Title 8, Family Law & Probate

Annulment: Legitimacy of Children of Annulled Marriage. Any child of a marriage annulled under this chapter shall be legitimate. Source: 39 TTC § 153.

Divorce: Grounds. A divorce from marriage may be granted under this chapter for the following causes and no other: (a) Adultery. (b) The guilt of either party toward the other of such cruel treatment, neglect or personal indignities, whether or not amounting to physical cruelty, …

Divorce: Residency Requirements. (a) A divorce or dissolution of marriage may be granted if one of the parties has been a resident of the CNMI for at least ninety days immediately preceding the filing of a complaint for divorce, or dissolution of marriage. (1) For purposes of thi…

Divorce: Forgiveness as Defense. No divorce may be granted where the ground for the divorce has been forgiven by the injured party. Forgiveness may be shown by express proof or by the voluntary cohabitation of the parties with knowledge of the fact and restoration of the forgivin…

Divorce: Procurement or Connivance as Defense. No divorce for the cause of adultery may be granted where the offense has been committed by the procurement or with the connivance of the plaintiff. Source: 39 TTC § 204.

Capacity to Make a Will. Any person 18 years of age or older who is of sound mind may make a will. Source: PL 3-106, ch. 3, § 1.

Wills Made Under Customary or Prior Written Law. (a) Validity of Customary Wills and Partidas. Nothing in this chapter shall prevent the making of a will or partida in accordance with the historical traditions and customs of the Northern Mariana Islands, be it Chamorro or Carolin…

Execution. (a) The courts of the Commonwealth shall give effect to a written will duly executed. In the absence of a written will, heirship shall be determined in accordance with customary law and the probate laws of the Commonwealth, as may be applicable under this division. (b)…

Holographic Will. A will which does not comply with 8 CMC § 2303 is valid as a holographic will, whether or not witnessed, if the signature and the material provisions are in the handwriting of the testator. Source: PL 3-106, ch. 3, § 4.

Oral Will. (a) An oral will is a nuncupative will. An oral will may be made under this chapter only by a person in imminent peril of death, whether from illness or otherwise, and shall be valid only if the testator dies as a result of or during the impending peril. An oral will m…

Witnesses. (a) Any person generally competent to be a witness may act as a witness to a will. (b) No will is invalidated because attested by an interested witness, but any interested witness shall, unless the will is also attested by two disinterested witnesses, forfeit as much o…

Wills Executed Outside the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. A will is valid if executed outside the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands if its execution complies with Commonwealth law or the law at the time of execution of the place where the will is execute…

Revocation by Writing or by Act. A will or any part of a will is revoked: (a) By a subsequent will which revokes the prior will or part expressly or by inconsistency; or (b) By being burned, torn, cancelled, obliterated, or destroyed, with the intent and for the purpose of revoki…

Revocation by Divorce or Annulment. If after executing a will the testator is divorced or his or her marriage is annulled, the divorce or annulment revokes any disposition of property made by the will to the former spouse and any nomination of the former as executor, unless the w…

Revival of Revoked Will. (a) If a second will which, had it remained effective at death, would have revoked the first will in whole or in part, is thereafter revoked by acts under 8 CMC § 2308, the first will is revoked in whole or in part unless it is evident from the circumstan…

Incorporation by Reference. Any writing in existence when a will is executed may be incorporated by reference if the language of the will manifests this intent and describes the writing sufficiently to permit its identification. Source: PL 3-106, ch. 3, § 11, modified. Commission…

Events of Independent Significance. A will may dispose of property by reference to acts and events which have significance apart from their effect upon the dispositions made by the will, whether they occur before or after the execution of the will or before or after the testator’…

Separate Writing Identifying Bequest of Tangible Property. Whether or not the provisions relating to holographic wills apply, a will may expressly refer to a written statement or list to dispose of items of tangible personal property not otherwise specifically disposed of by the …

Joint or Mutual Wills. A joint or mutual will does not create a presumption of a contract not to revoke the will. A contract to make a will or devise, or not to revoke a will or devise, or to die intestate, can only be established by: (a) Provisions of a will stating material pro…

Renunciation of Succession. (a) A person (or his personal representative) who is an heir, devisee, a person succeeding to a renounced interest, or beneficiary under a testamentary instrument may renounce in whole or in part the succession to any property or interest, including a …

Effect of Homicide. (a) A surviving spouse, heir or devisee who feloniously and intentionally kills the decedent is not entitled to any benefits under the will or under this law, and the estate of decedent passes as if the killer had predeceased the decedent. Property appointed b…

Deposit of Will With Court in Testator’s Lifetime. A will may be deposited by the testator or his agent with the court for safekeeping, under rules of the court. The will shall be kept confidential. During the testator’s lifetime a deposited will shall be delivered only to him or…

Duty of Custodian of Will. After the death of a testator and on request of an interested person, any person having custody of a will of the testator shall deliver it with reasonable promptness, but not more than one year after the death of the testator to a person able to secure …