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Start a Parenting Responsibility Case on Your Own (Plaintiff)

Overview

The information and forms on this page are for parents who want to establish parenting responsibility (custody and visitation) for their children, but:

One parent, the Plaintiff, may start the parenting responsibility case by arranging to serve a Summons and Complaint for parenting responsibility on the other parent, the Defendant. In North Dakota, serving the summons and complaint starts the parenting responsibility case. Filing the summons and complaint doesn’t start the case.

A contested parenting responsibility involves a lot steps! Each step comes with deadlines and paperwork. Following are the basic steps in a contested parenting responsibility case.

The Basic Steps for a Contested Parenting Responsibility Case

Step One:

The contested parenting responsibility case begins with the Plaintiff parent starting the court process by completing the 1) Summons, 2) Complaint, and 3) Confidential Information Form documents. Scroll to Step One on this page to read and follow the instructions to complete the forms for Step One.

Step Two:

The Plaintiff parent arranges to serve a copy of the parenting responsibility 1) Summons and 2) Complaint on the Defendant parent. The Plaintiff gets proof of service from the person who served the 1) Summons and 2) Complaint. Scroll to Step Two on this page for service instructions and forms. Read and follow the instructions for Step Two.

Step Three:

If the Defendant answers in writing, go to Parenting Responsibility Case Management. Both parents are responsible for meeting a lot of deadlines and completing a lot of paperwork.

If the Defendant Doesn’t answer in writing, go to Motion for Default Parenting Responsibility Judgment. The Plaintiff parent may ask for a default judgment if the Plaintiff can prove the Defendant was served and didn’t answer in writing within 21 days of service.

Step Four:

A Parenting Responsibility case involves a lot of steps with deadlines and paperwork. This is called case management and both parents are responsible for meeting the deadlines and completing the paperwork.

Go to Parenting Responsibility Case Management for all of the information and forms available through the North Dakota Legal Self Help Center.

Step Five:

Both parents must prepare for their parenting responsibility trial. If the parents can’t settle all of the issues in their parenting responsibility case and reach a settlement agreement, a trial is scheduled. Go to Preparing for Your Parenting Responsibility Trial for more information and legal research resources.

Step Six:

After the parenting responsibility trial, the judge or judicial referee may require one or both parents to prepare proposed Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Order for Judgment for the judge or judicial referee to sign. Go to Get the Final Parenting Responsibility Judgment for instructions and forms.

If the Defendant parent didn’t answer the Summons and Complaint in writing in Step Three, go to Motion for Default Parenting Responsibility Judgment.

 

Step 1: Fill out the Forms to Start a Parenting Responsibility Case

The first step to start a parenting responsibility is to prepare three required documents:

  • The Summons is the document that notifies the Defendant parent that the Plaintiff parent is starting a parenting responsibility case. The summons has restraining provisions that both parents must obey. When a Plaintiff represents themselves in a parenting responsibility case, the summons isn’t valid unless it’s signed and dated by a North Dakota clerk of court.
  • The Complaint is the document that gives basic information about the Plaintiff, Defendant, and their minor children. The complaint tells the Defendant and the judge or judicial referee the basics of what the Plaintiff is asking for in the parenting responsibility case.
  • The Confidential Information Form lists the full confidential information that isn’t allowed to appear in other documents filed with the court. This form is part of the court’s record of the case, but this form isn’t seen by the public.

North Dakota Legal Self Help Center forms aren’t official court forms and courts aren’t required to accept them. There’s no guarantee that all judges and courts will accept forms available through the Center. Use at your own risk.

Forms are available only for parenting responsibility cases involving common and uncomplicated circumstances. The following forms won’t work for every case. If the following forms don’t work for your situation, you need to create your own legal documents, or retain a lawyer to create the documents for you.

You may use the Center’s forms as templates to create your own legal documents. You may also find the General-Use forms in the District Court Civil Action Section of this webpage useful as a starting point for creating your own legal documents.

Forms to Start a Parenting Responsibility Case – Read the Instructions First!

Step 2: Arrange to Serve the Summons and Complaint on the Defendant Parent

In North Dakota, a parenting responsibility case starts when a copy of the summons and complaint are served on the Defendant parent. The court doesn’t serve the documents for you.

Filing with the clerk of court doesn’t start a parenting responsibility case. In fact, clerks of court can’t accept a parenting responsibility summons and complaint for filing without proof they were already served on the Defendant.

There are very specific ways the summons and complaint for a parenting responsibility case must be served. If you don’t arrange for service correctly, your parenting responsibility case may not move forward. Review Rule 4 of the North Dakota Rules of Civil Procedure to correctly serve a summons and complaint.

Below are instructions and forms for four ways to arrange to serve a summons and complaint under Rule 4:

  • Service by sheriff;
  • Personal service;
  • Service by mail (restricted delivery resulting in signed return receipt); and
  • Service by publication in a newspaper.

Review the service instructions and forms carefully. If you have questions, retain a lawyer to help you.

Service by Sheriff when you know where to find the Defendant parent:

If you, the Plaintiff, decide to have a sheriff serve the Defendant parent, contact the Sheriff’s office of the county where the Defendant lives or is located. Ask what they need in order to serve the Defendant.

At minimum, you must give the sheriff a copy of the summons and a copy of the complaint.

If the sheriff is able to complete service on the Defendant, the sheriff gives you a completed Certificate of Service or Sheriff’s Return of Service. The service document you receive from the sheriff, must show the summons and complaint were served on the Defendant.

Make a copy of the completed Certificate of Service or Sheriff’s Return of Service for your records. You file the original with the original Summons and Complaint later in this process.

Service by Personal Delivery when you know where to find the Defendant parent:

Service by Mail when the Defendant parent signs the delivery receipt:

Service by Publication in a newspaper when you can’t locate the Defendant parent:

Service when the Defendant parent is in a foreign country:

If the Defendant parent is in a foreign country, serving them can be difficult and confusing. Consult a lawyer for help if you can’t figure out how to serve the Defendant correctly. See Rule 4(f) of the North Dakota Rules of Civil Procedure for ways to serve a summons and complaint in a foreign country.

Rule 4(f) of the North Dakota Rules of Civil Procedure allows someone in a foreign country to be served “by any internationally agreed means of service that is reasonably calculated to give notice, such as those means authorized by the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents.”

More information about serving a person in a foreign country is available at the United States Department of State website.

Step 3: Wait to See if the Defendant Parent Answers in Writing

You, the Plaintiff parent, need to take more steps to get a final parenting responsibility judgment. What you do next depends on whether the Defendant Parent parent answers the summons and complaint in writing.

The Defendant, has 21 days after the date they were served the summons and complaint to answer in writing. To review the Defendant’s requirements when answering a summons and complaint, go to Answer or Respond to a Parenting Responsibility Complaint – For Defendant.

If the Defendant parent answers the summons and complaint there are multiple tasks to complete and deadlines to meet. Go to Steps You Must Take Before the Court Can Establish Parenting Responsibility (Case Management) - Both Parents for instructions, forms, and other information.

If the Defendant doesn’t answer the summons and complaint, you may ask for a default parenting responsibility judgment. If you can prove the Defendant was served and didn’t answer in writing within 21 days after service, go to Motion for Default Parenting Responsibility Judgment. Instructions and forms are available to help you make this request.

If the judge or judicial referee grants your request for a default parenting responsibility judgment, parenting responsibility is established for your children.

Notice of Filing:

 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.