If you're facing a custody or divorce case in Alaska, these rules apply from day one

The moment you file for a contested divorce, separation, or custody case in Alaska — or the moment you're served with one — a set of rules takes hold, whether or not you've talked to a lawyer. The Alaska Court System calls it a standing order, and a statewide version issued June 15 now applies the same basic terms everywhere in the state.

Three of those rules matter most to parents. Until the case is over, you cannot take your children out of Alaska, sell or give away marital property, or cancel or change an insurance policy — not without the other parent's agreement or a judge's permission. The point is to freeze things in place: to stop one parent from leaving the state with the kids, from draining or hiding assets a court still has to divide, or from dropping the health or life insurance a family relies on in the heat of a split.

The court knows life doesn't pause for a case. Sometimes a parent truly needs to travel with the children, or has to sell a vehicle facing repossession or a home facing foreclosure. The answer isn't to just do it — it's to file a motion asking the court's permission and wait for a yes. Until then, the order stands.

And it has teeth. The court's own guidance is blunt: violating the order "is very serious," and depending on what you did, it can cost you in the final custody or property decision — or, in some cases, get you arrested.

The rules bind both parents equally, from the first day until a final judgment. Anyone handling a case without a lawyer can find the order, plain-language explanations and free forms through the court system's Family Law Self-Help Center at courts.alaska.gov.