.