Co-parenting in North Dakota, without the 10 p.m. scramble
The school email. The $120 receipt. The pickup you have to confirm again. Hand Civly any of it as it arrived and it lands on one calendar both houses read — and if you ever need the record for District Court, where ND custody matters are heard, it's already there. You won't be building it at 10 p.m.
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District Court
handles custody in ND
N.D. Cent. Code § 14-09-06.2
custody statute
North Dakota custody law
North Dakota presumes equal parenting time is in the child's best interest and requires a parenting plan in all custody cases.
What North Dakota courts consider in custody decisions
North Dakota enacted a rebuttable presumption of equal residential responsibility (equal parenting time) in 2021. Under § 14-09-06.2, the court considers 13 factors including the love, affection, and emotional ties between the child and each parent, each parent's capacity and disposition to provide love, affection, and guidance, each parent's sufficiency and disposition to provide food/clothing/medical care/education, the length of time the child has lived in a stable environment, the permanence of the existing custodial arrangement, the moral fitness of the parents, the mental and physical health of the parents, the child's interaction with parents and siblings, the child's adjustment to home/school/community, the willingness and ability of each parent to facilitate and encourage the child's relationship with the other parent, any evidence of domestic violence, the child's preference (if of sufficient maturity), and any other factors deemed relevant.
How the custody process works in North Dakota
North Dakota custody cases are filed in District Court. Under the 2021 equal parenting time presumption, the court begins from a baseline of equal residential responsibility, which can be rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence. Parents must file a parenting plan that details residential schedules and decision-making authority. The court may order mediation through court-connected services or appoint a guardian ad litem or parenting investigator to evaluate the family situation. The equal-time presumption does not apply when domestic violence or child abuse has been established.
Key North Dakota custody statutes
- N.D. Cent. Code § 14-09-06.2
- N.D. Cent. Code § 14-09-06.1
- N.D. Cent. Code § 14-09-29
How Civly helps North Dakota parents
One week, both houses, one version
Paste the school email or a calendar link and the events build themselves. Color-coded custody schedule from your own parenting plan. Share a read-only link with grandparents, attorneys, or mediators.
Say it how it comes out. Send the calm version.
Type or speak what you really feel — Civly writes the calm version — the one you would not cringe at if it were read back later. Your vent stays private and never enters an export. What you send is what gets kept.
Snap the receipt, skip the math
Snap a receipt or forward an email. AI extracts the amount. Your co-parent approves or disputes. Everything documented, timestamped, and exportable for your attorney.
Records your attorney can work with
Every message is timestamped, and exports as a certified PDF with a SHA-256 hash and a code anyone can check at civly.com/verify. How to present it in North Dakota's District Court system is your attorney's call, and whether a record is admitted is always the court's decision.
Pricing comparison
Civly
$79/year
or $7.99/month
- AI message rewriting
- Custody calendar
- Expense tracking
- Timestamped PDF exports
- Certified exports with verification codes
OurFamilyWizard Essentials
$149.99/year
Their cheapest tier that includes Writing Assistant. Cheaper OFW tiers exist without it. Per parent, list price August 2026.
Frequently asked questions
You don't need their agreement to start
Set up the calendar, log what's owed, draft the message you have to send tonight. Invite them when you're ready — the shared parts switch on the day they join.
Start tonight — $79/year30-day money-back guarantee. Available in every state.
Civly is not a law firm and this page is not legal advice. Custody law and the rules of evidence vary from state to state, and individual judges apply them differently. For advice about your own case, speak to a family law attorney licensed in North Dakota. Civly launched in 2026 and is not named in many court orders yet — if your order already requires a specific platform, keep using it and ask your attorney before switching.