Kinship-ND $2,500 Guardianship Attorney Grant in North Dakota

What the $2,500 Fund Covers

The Kinship-ND Guardianship Establishment Fund provides up to $2,500 per kinship family to help cover the legal costs of establishing formal guardianship of a minor child. It's administered by the Children and Family Services Division of North Dakota HHS, and it's specifically designed for relative caregivers who need to formalize their legal relationship with the child but can't afford the attorney fees.

Covered expenses include attorney fees, court filing fees, process service costs, and criminal background check expenses — all costs directly tied to the guardianship petition.

The Enrollment Prerequisite

You must already be receiving Kinship-ND navigation services before you can apply for the guardianship fund. That means filing SFN 408 (the Kinship Navigation Services Application) first. If you've been caring for a child informally and decide to pursue guardianship later, file SFN 408 as early as possible.

One strict rule: the fund cannot be awarded retroactively for legal proceedings you completed before enrolling in Kinship-ND. Attorney fees you paid out of pocket before your enrollment date are not reimbursable under this fund.

How the Money Gets Paid

The $2,500 can be paid as a direct reimbursement to you (after you submit legal invoices and receipts) or as a vendor payment directly to your attorney. Your Kinship Navigator will explain which method applies and what documentation to submit.

Keep every invoice and receipt from your attorney, the court clerk's office, and the process server. The fund operates on a documentation-verified basis — no receipts, no reimbursement.

What Kind of Guardianship It Covers

The fund applies to both District Court guardianship (N.D.C.C. Chapter 30.1-27) and Juvenile Court guardianship. District Court is available only when a parent is deceased, there is no other living parent or the other living parent's rights have been terminated, the deceased parent's will names a guardian, and that will is being probated in a North Dakota District Court. The probate filing fee is $160; if the probate case is already filed, there is no additional fee for the guardianship documents. You can request a fee waiver if you cannot afford the filing fee.

Juvenile Court handles cases where the child may be in need of protection — the more common pathway when a child enters a relative's care due to parental substance use, incarceration, or neglect. No filing fee is required for Juvenile Court. The court requires criminal background checks for the proposed guardian and adults living with them; an attorney is not required.

SFN 408 lists “Tribal Custody - Tribal Court” as a legal-status option for Kinship-ND applications. Ask your Kinship Navigator whether the guardianship fund applies to your proceeding.

This Fund Is Separate from the $800 Reimbursement

Kinship-ND operates two distinct financial pools: the $800 lifetime expense reimbursement (for clothing, bedding, childcare, and basic needs) and the $2,500 guardianship establishment fund (for legal costs only). You can access both — they don't reduce each other.

And neither fund conflicts with TANF child-only cash assistance, SNAP, or Medicaid. A caregiver can receive a TANF child-only grant for the child while simultaneously using the $2,500 fund to establish guardianship.

For the full program map — how the guardianship fund fits with every other benefit, what documents to gather before your guardianship petition, and a step-by-step application tracker — see the North Dakota Kinship Financial Help guide.

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