What This Statute Says
Time is critical in conciliation. This section keeps the hearing within thirty days of filing in the standard case, with a forty-five-day cap when the court has a good reason to push it back.
The judge of the conciliation court shall fix a reasonable time and place for hearing on the petition, said hearing to be held within thirty days of the date of the filing of the petition, unless the court for good cause orders such hearing to be held within forty-five days from the date of filing the petition. The court shall cause notice of the filing of the petition and of the time and place of the hearing as it deems necessary to be given to the respondents. The court may, when it deems it necessary, issue a citation to any respondent requiring him to appear at the time and place stated in the citation, and may require the attendance of witnesses as in other civil suits.
A.R.S. § 25-381.14When This Statute Comes Into Play
The hearing schedule matters when:
- A petitioner files a conciliation petition and is waiting for the court's first action.
- The conciliation court needs to give notice to the respondent spouse or other related parties.
- A party needs to subpoena a witness whose testimony bears on reconciliation prospects.
What This Means for Arizona Families
Couples in crisis often need a quick response from the court. The thirty-day clock keeps the conciliation process from drifting into the same delay that often characterizes contested divorces. The court also has subpoena power, which can bring in counselors, family members, or other witnesses whose perspective matters.
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.