The rest of what we have written about Arizona. Every figure is quoted from Arizona’s own statute or its courts’ own published schedule, and carries the date we last checked it.
Guardians ad litem and child representation in Arizona: who they are, what they owe your child, and who pays
If custody is contested in Arizona, the court can appoint someone to look into your family and report to the judge. This page is what Arizona’s own statutes and court rules say about who that person is, what duty they owe, and — the part almost nobody asks in time — who pays for them.
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Everything below is traced to Arizona’s own statute or court rule, quoted where the wording matters. Where we could not verify something from a primary source, the page says so in plain terms rather than filling the space. This is information, not legal advice. Corrections go up at thecusp.app/corrections.
The short version8 points · tap one to jump to it
- What the role is called here — A guardian ad litem generally argues for what they judge is best for your child and is not your child’s lawyer.
- How an appointment happens
- What duty they owe your child — Arizona authorizes the appointment but we could not find statutory language stating whether the appointee follows your child’s wishes or their own view of your child’s best interests.
- Who can be appointed — Section 25-321 authorizes the court to appoint 'an attorney' to represent the child's interests; the role created by this statute is explicitly an attorney appointment.
- Who pays — A.R.S. § 25-403.08 lets either party ask for attorney fees, costs and expert witness fees where they lack the resources to prepare, and § 25-406(B) allocates an investigation or advisor’s cost on the parties’ financial circumstances.
- Custody evaluations — Arizona governs court-ordered custody evaluations and investigations separately from the appointment of a guardian ad litem.
- The thing worth knowing about Arizona
- What we could not verify
In this subject 10
What the role is called here
The short version8 points · tap one to jump to it
- What the role is called here — A guardian ad litem generally argues for what they judge is best for your child and is not your child’s lawyer.
- How an appointment happens
- What duty they owe your child — Arizona authorizes the appointment but we could not find statutory language stating whether the appointee follows your child’s wishes or their own view of your child’s best interests.
- Who can be appointed — Section 25-321 authorizes the court to appoint 'an attorney' to represent the child's interests; the role created by this statute is explicitly an attorney appointment.
- Who pays — A.R.S. § 25-403.08 lets either party ask for attorney fees, costs and expert witness fees where they lack the resources to prepare, and § 25-406(B) allocates an investigation or advisor’s cost on the parties’ financial circumstances.
- Custody evaluations — Arizona governs court-ordered custody evaluations and investigations separately from the appointment of a guardian ad litem.
- The thing worth knowing about Arizona
- What we could not verify
In this subject 10
Names matter more than they look. A guardian ad litem generally argues for what they judge is best for your child and is not your child’s lawyer. An attorney for the child argues for what your child actually wants. Those are opposite duties. The four roles, explained in full.
How an appointment happens
The court may appoint an attorney to represent the interests of a minor or dependent child with respect to the child’s support, custody and parenting time.
Source: Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 25-321 · source
What duty they owe your child
Arizona authorizes the appointment but we could not find statutory language stating whether the appointee follows your child’s wishes or their own view of your child’s best interests. That distinction decides what they will tell the judge. Where the statute is silent it is usually settled by case law or local practice — so ask the appointee directly, at the first meeting, which standard they are applying. It is a fair question and a revealing one.
Who can be appointed
Section 25-321 authorizes the court to appoint ‘an attorney’ to represent the child’s interests; the role created by this statute is explicitly an attorney appointment.
Who pays
The court may enter an order for costs, fees and disbursements in favor of the child’s attorney. The order may be made against either or both parents. / the court shall allocate cost based on the financial circumstances of both parties.
Source: Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 25-321; § 25-406(B) · § 25-321 · § 25-406 · read 11 November 2026
Arizona’s legal decision-making and parenting time chapter carries one by name. A.R.S. § 25-403.08 is captioned ‘Resources and fees’ and reads: “In a proceeding regarding sole or joint legal decision-making or parenting time, either party may request attorney fees, costs and expert witness fees to enable the party with insufficient resources to obtain adequate legal representation and to prepare evidence for the hearing”, and “If the court finds there is a financial disparity between the parties, the court may order payment of reasonable fees, expenses and costs to allow adequate preparation”. A.R.S. § 25-324(A) is the wider power: the court, “after considering the financial resources of both parties and the reasonableness of the positions each party has taken throughout the proceedings, may order a party to pay a reasonable amount to the other party for the costs and expenses of maintaining or defending any proceeding under this chapter or chapter 4, article 1 of this title”. And the allocation quoted above is itself keyed to what you can pay: under § 25-406(B), where the court orders an investigation or appoints a family court advisor, it “shall allocate cost based on the financial circumstances of both parties”.
What we are still not claiming: these are shifting powers, not waivers. Each is discretionary, § 25-403.08 speaks to a party’s own attorney fees, costs and expert witness fees rather than naming the appointee’s bill, and we have not found an Arizona provision that waives an appointee’s fee outright for a party who cannot pay. Put your inability to pay in writing early and ask the court to allocate these costs under § 25-403.08 and § 25-406(B).
Source: Ariz. Rev. Stat. §§ 25-403.08, 25-324(A), 25-406(B) · § 25-403.08 · § 25-324 · § 25-406 · read 11 November 2026
We looked for an official Arizona fee schedule for privately appointed guardians ad litem and custody evaluators, and did not find one. That is true of most states — only a handful publish figures at all, among them Arkansas, Massachusetts and Minnesota, and those are subsidized program rates rather than market ones.
The numbers circulating online come from law-firm marketing pages. We will not repeat those as though they were sourced. Call your county family court clerk and ask what appointees there actually charge. It is local, current, and free.
Custody evaluations
Arizona governs court-ordered custody evaluations and investigations separately from the appointment of a guardian ad litem. An evaluator is a witness, not an advocate — and their recommendation is a recommendation, not a ruling a judge is bound by.
Source: Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 25-406 · source
Before an evaluation begins, it is worth asking which psychological instruments will be used. The peer-reviewed literature is openly critical of several still in circulation — one has interrater reliability reported as ranging from 50% to 100%. The evidence, in full.
The thing worth knowing about Arizona
Persons who investigate or report under § 25-406, and any court-appointed attorney for a child under that section, must complete state-mandated minimum training: six initial hours on domestic violence, six initial hours on child abuse, and four hours every two years thereafter on both topics.
What we could not verify
For Arizona we could not confirm the following from a primary source, and we would rather say so than guess:
- what duty the appointee owes
If you practice in Arizona and can point us at the right provision, tell us. Corrections are published with the date, what changed, and how long the error was live.
Other states
Related
- Guardians ad litem, child’s attorneys and custody evaluators — the four roles, the science, and what to ask
- Arizona child custody — how custody is decided here
- Getting your finances in order — including who pays the lawyers
- Co-parenting — after the order is made