Title 14, Domestic Relations and Persons

Adultery is the voluntary sexual intercourse of a married person with a person other than the offender's husband or wife.

Extreme cruelty is the infliction by one party to the marriage of grievous bodily injury or grievous mental suffering upon the other.

Willful desertion is the voluntary separation of one of the married parties from the other with intent to desert: 1. Persistent refusal to have reasonable matrimonial intercourse as husband and wife when health or physical condition does not make such refusal reasonably necessary…

Willful neglect is the failure of either spouse to provide for the common necessaries of life for the other party, when that spouse has the ability to do so and the party alleging neglect does not have the ability, or when a spouse fails to provide by reason of idleness, profliga…

Abuse of alcohol or controlled substances is that degree of use which disqualifies the person a great portion of the time from properly attending to business or which reasonably would inflict a course of great mental anguish upon the innocent party. For purposes of this chapter, …

A decree of divorce or of annulment of marriage obtained in a court of another jurisdiction is of no force or effect in this state, if the parties to the marriage were domiciled in this state at the time such decree was rendered. If a person obtains a decree of divorce or of annu…

Willful desertion, willful neglect, or habitual intemperance must continue for one year before either is a ground for a divorce.

Irreconcilable differences are those grounds which are determined by the court to be substantial reasons for not continuing the marriage and which make it appear that the marriage should be dissolved.

Divorces must be denied upon showing: 1. Condonation; or 2. Limitation and lapse of time.

Condonation is the conditional forgiveness of a matrimonial offense constituting a cause of divorce. The following requirements are necessary to condonation: 1. A knowledge on the part of the condoner of the facts constituting the cause of divorce; 2. Reconciliation and remission…

Condonation is revoked and the original cause of divorce revived: 1. When the condonee commits acts constituting a like or other cause of divorce; or 2. When the condonee is guilty of great conjugal unkindness, not amounting to a cause of divorce, but sufficiently habitual and gr…

A divorce must be denied when there is an unreasonable lapse of time before the commencement of the action. Unreasonable lapse of time is such a delay in commencing the action as establishes the presumption that there has been connivance, collusion, or condonation of the offense,…

A separation or divorce may not be granted unless the plaintiff in good faith has been a resident of the state for six months next preceding commencement of the action. If the plaintiff has not been a resident of this state for the six months preceding commencement of the action,…

In actions for divorce, the presumption of law that the domicile of the husband is the domicile of the wife does not apply. After separation, each party may have a separate domicile, depending for proof upon actual residence and not upon legal presumptions.

When a divorce is granted for the adultery of the husband, the legitimacy of children of the marriage begotten of the wife before the commencement of the action is not affected.

When a divorce is granted for the adultery of the wife, the legitimacy of children begotten of her before the commission of the adultery is not affected, but the legitimacy of other children of the wife may be determined by the court upon the evidence in the case. In every such c…

1. In an action for divorce, the court, before or after judgment, may give direction for parenting rights and responsibilities of the children of the marriage and may vacate or modify the same at any time. Any award or change of primary parental responsibilities must be made in a…

During any time in which an action for separation or divorce is pending, the court, upon application of a party, may issue an order requiring a party to pay such support as may be necessary for the support of a party and minor children of the parties and for the payment of attorn…

1. When a divorce is granted, the court shall make an equitable distribution of the property and debts of the parties. Except as may be required by federal law for specific property, the valuation date for marital property and debt is the date mutually agreed upon between the par…

1. As used in this section: a. "Length of marriage" means from the date of the marriage until the service of a summons for an action for legal separation or divorce. b. "Material change in circumstances" means a change that substantially affects the financial abilities or needs o…

1. If real estate is described in a judgment and decree of divorce, the court may direct either of the parties or their legal counsel to prepare and submit to the court, in a form prescribed by the court, a proposed summary real estate disposition judgment. Upon approval by the c…

1. Except as provided in subsections 2 and 3, the property and debt listing of the parties to a divorce which is filed with the court or included in a judgment for divorce is a confidential record. 2. Upon providing written notice to all parties, any person may file a motion, sup…

The court may require either party to give reasonable security for providing maintenance or making any payments required under the provisions of this chapter and may enforce the same by appointment of a receiver or by any other remedy applicable to the case. When either the husba…

Failure to comply with the provisions of a separation or divorce decree relating to distribution of the property of the parties constitutes contempt of court. A party may also execute on a money judgment, and the obligor is entitled only to the absolute exemptions from process se…

Any order or judgment for the support of a spouse or former spouse entered under this chapter may be enforced by any means permitted under section 459 of the Social Security Act [Pub. L. 93-647; 88 Stat. 2357; 42 U.S.C. 659] and not forbidden under title 32. Any such order or jud…

Though a judgment of divorce is denied, the court in an action for divorce may provide for the maintenance of one spouse by the other and the maintenance of any or all children.

Upon the granting of a separation, the court may include in the decree an order requiring a party to pay for spousal support and for the support of any minor children of the parties. Subject to section 14-05-24, the decree may also provide for the equitable division of the proper…

The decree of separation confers upon the parties all the rights of property, business, and contracts as if unmarried and releases both parties from all obligations of maintenance, except as may be required by the decree.

At any time after a decree for separation has been granted, the court may revoke the decree based upon any regulations or restrictions the court imposed in the decree. Application for revocation may be made by either party to the decree. The party making the application for revoc…