N.D. Cent. Code § 25-04-14
Expenses for care and treatment of each individual served by the life skills and transition center must, if practicable, be in accordance with the cost of providing care and treatment for the different degrees or conditions of mental and physical health and charges may be adjusted in accordance with the individual served's ability to pay which must include an estimate of potential future receipts, including amounts from estates. The department shall recover from the individual served or from a discharged individual expenses chargeable for care and treatment. If any individual served is receiving social security benefits or is a veteran or a dependent of a veteran who has received, is receiving, or is entitled to receive compensation or pension from the veterans' administration, the expenses are a current claim against the individual served and may be recovered monthly by the department except that any amount required by the payer of the benefits to be paid directly to the individual served must, upon approval of the department, be credited to the individual served's personal account from any money thus received.
N.D.C.C. § 25-04-14