Family Dispute Resolution
Timothy is a Ministry of Justice approved/accredited Provider for Family Dispute Resolution (FDR), which means he is able to offer all aspects of the FDR service also known as Family Mediation.
Back in 2014, Timothy set up, at the time, the largest Not for Profit FDR service in Aotearoa New Zealand, the Family Works Resolution Service.
Now, in 2025, for the free, fully funded government model of Family Dispute Resolution with Timothy, please contact Fair Way and ask for Timothy to be your FDR Provider.
Timothy also offers the speediest and quickest FDR Family Mediation service, privately, from his rooms in Auckland or Palmerston North, or Nationwide via Zoom Video conferencing. If you wish to apply for the fastest, privately funded service costing just NZD 2000 plus GST per case, please contact Timothy directly.
What is Family Dispute Resolution (FDR)?
Family Dispute Resolution (FDR) is a Ministry of Justice service designed to support people needing help resolving parenting matters before having to consider going to Court.
FDR involves an independent professional (the FDRP) helping parents identify the matters in dispute, facilitating discussion, and assisting them in reaching an agreement.
FDR is focused on helping separating/separated parents and guardians achieve lasting outcomes, and giving them skills and greater confidence to resolve future problems. FDR also encourages parents to be responsible for reducing the adverse effects of conflict on children.
FDR is mandatory for almost everyone before commencing Care of Children Act 2004 (CoCA) proceedings. In cases where FDR is may be inappropriate (for example, urgent proceedings, some safety risks, or family violence issues), parties may be able to go directly to the Family Court and have an application accepted for a Family Court resolved outcome.
What types of matters go to Family Dispute Resolution (FDR)?
FDR deals with matters where those interested in the safety and wellbeing of any children are trying to agree on parenting or guardianship arrangements. Common areas of dispute include but not limited to:
Day-to-day care and contact arrangements - in the past known as “custody”
Medical stuff, school and extra-curricular activities
School holiday care
Better quality, more respectful communication
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How much does state funded Family Dispute Resolution (FDR) with Timothy cost?
From the 1st July 2025, the Ministry of Justice has made state funded FDR free for all participants, please contact Fair Way for this service, defies them you would like Timothy to be your Family Law Mediator (FDR Provider).
If Timothy has been appointed as your Family Law Mediator (FDR Provider)
If your Family Law Mediator (FDR Mediator) is Timothy, once he has been appointed by Fair Way, the first thing that happens is you will receive notification from Fair Way that Timothy has been appointed.
You will then receive a text message from Timothy's office, confirming receipt of the appointment, and inviting you to set up what is called an Individual Mediation Meeting (IMM). This will be a private one-on-one conversation with Timothy, which will take place preferably on Zoom or on the phone. The duration of this meeting will be typically no more than 30 minutes.
In this Private Individual Mediation Meeting, Timothy will be asking you just a few questions, so he can fully understand what you hope to achieve from the process, and will look at and will discuss with you your preferences for time date and location (where appropriate). There is no charge at any stage for any part of the FDR process if you are being referred by Fair Way.
Once Timothy has completed the Individual Mediation Meetings with all parties, an appointment will be set for a first Joint Mediation Meeting (JMM), typically of two hours duration.
What you can expect in the first meeting is for Timothy to talk a little bit more about the law around Family Dispute Resolution, which need to be understood. Once Timothy is satisfied that everyone has heard this information, and there are no further questions, an agenda will be set for the meeting, along with an opportunity for any opening comments or statements to be made. For the remainder of this first meeting, Timothy will work with all parties to explore issues and come up with proposals and occasionally agreed solutions.
Very occasionally parties are able to reach agreements on all matters in a single meeting, and the agreed outcomes will be recorded on a document provided by Timothy called the Mediated Agreed Family Outcomes which will be signed electronically by all parties and by Timothy.
Normally a second meeting will be necessary, and the time and date for that second meeting will be put down before everyone says goodbye at the end of the first meeting. This second meeting, where necessary, will be scheduled within an appropriate timeframe and an expectation is in most circumstances, agreements will be reached, and the solutions will be recorded in the document mentioned above and the case will then be closed. Very occasionally, a third and final meeting will be needed and again this will be set down before the conclusion of the second meeting.
An important note about IT and AI.
Timothy has always been an enthusiastic champion of developing technologies and uses AI and IT systems throughout his clinical work.
Timothy uses high levels of Apple and Amazon server cloud security for all documentation, which includes the storage of AI generated summaries and transcripts of all meetings. It is very important to note that all conversations, notes, AI generated summaries and transcripts are covered by legal privilege and are not able to be provided to parties to a dispute or to any independent legal advisors. By continuing to access clinical services from Timothy, you are confirming you have agreed to and understand this particular point.
If Timothy has been appointed as the Voice of Child Expert/Child Consultant/Child Inclusion Specalist (CIS)
If your FDR Mediator is somebody else, it may well be that you have decided for a Voice of Child Consultant to be appointed to meet with any child(ren) in this case and/or for a CIS to be appointed to support the FDR process with what’s called Development Consultation (DC).
If Timothy has been appointed as a Voice of Child Expert/Child Consultant, what will happen is he will reach out to all the parties to introduce himself to each party with a phone or video conversation which typically lasts no more than 30 minutes.
Arrangements will then be made to meet with any child(ren) in the case, and once Timothy has had an opportunity to meet with any child(ren) in the case, he will then participate in a subsequent FDR family mediation meeting.
In this ‘feedback’ meeting, Timothy’s role will be to ensure the thoughts, feelings, wants and needs that any child(ren) in the case want to communicated to the parents and guardians will be communicated, using their words.
It is not the role of the Voice of Child Expert/Child Consultant to provide an assessment or an evaluation of what any child says, nor typically to make any recommendations.
The information the child(ren) provide to the Voice of Child Expert/Child Consultant are covered by the principle of legal privilege, which means that nothing the child(ren) says/say, which is reported back to the parties, is legally admissible into the Family Court should FDR ultimately not succeed.
Sometimes the ages of children might make it inappropriate for them to be consulted directly, in which case it may be that Timothy has been appointed as the Child Inclusion Specialist (CIS) to provide Developmental Consultation (DC), and in this instance, once appointed, Timothy will have a private meeting with each other parties to find out what they would hope from the appointment of a CIS, and then join with the parties and the family mediator for one or more family mediation meetings, being there, as a de facto ‘voice of the child’ being able to provide information on child development, child, psychology, ages and stages and attachment.If Timothy has been appointed as a Voice of Child Expert/Child Consultant, what will happen is he will reach out to all the parties to introduce himself to each party with a phone or video conversation which typically lasts no more than 30 minutes.
How much does private Family Dispute Resolution (FDR) with Timothy cost?
The cost of FDR is very significantly less than retaining a lawyer and proceeding to a defended court hearing.
If you wish to access FDR privately with Timothy, firstly, it’s quick - and so long as everyone is committed and flexible with dates and times, - you’ll have your first joint 90 minute Family Mediation meeting within 10 days of your dispute being registered and the fee being paid.
The fixed cost for the entire process, which includes private individual Pre Mediation meetings for each party, and up to 4 x 90-minute family mediation meetings, is just NZD $2000 plus GST per case. Timothy is also able to issue your the Section 12 Certificate at the end of the FDR process.
Within Timothy’s private Family Dispute Resolution (FDR) service, Timothy is very well equipped to meet with any children privately, to ensure their thoughts, feelings, wants and needs are accuracy heard, in an age appropriate way, and fed back to the parents at a subsequent joint mediation meeting. The cost of Timothy meeting with any children privately is in addition to the set fee above.If Timothy has been appointed as the Preparation for Mediation (PFM) Coach