Title 14, Domestic Relations and Persons

A child custody determination made by a court of this state that had jurisdiction under this chapter binds all persons who have been served in accordance with the laws of this state or notified in accordance with section 14-14.1-07 or who have submitted to the jurisdiction of the…

If a question of existence or exercise of jurisdiction under this chapter is raised in a child custody proceeding, the question, upon request of a party, must be given priority on the calendar and handled expeditiously.

1. Notice required for the exercise of jurisdiction when a person is outside this state may be given in a manner prescribed by the law of this state for service of process or by the law of the state in which the service is made. Notice must be given in a manner reasonably calcula…

1. A party to a child custody proceeding, including a modification proceeding, or a petitioner or respondent in a proceeding to enforce or register a child custody determination is not subject to personal jurisdiction in this state for another proceeding or purpose solely by reas…

1. A court of this state may communicate with a court in another state concerning a proceeding arising under this chapter. 2. The court may allow the parties to participate in the communication. If the parties are not able to participate in the communication, they must be given t…

1. In addition to other procedures available to a party, a party to a child custody proceeding may offer testimony of witnesses who are located in another state, including testimony of the parties and the child, by deposition or other means allowable in this state for testimony t…

1. A court of this state may request the appropriate court of another state to: a. Hold an evidentiary hearing; b. Order a person to produce or give evidence pursuant to procedures of that state; c. Order that an evaluation be made with respect to the custody of a child involved …

1. Except as otherwise provided in section 14-14.1-15, a court of this state has jurisdiction to make an initial child custody determination only if: a. This state is the home state of the child on the date of the commencement of the proceeding, or was the home state of the child…

1. Except as otherwise provided in section 14-14.1-15, a court of this state which has made a child custody determination consistent with section 14-14.1-12 or 14-14.1-14 has exclusive, continuing jurisdiction over the determination until: a. A court of this state determines that…

Except as otherwise provided in section 14-14.1-15, a court of this state may not modify a child custody determination made by a court of another state unless a court of this state has jurisdiction to make an initial determination under subdivision a or b of subsection 1 of secti…

1. A court of this state has temporary emergency jurisdiction if the child is present in this state and the child has been abandoned or it is necessary in an emergency to protect the child because the child, or a sibling or parent of the child, is subjected to or threatened with …

1. Before a child custody determination is made under this chapter, notice and an opportunity to be heard in accordance with section 14-14.1-07 must be given to all persons entitled to notice under the law of this state as in child custody proceedings between residents of this st…

1. Except as otherwise provided in section 14-14.1-15, a court of this state may not exercise its jurisdiction under sections 14-14.1-12 through 14-14.1-21 if, at the time of the commencement of the proceeding, a proceeding concerning the custody of the child has been commenced i…

1. A court of this state which has jurisdiction under this chapter to make a child custody determination may decline to exercise its jurisdiction at any time if it determines that it is an inconvenient forum under the circumstances and that a court of another state is a more appr…

1. Except as otherwise provided in section 14-14.1-15, if a court of this state has jurisdiction under this chapter because a person seeking to invoke its jurisdiction has engaged in unjustifiable conduct, the court shall decline to exercise its jurisdiction unless: a. The parent…

1. Subject to section 14-07.1-18, in a child custody proceeding, each party, in its first pleading or in an attached affidavit, shall give information, if reasonably ascertainable, under oath as to the child's present address or whereabouts, the places where the child has lived d…

1. In a child custody proceeding in this state, the court may order a party to the proceeding who is in this state to appear before the court in person with or without the child. The court may order any person who is in this state and who has physical custody or control of the ch…

Under this chapter, a court of this state may enforce an order for the return of the child made under the Hague convention on the civil aspects of international child abduction as if it were a child custody determination.

1. A court of this state shall recognize and enforce a child custody determination of a court of another state if the latter court exercised jurisdiction in substantial conformity with this chapter, or the determination was made under factual circumstances meeting the jurisdictio…

1. A court of this state which does not have jurisdiction to modify a child custody determination may issue a temporary order enforcing: a. A visitation schedule made by a court of another state; or b. The visitation provisions of a child custody determination of another state th…

1. A child custody determination issued by a court of another state may be registered in this state, with or without a simultaneous request for enforcement, by sending to the district court in this state: a. A letter or other document requesting registration; b. Two copies, inclu…

1. A court of this state may grant any relief normally available under the law of this state to enforce a registered child custody determination made by a court of another state. 2. A court of this state shall recognize and enforce, but may not modify, except in accordance with s…

If a proceeding for enforcement under sections 14-14.1-22 through 14-14.1-37 is commenced in a court of this state and the court determines that a proceeding to modify the determination is pending in a court of another state having jurisdiction to modify the determination under s…

1. A petition under sections 14-14.1-22 through 14-14.1-37 must be verified. Certified copies of all orders sought to be enforced and of any order confirming registration must be attached to the petition. A copy of a certified copy of an order may be attached instead of the origi…

Except as otherwise provided in section 14-14.1-31, the petition and order must be served, by any method authorized by the law of this state, upon the respondent and any person who has physical custody of the child.

1. Unless the court issues a temporary emergency order under section 14-14.1-15, upon a finding that a petitioner is entitled to immediate physical custody of the child, the court shall order that the petitioner may take immediate physical custody of the child unless the responde…

1. Upon the filing of a petition seeking enforcement of a child custody determination, the petitioner may file a verified application for the issuance of a warrant to take physical custody of the child if the child is immediately likely to suffer serious physical harm or be remov…

1. The court shall award the prevailing party, including a state, necessary and reasonable expenses incurred by or on behalf of the party, including costs, communication expenses, attorney's fees, investigative fees, expenses for witnesses, travel expenses, and child care during …

A court of this state shall accord full faith and credit to an order issued by another state and consistent with this chapter which enforces a child custody determination by a court of another state unless the order has been vacated, stayed, or modified by a court having jurisdic…

An appeal may be taken from a final order in a proceeding under sections 14-14.1-22 through 14-14.1-37 in accordance with expedited appellate procedures in other civil cases. Unless the court enters a temporary emergency order under section 14-14.1-24, the enforcing court may not…

1. In a case arising under this chapter or involving the Hague convention on the civil aspects of international child abduction, the state's attorney may take any lawful action, including resort to a proceeding under sections 14-14.1-22 through 14-14.1-37 or any other available c…

At the request of a state's attorney acting under section 14-14.1-35, a law enforcement officer may take any lawful action reasonably necessary to locate a child or a party and assist a state's attorney with responsibilities under section 14-14.1-35.

If the respondent is not the prevailing party, the court may assess against the respondent all direct expenses and costs incurred by the state's attorney and law enforcement officers under section 14-14.1-35 or 14-14.1-36.