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Preparing for Your Divorce Hearing or Trial

Preparing for a Divorce Hearing or Trial is Often a Complex and Confusing Process! You need to do additional research to prepare.

You’re held to the same requirements and responsibilities as a lawyer, even if you don’t understand the laws, rules, or procedures.

If you can, consult a lawyer for help.

Overview

If the spouses aren’t able to settle all of the issues in the divorce and reach a full settlement, the judge decides all of the unsettled issues at trial. Depending on the circumstances of your divorce case, you may also be required to attend evidentiary hearings before the final trial is held.

An evidentiary hearing is where the judge makes a decision about a part of your divorce case. For example, an evidentiary hearing may be held to decide a motion for an interim order, or any other type of motion filed during your divorce case.

A trial is where the judge decides all remaining issues in your divorce and grants a final divorce judgment.

At both an evidentiary hearing and a trial, each spouse is expected to present evidence to support their side of the divorce case.

Step 1: Learn the basics

Representing yourself effectively at an evidentiary hearing or trial requires a lot of research and preparation. People representing themselves are required to follow the same laws, rules, and procedures as lawyers, even if they don’t know and understand the laws, rules, and procedures.

Review the Guide to a Civil Action, or Civil Case, an informational guide to North Dakota civil court process. A divorce case is a civil court process.

Review the Evidence Research Guide, a starting point for your research into gathering and presenting evidence in your divorce case.

Review pretrial and trial guidebooks for self-represented litigants, paralegals and lawyers. Your local public or academic library may have resources available.

Search ODIN (Online Dakota Information Network), a shared library database of many North Dakota academic, public, state agency, and special libraries, for books and other resources that may be available in a North Dakota Library near you. If the book is available for interlibrary loan through ODIN, ask library staff of your local North Dakota library how to request the book.

Following are a selection of library resources on ODIN that may be of interest to you:

  • A Short & Happy Guide to Civil Procedure, Richard D. Freer, West Academic Publishing, c. 2019.
  • A Short & Happy Guide to Evidence, Sydney Beckman, West Academic Publishing, c. 2018.
  • The Complete QDRO Handbook, James R. Lewis, Patricia Shewmaker, ABA Publishing, c. 2019.
  • Courtroom Evidence Handbook: 2018-2019 Student Edition, Steven Goode, Olin Wellborn III, West Academic Publishing, 2018.
  • Divorce & Money, Lina Guillen, Violet Woodhouse, Nolo, c. 2017.
  • Nolo’s Deposition Handbook, Paul Bergman, Albert Moore, Nolo, c. 2018.
  • Nolo’s Essential Guide to Child Custody & Support, Emily Doskow, Nolo, c. 2015.
  • Nolo’s Essential Guide to Divorce, Emily Doskow, Nolo, c. 2016.
  • One Hundred Days Before Trial: A Family Lawyer’s Guide to Preparation and Strategy, Steven N. Peskind, ABA Publishing, c. 2015.
  • Represent Yourself in Court: How to Prepare & Try a Winning Case, Paul Bergman, Sara Berman, Nolo, c. 2019.

Watch an evidentiary hearing or a trial in a divorce case. If possible, watch a hearing or trial with the same judge assigned to your divorce case. In general, hearings and trials in divorce cases are open to the public.

To find upcoming divorce hearings and trials in your North Dakota county, go to District Court Case Search, read the information and click the “Click Here to Proceed” button.

  • Select a location from the pull-down list and click on “Court Calendar”.
  • Search for future hearings and trials by “Date Range”. Make sure only “Family” is selected in “Case Category”.

Step 2: Prepare for the Evidentiary Hearing or Trial

There are a lot of things you need to do to get ready for an evidentiary hearing or a trial, such as gathering your evidence, requesting evidence from other people if needed (called "discovery"), choosing witnesses to testify, and letting your spouse and the judge know what evidence and witnesses you plan to present at the evidentiary hearing or trial.

Begin Preparing a Trial Notebook:

A trial notebook is a common way lawyers prepare for an evidentiary hearing or a trial. A trial notebook is used to organize documents and trial preparation outlines to help you present your divorce case effectively.

If you decide to use a trial notebook, you can find examples in pretrial and trial guidebooks for self-represented litigants, paralegals and lawyers.

Discovery:

If you’re served with discovery requests, Don’t ignore them!

There are strict deadlines for you to respond. If you don’t respond at all, or don’t respond within the deadline, you may miss your chance to object. You may also have to explain to the judge why you didn’t respond.

If you don’t know how to respond to a discovery request, consult a lawyer.

After service of the Summons and Complaint on the Defendant spouse, the spouses may begin the discovery process.

Discovery is a formal process where the spouses ask each other for information. The spouses may also ask non-parties for information.

The “Discovery Rules” are Rule 26 through Rule 37 of the North Dakota Rules of Civil Procedure.

For more information about discovery, go to the “Discovery” section in the Guide to a Civil Action, or Civil Case.

Subpoenas:

The Subpoenas webpage has all of the information about subpoenas available through the ND Legal Self Help Center.

A subpoena is the process to require the attendance of a non-party witness at deposition, hearing or trial.

A subpoena is also the process to require a non-party to produce documents, electronically stored information or tangible things; or to require the inspection of premises.

Subpoenas may be used by a spouse in a divorce case to require a person do the following at a specific time and place:

  • Attend and testify at a deposition, evidentiary hearing or trial;
  • Produce the documents listed in the subpoena;
  • Produce the electronically stored information listed in the subpoena;
  • Produce the tangible things listed in the subpoena (the tangible things must be in the person’s possession, custody or control); or
  • Permit the inspection of the premises listed in the subpoena.

When you represent yourself in a divorce case, you can’t issue a subpoena on your own. Only a Clerk of District Court or a lawyer for the spouse can issue a subpoena.

Identify Your Witnesses and Exhibits:

Exhibits are all of the documents and objects you plan to offer into evidence at the evidentiary hearing or trial.

Witnesses are the people you plan to have testify at the evidentiary hearing or trial.

Review your scheduling order for your deadline to identify the witnesses and exhibits you plan to introduce at the evidentiary hearing or trial. The scheduling order may require you to exchange your witness and exhibit list with your spouse before the evidentiary hearing or trial.

Find Out if the Evidentiary Hearing or Trial Will Be Recorded:

Most, but not all, evidentiary hearings and trials are recorded. Spouses, as parties in the divorce case, can request an audio recording of the evidentiary hearing or trial, if it was recorded. Parties get the audio recording free of charge.

Audio recordings are very useful, especially if the judge assigns either or both spouses to prepare proposed orders following the evidentiary hearing or trial. (See Get the Final Divorce Judgment – Both Spouses.)

Contact the Clerk of District Court to find out if the evidentiary hearing or trial will be recorded. If not, and you want to ask that the evidentiary hearing or trial be recorded, you may make a motion. The judge decides whether the evidentiary hearing or trial will be recorded.

If the evidentiary hearing or trial isn’t recorded, you may request a transcript. You’re required to pay for transcripts.

Remote (Electronic) Attendance at an Evidentiary Hearing or Trial:

If the evidentiary hearing or trial is scheduled to be held in-person at the courthouse, you can ask the judge for permission to attend remotely (electronically). You can also ask the judge for permission for a witness to attend remotely (electronically).

The judge isn’t required to grant your request, so have a back-up plan to attend in-person if your request is denied.

Make your request as soon as possible.

If You Need Special Assistance at the Evidentiary Hearing or Trial:

If you have a disability, don’t read or understand English well, or require special accommodations at the hearing, contact the Clerk of District Court’s office as soon as possible.

An American with Disabilities Act (ADA) Accommodation Request form is also available here.

Step 3: Attend the Evidentiary Hearing or Trial

The evidentiary hearing and the trial are an examination of the facts and law, presided over by the judge. The spouses each have an opportunity to tell their side of the facts and argue how the laws apply to the issues in the divorce case. The judge weighs the facts and arguments presented by the spouses and decides the issues in the divorce case.

If the Evidentiary Hearing or Trial is Held In-Person, Arrive Early to the Courthouse on the Date of Evidentiary Hearing or Trial:

Don’t miss your evidentiary hearing or trial. If you have a serious, unavoidable reason you can’t attend, contact the Clerk of District Court’s office as soon as possible. Be aware that the judge may decide to hold the evidentiary hearing or trial without you.

If the Evidentiary Hearing or Trial is Held by Zoom, Make Sure You Can Connect to the Zoom Evidentiary Hearing or Trial:

Well before the evidentiary hearing or trial begins, make sure you can connect and understand how to function in Zoom.

Don’t miss or be late to your Zoom your evidentiary hearing or trial. If you have a serious, unavoidable reason you can’t attend, contact the Clerk of District Court’s office as soon as possible. Be aware that the judge may decide to hold the evidentiary hearing or trial without you.

Bring the Information, Documents, Etc You Prepared for the Evidentiary Hearing or Trial:

If you prepared a trial notebook, bring it with you.

Bring all of the files, paperwork, etc. that you gathered and organized while preparing for the evidentiary hearing or trial. Bring the outline of what you want to say.

Be Prepared to Take Detailed Notes:

Be prepared to take detailed notes during the evidentiary hearing or trial.

You need to make note of all of the judge’s decisions, including whether the judge allowed your witnesses and exhibits to be presented as evidence.

A worksheet is a common way to keep track of whether your witnesses and exhibits are allowed to be presented as evidence. A worksheet is a running list of your witnesses and exhibits with a short description of each. A worksheet includes checkboxes for the most common events when presenting evidence. For example, offered, objected, reserved, overruled, sustained, withdrawn, and received.

ND Legal Self Help Center staff created a template for a witness and exhibit list worksheet you may use as a starting point for creating your own. You may edit the template in a word processing program, for example, Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, Google Docs, or Open Office.

Conduct of the Evidentiary Hearing or Trial:

The evidentiary hearing or trial officially begins when all are asked to rise when the judge comes into the courtroom.

In general, the evidentiary hearing or trial proceeds in the following order:

  • Opening statements:
    • Each spouse gives an opening statement. An opening statement describes the divorce issues to be decided by the judge and what the spouse expects to prove during the evidentiary hearing or trial.
    • During an evidentiary hearing, usually the moving party goes first. At trial, usually the Plaintiff spouse goes first.
  • Plaintiff spouse presents their witnesses and evidence first:
    • At an evidentiary hearing, the moving party usually presents their case first.
    • The other spouse has the opportunity to cross-examine witnesses and object to evidence presented.
  • Defendant spouse presents their witnesses and evidence last:
    • At an evidentiary hearing, the opposing party usually presents their case last.
    • The other spouse has the opportunity to cross-examine witnesses and object to evidence presented.
  • Closing arguments:
    • Often, each spouse gives a closing argument. A closing argument is a summary of the evidence the judge allowed to be presented and an argument to the judge on how the divorce issues should be decided.
    • During an evidentiary hearing, usually the opposing party goes first. At trial, usually the Defendant spouse goes first.

The Judge Makes a Decision:

The judge considers all of the evidence presented and makes decisions. The judge may tell you their decisions immediately in court, or the judge may decide to think about the evidence and make decisions later.

Step 4: After the Evidentiary Hearing or Trial

After the judge makes their decisions, the decisions aren't enforceable until they are written and signed into an official order. The judge might write the order, or the judge might pick one or both spouses to prepare a proposed order.

If the judge grants a divorce after the trial and assigns one or both spouses to prepare a proposed judgment, go to Get the Final Divorce Judgment – Both Spouses.

If you don’t understand any of this information, or if you have trouble filling out any of the forms located here, consult a lawyer.

The information provided on and obtained from this site doesn’t constitute the official record of the Court. This information is provided as a service to the general public. Any user of this information is hereby advised that it’s being provided "as is". The information provided may be subject to errors or omissions. Visitors to this site agree that the Court isn’t liable for errors or omissions of any of the information provided.

If you have a question relating to a case that is already filed, contact the clerk of court for the county.