What This Statute Says
This section lets the divorce court itself send a case into conciliation when a child's welfare is at stake. The trigger is not just that the parties want it; the judge can initiate the transfer.
Whenever any action for annulment of marriage, dissolution of marriage, or legal separation is filed in the superior court and it appears to the court at any time during the pendency of the action that there is any minor child of the spouses or either of them whose welfare may be adversely affected by the dissolution or annulment of the marriage, legal separation or the disruption of the household, and there appears to be some reasonable possibility of a reconciliation being effected, the case may be transferred to the conciliation court for proceedings for reconciliation of the spouses or amicable settlement of issues in controversy in accordance with the provisions of this article.
A.R.S. § 25-381.19When This Statute Comes Into Play
Transfer is possible when:
- A divorce or separation case is pending and the spouses have a minor child whose welfare is at risk.
- The judge sees a reasonable possibility of reconciliation and wants the conciliation court to attempt it.
- One spouse asks for transfer and the judge believes it would help.
What This Means for Arizona Families
Judges who handle divorce cases sometimes see couples whose conflict looks more workable than the filing suggests. This section gives the judge a tool to redirect those cases to the conciliation track without waiting for a party to ask. It puts the child's welfare at the center of the decision.
Reconciliation is rare once a divorce filing is on the table, but the Court of Conciliation has helped many Arizona couples either repair the marriage or part on better terms. Either result has estate-planning consequences. Our FAQ on how divorce affects your Arizona estate plan covers the updates that follow a finalized dissolution; if you reconcile, the same plan needs a different review. The Arizona community property presumption and any premarital agreement the spouses signed both shape what is on the table during conciliation. An Arizona family law attorney working with an estate planning attorney can keep the two tracks coordinated regardless of which way the petition resolves.