Mediation in Arizona

The duty to consider ADR

Rule 66 of the Arizona Rules of Family Law Procedure applies to cases involving legal decision-making or parenting time. It requires parties and their lawyers to discuss ADR options within 90 days after an appearance is made. They must make a good faith effort to determine whether the dispute can be resolved without a full trial. This is a duty to consider and discuss ADR, not a blanket order forcing every case into mediation. Courts can impose sanctions, including financial penalties, on a party who refuses to participate in good faith.

Rule 66 also builds in a safety exception. Parties are excused from direct contact or joint meetings where there is a documented history of domestic violence or an active protective order.

The ADR options under Rule 67

Rule 67 sets out the ADR processes an Arizona family court may authorize. This applies once parties are considering resolving legal decision-making or parenting time issues outside of trial. Options include mediation, where a neutral third party helps parents work toward agreement, and arbitration, where a neutral person makes a binding decision. Settlement conferences run by a judge or commissioner are another option. Other services include open negotiation, parenting coordinators, or family law masters. Rule 67.3 addresses private mediation specifically for these cases.

Conciliation Court and confidentiality

Arizona Revised Statutes 25-381 authorizes each county superior court to operate a Conciliation Court. This serves married parties who are considering or already divorcing. Maricopa County's Family Conciliation Services and Pima County's Conciliation Court both run under this authority. They offer a conference aimed at helping spouses make an informed decision about the marriage. Where appropriate, they refer couples to community-based mediation or counseling. A Conciliation Court conference starts with a Petition for Conciliation. It is separate from the ADR process addressed in Rules 66 and 67 for custody disputes.

Communications made during a Conciliation Court proceeding are protected by statute: ARS 25-381.16 makes verbal and written statements made to a judge, commissioner, or counselor confidential during conciliation, and bars disclosure without the consent of the party who made the statement. Hearings are held in private, limited to court officers, the parties, their counsel, and witnesses, and the court may meet separately with each spouse. The privilege belongs to the individual spouse who made the statement, not to the court or counselor.

Domestic violence and safety exceptions

Arizona builds domestic violence safeguards directly into its ADR duty, rather than exempting mediation entirely by statute. Under Rule 66, parties are excused from direct contact or joint ADR meetings where a documented history of domestic violence exists or a protective order is in effect. County mediation programs generally screen for safety concerns before scheduling joint sessions. Anyone with an active protective order or safety concerns should raise it with the court, or the county's family court services office, before mediation is scheduled.

How an agreement becomes a court order

Mediation and Conciliation Court conferences do not resolve a case on their own. When parents or spouses reach agreement through mediation, they submit it in writing to the assigned judge for review. It becomes enforceable once the judge approves it. The judge then incorporates it into a decree of dissolution, a legal decision-making order, or a parenting time order.