In an Arizona family case, a deal reached in private mediation binds the two spouses only if it meets Rule 69 of the Arizona Rules of Family Law Procedure. It binds the court only after a judge or commissioner approves it.
The Text of Rule 69
Rule 69 is titled "Binding Agreements." Section (a) says an agreement between the parties is valid and binding on the parties if:
- "the agreement is in writing and signed by the parties personally or by counsel on a party's behalf";
- "the agreement's terms are stated on the record before a judge, commissioner, judge pro tempore, or certified reporter"; or
- "the agreement's terms are stated in an audio recording made before a mediator or a settlement conference officer appointed by the court."
Under section (b), the agreement "is not binding on the court until it is submitted to and approved by the court as provided by law."
Section (c) presumes a conforming agreement valid and puts the burden of proving any defect on the party who challenges it. Under A.R.S. 25-324, the court may award a party the costs and expenses of maintaining or defending such a challenge.
The restyled family rules took effect January 1, 2019. Private mediation moved from Rule 67(B) to its own rule, 67.3. Rule 69 was amended on an emergency basis in 2021, and the amendment became permanent January 1, 2022.
Who Is Bound, and When
The spouses are bound as soon as the agreement satisfies section (a). Neither one can back out later because a better deal comes to mind.
The court is bound only after review. For property and spousal maintenance, A.R.S. 25-317(B) makes a separation agreement binding on the court unless the court finds it unfair, after considering the parties' economic circumstances and other relevant evidence. That sentence excludes support, legal decision-making and parenting time, which get their own review.
What Rule 67.3 Adds for Private Mediation
Rule 67.3 governs mediation with a mediator the parties hire. Its subsection (m) requires any binding agreement reached in private mediation to comply with Rule 69. It also requires any agreement reached during the mediation to contain the parties' acknowledgment that:
- each party entered it voluntarily, without threat or undue influence, and after full disclosure of all relevant facts and information;
- each party intends it to be final and binding;
- it is fair and equitable; and
- if the parties have minor children in common, it is in the children's best interests.
A spouse who signed a statement of full disclosure will have a harder time arguing later that they did not know what the retirement account held.
Rule 67.3(d) has the parties sign and file a notice naming the mediator they chose together and the date of the first session. Rule 67.3(n)(1) requires them to notify the court when mediation ends and report any agreement that resolves all their issues. That notice is due within 10 days after the mediation concludes, and no later than 10 days before a trial or hearing date.
Signatures, Recordings and E-mail
Rule 69 accepts a lawyer's signature on a client's behalf, and the Court of Appeals has applied that to e-mail.
In Ertl v. Ertl, a 2021 published opinion from Division One, the two lawyers settled the remaining issues in an exchange of signed e-mails. The wife later told the husband's lawyer she would finalize the formal agreement only if he paid her $250,000. The court held that signed e-mails about a court case count as a writing under Rule 69 and that counsel's exchange bound both clients. Her later refusal to sign did not undo her earlier agreement through her lawyer. The key e-mail said the parties were "in full and final agreement." Lawyers should read their own post-mediation e-mails with that in mind.
The third route is an audio recording "made before a mediator or a settlement conference officer appointed by the court." The rule does not say plainly whether a privately hired mediator qualifies. A signed writing avoids the question. If a recording is used, read the full terms aloud and have each party say on the recording that they agree. A short summary followed by "and the rest as discussed" invites a dispute.
How the Court Reviews Parenting Terms and Child Support
The court reviews agreed terms on legal decision-making and parenting time. A.R.S. 25-403 requires it to decide those issues by the child's best interests, using the factors the statute lists. A.R.S. 25-317(D) directs the court to put the agreement into the decree only if it finds the terms about children reasonable.
Under Ertl, the family court must analyze the parenting provisions independently to make sure they fit the children's best interests. The same opinion notes that when parents stipulate to a parenting plan without objection, courts seldom enter a different custody order.
Parents also cannot simply pick a child support number. Under A.R.S. 25-320(D), the guideline amount is the order unless there is a written finding that applying the guidelines would be inappropriate or unjust. Section IX.C of the Arizona Child Support Guidelines, in effect since January 1, 2022, allows a deviation based on the parties' agreement only if the agreement is in writing or stated on the record under Rule 69, every party knew the guideline amount when they agreed, every party agreed free of duress and coercion, and the court meets the guidelines' other requirements for a deviation. Rule 45(c)(3) adds that a consent decree with a deviation must state its basis.
From Signed Agreement to Decree in Maricopa County
When a Rule 69 agreement settles every issue in a divorce, the usual next step is a consent decree under Rule 45.
What Rule 45 Requires
Rule 45 lets spouses who agree on all terms get a decree without a hearing, subject to the 60-day waiting period in A.R.S. 25-329, which runs from service or acceptance of service. The parties jointly file a notice of lodging and lodge a consent decree substantially similar to Form 8 in Rule 97.
The decree must state the agreed terms, whether the marriage was a covenant marriage, whether the parties have children in common, and whether either spouse is pregnant. It must also state that the parties agree to proceed by consent, that neither signed under force, threats, duress or coercion, that each believes the property division is fair and equitable, and that each understands they may retain a lawyer and are waiving trial. If the decree awards spousal maintenance, the parties must acknowledge reviewing the Spousal Maintenance Guidelines. Both spouses sign personally before a notarial officer, or before the clerk after the clerk verifies identity.
With children, Rule 45(c) also requires parenting provisions in the decree or a separate parenting plan, a child support order backed by a worksheet, each parent's Parent Information Program certificate if not already filed, an income withholding order, and, if the parents ask for joint legal decision-making, a statement about whether domestic violence has occurred.
The assigned judge or commissioner must rule on the decree or set a hearing within 21 days after lodging, or within 81 days after service if the decree was lodged less than 60 days after service.
How Maricopa County Processes It
In August 2023 the Maricopa County Superior Court announced that Family Court Administration would route consent decrees, and stipulated final orders resolving an initial legal decision-making or parenting time petition, to commissioners for a ruling within 21 days of lodging. On eFileAZ, the filer submits a Notice of Lodging with one consolidated PDF as the proposed order: the consent decree plus the parenting plan, child support order, worksheet, property settlement agreement, income withholding order and any other attachments. The court's notice warns that uploading those documents separately may get the filing rejected.
If the commissioner rejects the packet, a minute entry explains what is wrong. Paper lodging is still allowed. A summary consent petition, which Rule 45.1 permits when spouses settle everything before either one files, has to be filed on paper.
When the Mediated Terms Are Not the Decree Itself
Sometimes mediation ends with a signed memorandum that someone later turns into a decree. Under A.R.S. 25-317(D), the court can set the agreement out in the decree or incorporate it by reference. If the agreement says its terms will not be set out in the decree, the decree identifies the agreement and states the required findings. After entry, A.R.S. 25-317(F) bars modification of the property terms. Maintenance and child-related terms stay modifiable, though A.R.S. 25-317(G) lets the agreement make its maintenance terms non-modifiable.
Partial Agreements
When mediation settles only some issues, a partial agreement that meets Rule 69 binds the parties on those issues, and the rest goes forward.
Rule 67.3(n)(2) then requires the private mediator to file a brief report. It says the parties met and tried to resolve their differences, lists any agreements reached and the issues still open, and may say whether more mediation would help. It may not report either party's positions or comment on them.
In Ertl, the parents signed a partial parenting agreement in conciliation court mediation, and their lawyers' e-mails settled support, decision-making and property and adopted the couple's premarital agreement. The court of appeals read the e-mails, the parenting plan and the premarital agreement together as the final settlement. For ways to keep a stalled session moving toward a partial deal, see our article on avoiding impasse in mediation.
If a settled matter is set for trial or hearing, Rule 70 requires prompt notice to the assigned judge or commissioner. The court may then dismiss the case unless a final decree or order is filed within 45 days, or it may require the parties to put their agreement on the record under Rule 69.
Challenging or Setting Aside an Agreement
Before the decree. Ertl applied ordinary contract principles to the wife's claim of unilateral mistake. She had to show a mistake about a material, basic assumption of the agreement, and that the husband knew of it and unfairly exploited it. The court also cited Hutki v. Hutki, a 2018 Court of Appeals decision: a party who wants an evidentiary hearing must offer affirmative evidence of a factual dispute. The wife had given the family court no such evidence.
After the decree. Rule 85(b) lists the grounds for relief from a judgment, including mistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusable neglect, newly discovered evidence, and fraud, misrepresentation or other misconduct of an opposing party. Under Rule 85(c)(1), a motion on those three grounds must be made within a reasonable time and no more than 6 months after the judgment is entered. That deadline cannot be extended by stipulation or court order except as Rule 4(b)(2) allows.
A later change in circumstances affecting the children is usually handled as a modification. A.R.S. 25-411 generally bars a motion to modify legal decision-making or parenting time within one year of the order unless the child's present environment may seriously endanger the child.
Drafting Points for Lawyers
- Put the four Rule 67.3(m) acknowledgments in the mediated agreement itself.
- Attach a parenting plan that covers what A.R.S. 25-403.02(C) requires, including joint or sole legal decision-making, a practical schedule with holidays and school vacations, the exchange procedure, a way to resolve future disputes and a way to communicate about the child. Or identify an already-filed plan the agreement adopts.
- Attach a child support worksheet. If support deviates from the guidelines, state the guideline amount, the agreed amount and the reason.
- List each asset and debt and who takes it, with enough detail for banks and plan administrators to act on. Say who prepares any order needed to divide a retirement account and by when.
- Say whether the maintenance terms may be modified. Silence leaves them modifiable.
- Name who drafts the decree and by what date. In Ertl, the husband's lawyer agreed to draft the formal agreement to save the wife the expense. A deadline also helps avoid a Rule 70 dismissal.
- If one side may want the terms kept out of the decree, say so in the agreement so the decree can incorporate it by reference.
A Mediator Who Is Also an Arizona Lawyer
John Laubach has been licensed to practice law in Arizona since 1987 and mediates family and civil disputes. In that role he is a neutral and represents neither spouse. Whoever mediates your case, ask before the first session how any agreement will be written up and signed. His background is on the About John Laubach page. If a case already started with another mediator, our article on changing mediators covers that switch.
Common Questions
Can our lawyers' e-mails become a binding Rule 69 agreement?
Yes. In Ertl v. Ertl (2021), the Arizona Court of Appeals held that the two lawyers' signed e-mails were a writing signed by counsel under Rule 69. The wife was bound even though she later refused to sign the formal agreement. If you are not ready to be bound, have your lawyer say so plainly in any e-mail about terms.
Can we change our minds after signing?
Not because you would now prefer different terms. A signed Rule 69 agreement is presumed valid, and the person attacking it must prove a defect. The court still reviews the terms about children and decides whether the property and maintenance terms are fair.
Do we need lawyers to make a Rule 69 agreement?
No. The rule accepts an agreement the parties sign personally. A mediator is neutral and represents neither of you, so have your own lawyer review the agreement before you sign, especially if the case involves a business, a pension or a disputed parenting schedule.
Rules checked October 12, 2026, against the Arizona Rules of Family Law Procedure as published on the Arizona court rules site (current through amendments received September 1, 2026), the Arizona Revised Statutes, the 2022 Arizona Child Support Guidelines and the Maricopa County Superior Court's posted consent decree procedure. This page is general information about Arizona procedure and is not legal advice. Rules, forms and court practices change. Because a mediator is a neutral who represents no one, each spouse should have their own attorney review any agreement before signing. John Laubach is licensed to practice law only in Arizona. In Michigan he is a certified mediator only, holds no law license there and does not give Michigan legal advice.