Family Focus
Welcome to our Family Focus blog page which hosts a collection of news, articles, and announcements relating to the FDR Centre, our processes, people and community.
The FDR Centre was established in 2013 as a specialist centre for providing a full range of private dispute resolution and conflict management services for all types of family and relationship disputes. We provide a holistic wrap-around service that includes everything from Family Law Arbitration, Mediation and Arb-Med for relationship property, trusts, wills, and estates disputes to FDR Mediation (including child inclusive mediation), conflict and communication coaching, and counselling. Our aim is to achieve positive and lasting outcomes for parents and guardians, children and other family/whānau members – all without stepping foot in the expensive, public arena of a court.
As part of our services, we strive to foster and participate in discussions and positive debate concerning all matters relating to the effective resolution of family and relationship disputes. This blog helps us to do so. We hope you enjoy the content.
Understanding anger and high conflict personality
By Nicola Hartfield Nicola Hartfield, mediator and workplace mentor, discusses how anger influences certain personality types and the importance of understanding and managing anger to better engage with clients in stressful situations. While engagement and...
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Aging In Place
Kate Hursthouse A question commonly asked by and of family members reaching their senior years is whether or not to continue living independently at home. For some, it is undoubtedly the best option to move to assisted living. However, for those who do not...
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Family Justice Reform Consultation
The Family Justice Reform panel has released its second consultation paper which examines the 2014 family justice reforms. The panel’s research has shown that for those who have engaged in FDR, it can be a ‘quick, affordable and effective process’. They...
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Relationship Property Disputes: a fresh approach
- by Catherine Green Tried mediation? Thought about arbitration? How about taking a whole new approach and considering Arb-Med? Earlier this year, the FDR Centre launched its 2018 revised suite of Mediation, Arbitration, and Arb-Med Rules for Family Law...
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Mediation power imbalances: weighing the arguments
- by Nigel Dunlop It is commonly said that power imbalances in mediation render it unfair. The image is conjured up of a hapless party being cajoled into an unfavourable settlement by a more powerful party. Better to go to court, it is said, where...
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Elder Mediation Specialist Accreditation: Gerard Sullivan
We are delighted to announce that Gerard Sullivan, one of our highly experienced mediators, has successfully completed the Elder Mediation International Network (EMIN) Elder Mediation Certification Program. Gerard is the first mediator in New Zealand to...
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The Centrality of Proportionality
- by Catherine Green “Proportion is the heart of beauty” - Ken Follett (The Pillars of the Earth) In an ideal world the time and cost investment in adopting private dispute resolution processes would always be directly proportional to the value and...
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Arbitration Amendment Bill: is trust arbitration on its way?
- By Jeremy Johnson, Partner, Wynn Williams Introduction The Justice Select Committee has recently been considering the Arbitration Amendment Bill (Bill) which passed through its first reading in April 2017. The Bill intends to make three changes to the...
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