Parents in a Maricopa County divorce or paternity case usually hear the word mediation early. A judge may order it, or the other parent's lawyer may suggest it. The first decision is where to do it: with the Superior Court's own Conciliation Services, or with a mediator you hire.
Arizona's family rules provide for both. Rule 67.3 covers private mediation, and Rule 68 covers the conciliation court. They differ in what they will discuss, who may sit in the room, what they cost and how an agreement reaches the judge.
Two Services Share the Conciliation Name
The names overlap. Conciliation Services handles parenting mediation, but it also runs a separate marriage conciliation program under A.R.S. 25-381.09. That program is for spouses deciding whether to stay married. It starts with a Petition for Conciliation.
Filing that petition has a real effect on a divorce. Under A.R.S. 25-381.18, neither spouse may file for divorce, legal separation or annulment for 60 days after the petition is filed, and a case already on file is stayed. The court's website calls this a 60-day cooling-off period. Parents who want help writing a parenting plan file a request for mediation instead.
What Court Mediation Will and Won't Discuss
Conciliation Services mediation is for legal decision-making and parenting time. That means who makes major decisions for the children and the schedule they follow between two homes. The court's instructions for requesting pre-decree mediation say the mediator will not help resolve child support, spousal maintenance, property or debt.
A.R.S. 25-403.02 lists what an Arizona parenting plan must contain. It includes the decision-making designation, a practical schedule that covers holidays and school vacations, how exchanges happen, and how the parents will communicate. Those are the subjects a court mediator works on. Dividing a house or a 401(k) is not on the list, and neither is a support figure.
The same statute requires every plan to include a procedure for mediating or resolving future disputes, proposed changes and relocation. It says that procedure may include conciliation services or private counseling. You will face the same choice again when you write that clause.
How a Case Gets There
You need an open case in the Superior Court involving the same children. Without one, the court's instructions say, you cannot use its mediation services.
Before a decree, either parent can file a Request for Pre-Decree Mediation, or both can sign a Joint Request. Rule 68 also lets a judge order mediation on the court's own motion. If the judge refers the case and mediation is scheduled, the Family Department sends both parents an Order to Appear and Attend Mediation.
After a decree, the forms change. The post-decree packet is for parents who want to modify decision-making or parenting time and disagree about it. The court says that packet is the wrong paperwork for child support, enforcing an existing order, cases with child abuse allegations or DCS involvement, or a custody change sought within one year of the last order.
What It Costs and How Scheduling Works
The court's pre-decree instructions say there is currently no fee to file the request. A respondent who has never appeared in the case owes an appearance fee. For post-decree mediation, the Clerk of the Superior Court's fee schedule lists $100 per party.
The court sets the date. To move it, both parents must notify the Family Department and get permission at least three full court days before the session. Missing a scheduled session can cost $200. If you settle everything before the date, both of you must tell the Family Department promptly, or the fee can still apply.
The court's Conciliation Services page and request packets do not say whether its mediators meet by video. If a parent lives out of state or works shifts, ask the Family Department when the order to appear arrives.
Who Sits in the Room
Under Rule 68, lawyers do not attend conciliation court mediation unless the mediator or conciliation court policy approves. The mediator may also meet each parent alone first to decide whether mediation is appropriate at all.
Private mediation starts from the opposite default. Rule 67.3 says a party's lawyer may be excluded only if the party and the lawyer both agree. Some parents prefer to talk without counsel present. Others want their lawyer beside them when a schedule is on the table.
Confidential Mediation Versus a Parenting Conference
Rule 68 makes what a parent says in conciliation court mediation confidential. When the session ends, the mediator's report to the judge describes any agreements and lists the areas of disagreement. It may not state either parent's position on those areas. If nothing is agreed, the report says only that mediation did not resolve the dispute.
A parenting conference is a separate service. A judge orders it during a hearing. The court describes the conferences as non-confidential. A Parenting Conference Conciliator may review DCS and police records, meet with the parents together and separately, and sometimes interview the children. The conciliator then writes a report for the judge, due within 60 days or 14 days before a scheduled hearing. The court lists the fee as $300 per person.
Rule 68 keeps those two roles apart. A conciliation court mediator may not do a later assessment or evaluation in the same case.
Domestic Violence Screening
If the parents have an order of protection in effect, or domestic violence in their past, Rule 68 allows court-ordered mediation only where procedures are in place to protect the victim from harm, harassment or intimidation. Before mediation, the court must tell each party that they can ask to waive mediation or ask for protective procedures. Neither party has to attend while that request is pending. Conciliation Services must refuse or end mediation if the mediator decides domestic violence makes it inappropriate.
The court's request forms also let a parent with a current order of protection, in some circumstances, write "protected" in place of a home address. Private mediators carry the same duty under Rule 67.3: a mediator must decline or end the mediation if domestic violence makes it inappropriate. Rule 66 also says parents representing themselves do not have to meet or contact each other to discuss settlement if a court order bars contact or domestic violence has occurred between them.
What Happens to an Agreement
A conciliation court agreement must be written and signed by both parents. Each parent's lawyer, if there is one, has 30 days after the mediation to sign the agreement or object to it. If a lawyer objects, Conciliation Services ends the mediation and tells the court there is no agreement. If nobody objects, the agreement goes to the judge with a proposed order. The judge can accept it, change it, reject it or set a hearing. It becomes binding when the court enters a written order approving or modifying it.
If your lawyer was not in the room, a schedule you signed in mediation can still fall apart when counsel objects within those 30 days. Talk with your lawyer about your limits before the session.
In private mediation, Rule 69 controls. A written agreement signed by both parents binds them, though not the judge until the court approves it. Rule 67.3 adds four statements every such agreement needs: each parent entered it voluntarily after full disclosure, both intend it to be final, it is fair and equitable, and, if you share minor children, it serves their best interests.
When a Private Mediator Is the Better Fit
Court mediation fits parents whose only dispute is the schedule and decision-making. Divorcing parents often also have support, property or debt to settle. A private mediator may suit you better in these situations:
- You want everything settled together. Rule 67.3 lets parents take any disputed issue to a private mediator. Parenting time and money are often linked. A parent agreeing to a new schedule may want to know what it does to child support, and a court mediator can't take up that question.
- There is a business or a complicated estate. A family company, rental property, a pension or stock options all raise community property questions. A private mediator can ask each side for a mediation statement with an Affidavit of Financial Information and an inventory of community assets, debts and values.
- Timing matters. The court sets a Conciliation Services date. With a private mediator, the parents and their lawyers pick the dates, and a long case can be split across several shorter sessions.
- You want counsel present. As noted above, that is the default in private mediation.
Private mediation is not free. Under Rule 67.3, the parents contract with the private mediator directly and pay the fee, split equally unless they agree otherwise or the court orders a different split. Ask about fees and retainers before you schedule.
The Maricopa County court's own instructions warn that there are no licensing or minimum education requirements to advertise as a mediator. Ask any mediator you are considering how many Arizona family cases they have handled, whether they have dealt with community property division, and how they work with lawyers.
Telling the Court You Chose Private Mediation
Rule 68 leaves it to the judge to decide whether court mediation suits a case, with one exception: parents who have agreed on a private mediator through Rule 67.3. Rule 67.3 then sets out what to file. Both parents sign a notice stating that private mediation will take place, naming the mediator you chose together and giving the date of the first session.
When the mediation is over, the parents have 10 days to tell the court, and the notice must also arrive at least 10 days ahead of any trial or hearing. If the parents reached a full agreement, the notice must say so. If only some issues settle, or none do, the mediator sends the court a brief report of what was agreed and what is still open, and says nothing about where either parent stood.
If Conciliation Services has already set a date, have your lawyer confirm how to take it off the calendar. The court's forms warn of a $200 fee for missing a scheduled session, so do not let the date pass without notice.
If Your Case Is in Pinal County
Families in San Tan Valley, the City of Maricopa and Casa Grande file in the Pinal County Superior Court, not in Phoenix. Pinal has its own program, Family Services of Conciliation Court, based in Florence. Its scope is broader than Maricopa's. Pinal's site describes confidential mediation for legal decision-making and parenting time disputes or disputes involving property and debt. It says most of its services are offered at no cost. No information or recommendations from mediation go to the judge or the attorneys, though the judge is told if the parents did not reach an agreement. Pinal also runs non-confidential family assessments that lead to recommendations for the court.
Using a Private Mediator for a Maricopa County Parenting Plan
John Laubach mediates Arizona parenting plans and full divorces by secure video, for parents with cases in Maricopa, Pinal or any other Arizona county. Most of his law practice since 1987 has been family law, including custody, relocation, business valuation and the division of community property. He holds an undergraduate degree in public accounting. The About John Laubach page lists his education, certifications and the courts where he has tried cases. If an earlier mediation has stalled, our articles on avoiding impasse and changing mediators may help.
Common Questions
Can my lawyer sit in on a Conciliation Services mediation?
Not automatically. Rule 68 says counsel may attend conciliation court mediation conferences only if the mediator or conciliation court policy approves. Your lawyer still has a role afterward, because a lawyer of record has 30 days after the mediation to sign or object to any agreement. In private mediation the default runs the other way: a lawyer can be kept out only if the client and the lawyer both agree.
Will the court mediator later make a recommendation to the judge?
No. Rule 68 bars a conciliation court mediator from doing any later assessment or evaluation in the same case. If the judge orders a parenting conference, a different person does it, and that person writes a report the judge reads.
Court pages, forms, fees and rules checked October 12, 2026. This is general information about family mediation in Arizona, not legal advice. Court programs, fees and procedures change, so confirm current details with the Superior Court in your county. A mediator is neutral and represents neither parent, so get advice from a lawyer of your own. John Laubach is licensed to practice law in Arizona. He is not licensed as a lawyer in Michigan, where he serves as a certified mediator and gives no Michigan legal advice.