What This Statute Says
This is the funding mechanism for the education program. The fee is capped, can be deferred or waived for parents who cannot afford it, and the money is locked to its purpose.
Each person who attends the educational program required by the court pursuant to section 25-352 may be required to pay to the clerk of the superior court a fee not to exceed fifty dollars that covers the cost of the program. The fee may be deferred or waived pursuant to section 12-302. Notwithstanding any other law, fees paid under this section shall be used exclusively for the purposes of domestic relations education programs that are established pursuant to section 25-351. The clerk shall transmit monthly the monies the clerk collects pursuant to this subsection to the county treasurer for deposit in the children's issues education fund established by section 25-354.
A.R.S. § 25-355When This Statute Comes Into Play
The fee applies when:
- A parent attends the court-ordered program after a divorce, separation, annulment, or qualifying paternity filing.
- A parent who cannot afford the fee invokes the deferral or waiver process in Section 12-302.
- The clerk transmits the collected fees into the county's children's issues education fund.
What This Means for Arizona Families
The fifty-dollar cap and the explicit waiver path keep this requirement from becoming a backdoor barrier to divorce relief. A parent who genuinely cannot afford the fee can still complete the program and avoid the sanctions in Section 25-353.
Arizona families going through divorce often underestimate how much the parenting and financial pieces affect downstream estate planning. The education program is required for most parents with minor children, and what they learn there shapes the agreements that follow. Our FAQ on how divorce affects your Arizona estate plan covers the estate-plan updates that follow a finalized dissolution involving children. The community property framework still controls how marital assets are split, and any earlier premarital agreement may also be in play. An Arizona family law attorney working with an estate planning attorney can coordinate the parenting plan, support orders, and updated beneficiary designations so a divorce involving children produces a stable long-term plan.