Rule 10.Representation of Children
Part I. General Administration · Last amended January 1, 2019 · Last verified September 4, 2026
Full Text of Rule 10
Rule History
Added Aug. 30, 2018, effective Jan. 1, 2019.
Plain-English Summary
Arizona gives the court three different ways to put a professional voice in front of it about a child, and keeps them carefully apart. Rule 10 covers the two that are lawyers. Rule 10.1 covers the one that is not necessarily, and the contrast between the two rules is the thing to understand.
Two appointments, one rule
The court may appoint a best interests attorney, a child's attorney, or both, on behalf of a minor child. The ground is broad: the court may appoint under A.R.S. § 25-321 for any reason the court deems appropriate.
Qualification is by training or experience in the type of proceeding, as the court determines, and the attorney should be familiar with the American Bar Association Standards of Practice for Lawyers Representing Children in Custody Cases.
What the order must contain
Six items, and the last three are access provisions the appointee will rely on: a clear statement of the reasons; the duration; compensation and an allocation of fees between the parties; language authorising immediate access to the child; language authorising immediate access to any privileged or confidential information and records relating to the child; and language requiring a custodian of the child's records to provide access.
What the appointee may and may not do
An attorney appointed under this rule participates to the same extent as an attorney for any party — examining witnesses, taking discovery, arguing. Then five prohibitions. No ex parte contact with the court except as authorized by law. Work product developed during the appointment cannot be compelled. The source of information obtained through the appointment need not be disclosed. And two that decide the appointee's role at trial: may not submit a report into evidence and may not testify in court.
That is the line between this rule and Rule 10.1. A Rule 10 appointee is an advocate and never a witness; a Rule 10.1 advisor must file a report, and can be deposed and cross-examined on it.
Dependency rosters
Subsection (f) bars appointing a best interests attorney or child's attorney from a state or county-funded juvenile dependency roster unless the court finds that a child may be the victim of child abuse or neglect as defined in A.R.S. § 8-201 — keeping the dependency system's resources for dependency-type risk.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a child's attorney testify at trial?
No. Rule 10(e)(6) provides that an attorney appointed under the rule may not testify in court, and Rule 10(e)(5) provides that the attorney may not submit a report into evidence.
What is the difference between a child's attorney and a best interests attorney?
Rule 10(a) allows the court to appoint either or both on behalf of a minor child. Both participate in the proceeding to the same extent as an attorney for any party, and both are subject to the same restrictions in Rule 10(e).
What must the appointment order say?
Rule 10(d) requires a clear statement of the reasons, the duration, the compensation and allocation of fees between the parties, and language authorising immediate access to the child and to any privileged or confidential information and records relating to the child, and requiring records custodians to provide access.
Can the attorney's work product be obtained?
Rule 10(e)(3) provides that the attorney may not be compelled to produce work product developed during the appointment, and Rule 10(e)(4) provides that the attorney may not be required to disclose the source of information obtained as a result of the appointment.
Can the court appoint from the dependency roster?
Only on a finding that a child may be the victim of child abuse or neglect as defined in A.R.S. § 8-201. Rule 10(f) otherwise bars appointment from a state or county-funded juvenile dependency roster.