Conciliation Court Services in Arizona

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If you are considering or facing a divorce, you may want to know what services are offered to help you save your marriage. The Maricopa County court offers conciliation court services in Arizona.

The Arizona legislature passed a series of laws creating the rules for the use of Conciliation Court Services in Arizona are from Arizona Revised Statute Section 25-318.01 through Arizona Revised Statute Section 25-381.24. We are going to explain those laws so you can consider using conciliation court services in your Arizona divorce case.

Purpose of Conciliation Court Services

First, we want you to understand the reason these laws were passed. The Court of Conciliation Act was enacted to protect and preserve the family, to protect children’s rights, to reunite the family or and bring an amicable resolution of family disputes to avoid a divorce. The statutes permit all Superior Courts in Arizona to create their own Courts of Conciliation, which the Superior Court’s in Maricopa County have done.

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Conciliation Court Process

A petition to invoke the Conciliation Court Services in Arizona can be filed either before or after a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage or a Petition for Legal Separation is filed. By law, you may not be charged any fees for the services provided by Conciliation Court Services in Arizona.

The judge assigned to your Conciliation case will set a time for a hearing for all parties and witnesses within thirty days of receiving the Petition for Conciliation Services or if good cause exists, can extend the hearing to forty-five days from the date the Petition for Conciliation Services.

Conciliation Court Service in Arizona.

Upon conclusion of the meeting with the counselor or another person, a report will be provided to the judge of the Conciliation Conciliation Court at which time the judge may order additional hearings with the conciliation team.

If one party requests another meeting, the judge of the Conciliation Court must schedule another conciliation meeting. The judge can also compel the participation of professionals, such as medical doctors, mental health providers, and priests to participate in the conciliation process.

Unlike a divorce or legal separation proceeding, all communications by either party to the judge of the Conciliation Court are confidential. This means the judge will not tell either spouse what the other spouse has shared with the judge. Also, unlike a regular court, the conciliation proceedings are private and not open to the public.

Conciliation Court Services Stay of Further Proceedings

While the conciliation court services are being provided, the conciliation judge can issue Temporary Orders, including child custody, child support, use of community property, restraining orders, and preliminary injunctions. When a Petition for Conciliation Services is filed a sixty-day stay preventing either party from filing a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage or Petition for Legal Separation.

If a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage or a Petition for Legal Separation has already been filed before the Petition for Conciliation Services is filed, the stay will preclude either party from filing any additional pleadings with the Court. The judge of the Conciliation Court may extend that stay to one-hundred-twenty days if requested by a spouse unless the other spouse demonstrates there is good cause not to further extend the sixty-day stay.

If a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage or a Petition for Legal Separation has been filed and served, each spouse has sixty-days from the date the Petition was served on the other spouse to file a Petition for Conciliation Court Services.

If you have questions about conciliation court services in Arizona, you should seriously consider contacting the attorneys at Hildebrand Law, PC. Our Arizona divorce and family law attorneys have over 100 years of combined experience successfully representing clients in divorce and family law cases.

Our family law firm has earned numerous awards such as US News and World Reports Best Arizona Family Law Firm, US News and World Report Best Divorce Attorneys, “Best of the Valley” by Arizona Foothills readers, and “Best Arizona Divorce Law Firms” by North Scottsdale Magazine.

Call us today at (480)305-8300 or reach out to us through our appointment scheduling form to schedule your personalized consultation and turn your divorce or family law case around today.

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