The rest of what we have written about North Dakota. Every figure is quoted from North Dakota’s own statute or its courts’ own published schedule, and carries the date we last checked it.
Guardians ad litem and child representation in North Dakota: who they are, what they owe your child, and who pays
If custody is contested in North Dakota, the court can appoint someone to look into your family and report to the judge. This page is what North Dakota’s own statutes and court rules say about who that person is, what duty they owe, and — the part almost nobody asks in time — who pays for them.
See a different stateNorth Dakota
Everything below is traced to North Dakota’s own statute or court rule, quoted where the wording matters. Where we could not verify something from a primary source, the page says so in plain terms rather than filling the space. This is information, not legal advice. Corrections go up at thecusp.app/corrections.
The short version7 points · tap one to jump to it
- What the role is called here — A guardian ad litem generally argues for what they judge is best for your child and is not your child’s lawyer.
- How an appointment happens
- What duty they owe your child
- Who can be appointed — The statute and implementing court rule both title and define the role as an 'attorney guardian ad litem,' requiring a person licensed as an attorney in North Dakota.
- Who pays — N.D. Cent. Code § 14-09-06.4 allows the court to direct the county (of the child's residence when the action began) to pay the attorney guardian ad litem's fee, in whole or in part, if neither party is able to pay, with later reimbursement from the parties possible.
- Custody evaluations — North Dakota governs court-ordered custody evaluations and investigations separately from the appointment of a guardian ad litem.
- The thing worth knowing about North Dakota
In this subject 9
What the role is called here
The short version7 points · tap one to jump to it
- What the role is called here — A guardian ad litem generally argues for what they judge is best for your child and is not your child’s lawyer.
- How an appointment happens
- What duty they owe your child
- Who can be appointed — The statute and implementing court rule both title and define the role as an 'attorney guardian ad litem,' requiring a person licensed as an attorney in North Dakota.
- Who pays — N.D. Cent. Code § 14-09-06.4 allows the court to direct the county (of the child's residence when the action began) to pay the attorney guardian ad litem's fee, in whole or in part, if neither party is able to pay, with later reimbursement from the parties possible.
- Custody evaluations — North Dakota governs court-ordered custody evaluations and investigations separately from the appointment of a guardian ad litem.
- The thing worth knowing about North Dakota
In this subject 9
Names matter more than they look. A guardian ad litem generally argues for what they judge is best for your child and is not your child’s lawyer. An attorney for the child argues for what your child actually wants. Those are opposite duties. The four roles, explained in full.
How an appointment happens
when either party has reason for special concern as to the future of the minor child, and in any action when the parenting rights and responsibilities concerning the child is contested, the court… may appoint an attorney guardian ad litem to represent the child concerning parenting rights and responsibilities
Source: N.D. Cent. Code § 14-09-06.4(1) · source
What duty they owe your child
best interests
advocate the best interests of the child… shall consider, but not be bound by, the wishes of the child or others
Source: N.D.R.Ct. 8.7(d)(1) · source
Who can be appointed
The statute and implementing court rule both title and define the role as an ‘attorney guardian ad litem,’ requiring a person licensed as an attorney in North Dakota.
Who pays
The court may direct either or both parties to pay the attorney guardian ad litem fee established by the court. If neither party is able to pay the fee, the court may direct the fee to be paid, in whole or in part, by the county where the child resided at the time the action was commenced
Source: N.D. Cent. Code § 14-09-06.4(3) · source
N.D. Cent. Code § 14-09-06.4 allows the court to direct the county (of the child’s residence when the action began) to pay the attorney guardian ad litem’s fee, in whole or in part, if neither party is able to pay, with later reimbursement from the parties possible.
We looked for an official North Dakota fee schedule for privately appointed guardians ad litem and custody evaluators, and did not find one. That is true of most states — only a handful publish figures at all, among them Arkansas, Massachusetts and Minnesota, and those are subsidized program rates rather than market ones.
The numbers circulating online come from law-firm marketing pages. We will not repeat those as though they were sourced. Call your county family court clerk and ask what appointees there actually charge. It is local, current, and free.
Custody evaluations
North Dakota governs court-ordered custody evaluations and investigations separately from the appointment of a guardian ad litem. An evaluator is a witness, not an advocate — and their recommendation is a recommendation, not a ruling a judge is bound by.
Source: N.D. Cent. Code § 14-09-06.3 (Parenting investigations and reports–Costs) · read it on the North Dakota Legislative Assembly’s own site
Before an evaluation begins, it is worth asking which psychological instruments will be used. The peer-reviewed literature is openly critical of several still in circulation — one has interrater reliability reported as ranging from 50% to 100%. The evidence, in full.
The thing worth knowing about North Dakota
North Dakota runs two separate, statutorily distinct child-focused appointees in the same custody case: an ‘attorney guardian ad litem’ under § 14-09-06.4 (a best-interests advocate, who must be a licensed attorney and complete 18 hours of initial guardian ad litem training under Rule 8.7) and a separate ‘parenting investigator’ under § 14-09-06.3 who investigates and reports to the court but is not the child’s advocate.
Other states
Related
- Guardians ad litem, child’s attorneys and custody evaluators — the four roles, the science, and what to ask
- North Dakota child custody — how custody is decided here
- Getting your finances in order — including who pays the lawyers
- Co-parenting — after the order is made