Legislative Update: Divorce Waiting Period, Educational Programs
Arizona Senate Bill 1199 amending sections 25-329 and 25-351, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to domestic relations was introduced. It proposes changing the waiting period for a divorce to be finalized from the current 60 days to 180 days from the date of service of the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage or the acceptance of service. It also includes topics to be discussed during an Educational Program for parents and children going through a divorce.
You can look at this a number of ways: (1) it will produce a cottage industry of entities that provide these courses and they will thrive economically ; (2) it will give a chance for the State to make divorcing couples aware resources available to try to resolve marital difficulties and keep them together; and possibly (3) it would lenghthen the time and expense that it takes for a divorce action to percolate through the system.
