Jaimi Haycock

Qualifications

BFA, Whitecliffe University 2015
LLB, University of Waikato 2025
Admitted to the Bar in New Zealand 2025

Community

Volunteer at Waipuna Hospice

Contact

DDI: +64 7 570 0690
M: +64 21 432 485
E: jaimi.haycock@hobec.co.nz

Jaimi is a Solicitor in our family law team.

Jaimi joined Holland Beckett in February 2025, shortly after completing her studies at the University of Waikato. She is gaining valuable experience under the guidance of Rebecca Savage and Leesa Speed. Jaimi is passionate about helping families navigate complex legal matters and is committed to providing compassionate and effective support to clients.

In her spare time, she enjoys walking up the Mount, discovering new culinary delights as a self-proclaimed foodie, and watching true crime documentaries.

Jaimi Haycock's Expertise

Family Law

Jaimi Haycock's News & Resources

Paternity Testing

A paternity test is a DNA test used to determine if a man is the biological father of a child. Paternity tests can be required to resolve disputes over child custody, child support, or inheritance claims. The results can be used in court to establish or disprove a biological relationship. What is the difference between a Paternity Order and a Declaration of Paternity? A paternity order is a court order that the Family Court can make, to declare that a man is the father of a child. A paternity order can also declare that a man is not the father of a child. Birth certificates require that both parents register their child’s birth. If both parents sign this, establishing paternity is a lot easier. If the father refuses to sign the birth certificate, you may choose to apply for a paternity order.   Generally, a paternity order can only be sought by the mother of the child or someone acting on her behalf (such as a lawyer). The application for a Paternity Order must be done before the child turns six. Exceptions to this age limit include if the man believed to be the father has: Previously acknowledged paternity Paid maintenance Lived with the mother within the two years prior to the application. If there is a dispute over a child’s paternity, the mother, alleged father, child, or any affected person can apply to the Family Court or High Court for a declaration of paternity, even if the alleged father or child is deceased. A person might request a declaration of paternity to establish a child’s right to inherit from the alleged father. A declaration of paternity is “conclusive evidence” of paternity meaning that it can’t be challenged. There is no time limit on applications for declarations of paternity. If a person refuses to take a paternity test, the court may draw its own conclusions based on the available evidence. This ensures that the child’s best interests are prioritised and that legal responsibilities (such as child support) are appropriately assigned. How does a court establish paternity? A court will look at things like: The history of the relationship between the mother and the alleged father and whether the relationship was known to anyone else. When and how the child was conceived. Medical evidence about the birth. Whether the man has admitted to sexual intercourse with the mother or admitted at any time he was the father. Whether the mother had sexual intercourse with any other man around the time of the child’s conception (to find out whether anyone else could be the child’s father). Paternity Tests The court often recommends paternity tests (DNA tests) to determine paternity. These tests involve collecting blood or mouth swab samples from the alleged father, mother, and child. While the man can refuse the test, the court may consider this refusal in its decision. You can talk to our family law team today about paternity testing and what it might mean for you and your family.

Child Support

How does child support work? Child support is money that one parent pays to the other, when they have children together but are no longer in a relationship. The amount paid depends on the incomes of both parents and how much time the child(ren) spend with each parent on a month by month basis. Child support is intended as a ‘balancing’ payment in order to equalize the cost of raising a child between parents. It aims to ensure that one parent is not unfairly disadvantaged by bearing a disproportionate share of the financial responsibilities associated with childcare. There are three different ways to arrange child support Private Arrangement: The parents mutually agree on the details of child support between themselves, including who will pay, the amount, and the payment schedule. Since Inland Revenue (IRD) is not involved, this arrangement is not legally binding. Voluntary Agreement: The parents agree on the details of the child support payments and register the agreement with the IRD, which then arranges the payments. IRD Formula Assessment: Generally either parent can apply to IRD to determine the child support details and arrange the payments. This is the best option to choose when a parent is refusing to contribute voluntarily, ensuring that the financial responsibilities are fairly distributed. IRD Formula Assessment The IRD will consider a number of things when they do a formula assessment: A “living allowance”: this is your costs in supporting yourself; Any relevant “dependent child allowance”: this takes account of any children you have with your current partner (in other words, the costs of raising your other children who aren’t covered by child support); and Any relevant “multi-group allowance”: this takes account of any children from another ex-partner that you have to pay child support. The purpose of this allowance is to make sure you’re able to pay for all your children who are covered by child support. The IRD calculates each parent’s income, referred to as your “child support income,” by starting with your taxable income (before-tax income) and making specific deductions. IRD then compares the child support incomes of both parents. The difference between these incomes is used to determine who is responsible for paying child support, taking into account the difference in care costs. You can use this calculator to estimate the amount of child support you may receive or pay, based on an IRD Formula Assessment. Liable parents who are new to child support and earn salary or wages, will have child support payments deducted by their employer. The IRD will let their employer know how much to deduct and when. If the liable parent does not receive salary or wages, they can set up an automatic payment or direct debit. If your income has changed you can ask IRD to take this into account. You can read more about how child support is calculated here. Important things to remember Your new partner’s income isn’t taken into account for child support purposes, because they don’t have any legal responsibility to financially support your children. A parent might also pay child support to a non-parent carer – for example, Oranga Tamariki or a grandparent - who provides a significant proportion of the child’s on-going daily care.  It is important to remember that child support is a separate matter to child care arrangements, the IRD does not deal with child matters other than child support. Parents should not use child support as a ‘bargaining tool’ when organizing care arrangements. IRD child support debt remains even after the child turns 18 and is not discharged through bankruptcy. Private child support arrangements may be more favourable than those managed through the IRD, but it’s important to remember that these private agreements are not legally binding. Spousal agreements can include child support arrangements. You can talk to our specialist team today about organizing a private child support agreement.

Vaccination of children – what if one parent doesn’t agree?

When separated parents have differing views on vaccinating their children, it can be a challenging situation. Both parents usually share the responsibility for making important decisions about their child\'s upbringing, including medical treatments like vaccinations. The primary consideration in regard to medical treatment is always what is in the best interests of the child, which includes their health, safety, and well-being. If parents cannot agree, they may need to seek a resolution through the Family Court. The court will consider the child\'s best interests and may take into account the child\'s views, especially if the child is mature enough to express them. Generally, the older the child, the more weight should be given to their views, both in and out of court. Before going to court, parents are often encouraged to try mediation to reach an agreement. Mediation can help parents communicate and find a compromise that works for both parties and the child. However, mediation is only appropriate if there has not been a history of family violence. For example, you do not have to mediate if you have a protection order against the other parent. (Find out more about protection orders here: Protection Orders). What is Guardianship? The Care of Children Act 2004 (“COCA”) defines guardianship as having all duties, powers, rights and responsibilities that a parent of the child has in relation to the upbringing of the child. An exercise of guardianship of a child means determining for or with the child, or helping the child to determine, questions about important matters affecting the child. An important matter affecting the child includes, amongst other matters, medical treatment which is not routine in nature. Guardians are required by law to act jointly, by consulting with each other wherever practicable with the aim of securing agreement. Vaccination has been held by the Courts to be non-routine medical care and is therefore a guardianship decision. This means that one parent/guardian cannot lawfully make a decision on their own as to whether their child is to be vaccinated without consulting with the other parent. Guardianship responsibilities are a separate matter to care arrangements for the child. It is important to remember that the parent/guardian who has day-to-day care does not have a greater say on guardianship matters than any other parent/guardian of that child. Both (or all) guardians have an equal say. The value of wānanga It is natural to have concerns about the safety of a vaccination, particularly in an era of widespread misinformation. It is important that everyone can access reliable information about the vaccine in order to make the best decision for their own health, as well as their whānau, family and communities. In many situations, engaging in wānanga, an open discussion with others about experiences, questions, fears and reservations, with a level of curiosity can resolve differences in views. Regardless, it is important to advise other parents or guardians of any scheduled vaccination and also once such vaccination has taken place. Parents/guardians should not act unilaterally in making decisions about vaccination for their children and must consult with the other parent/guardian(s). If you find yourself facing the difficult circumstances described above, the Family Law team at Holland Beckett would be happy to assist you in reaching resolution of the matter.

Testamentary Guardians

A testamentary guardian is appointed via a Will or Deed to “step into your shoes” as a parent when you die. A testamentary guardian is not appointed to care for the child. That is something quite different and cannot be provided for in a Will. You can read more about testamentary and court appointed guardians in the Care of Children Act 2004. When should you appoint a testamentary guardian and what do they do? A testamentary guardian is appointed alongside the surviving parent (usually) for input into “the big important decisions” about a child’s upbringing like education (where do they go to school), health (major medical decisions not day to day bumps and sniffles), religion, residence (which country or region do they live in, not a specific house or street), and permission to marry under the age of 18. These rights and responsibilities end when the child attains the age of 18 years or earlier if the child marries, enters a civil union, or lives with another person as a de facto partner. Why do it? It is worth considering if you have separated from your child’s other parent to ensure your views about upbringing are represented in the event of your death or if you are worried your family will be “cut off” from the child when you die. If you are still happily in a relationship it is probably not necessary to appoint a testamentary guardian as it is likely you can trust your spouse/partner to make good guardianship decisions for your children if you die. If you are worried about what happens if you both die together then you could each say in your wills that “if we both die together, we appoint X as a guardian.” If you are the sole guardian of your child (the other parent has died already) then you should definitely consider appointing a testamentary guardian. So, who does care for the kids if we die? The surviving parent would usually remain carer for the child unless unwilling or unable or unsuitable. If you have both died it is assumed that the family will rally around the child to take them in. Whomever they live with (which may be the testamentary guardian if appointed or may not be – there is no default assumption) may then file an application for a parenting order providing them day to day care together with guardianship orders if necessary. A testamentary guardian could apply for a parenting order if they wanted to contest day-to-day care or seek contact rights to the child and as they are already a guardian they would not need the leave of the Court to do so. Before an application for a parenting order can be filed, the guardian will normally have to provide evidence that he or she has sought to resolve the matter with the other guardian/s by family dispute resolution unless the circumstances are urgent. The legal test to determine a child’s care arrangements is “what is in the welfare and best interests of the child” so it depends on all the circumstances at the time. Things to remember: Only one testamentary guardian can be appointed. The consent of the person to be appointed as a testamentary guardian is not required. A person appointed as a testamentary guardian cannot decline the appointment. As a guardian of the child, the appointee could apply to the court for an order for his or her own removal. Another guardian could also apply for removal of the testamentary guardian. A testamentary guardian has the same rights and responsibilities as the living parent/guardian but only upon the death of the appointor. They have no say in the upbringing of the child prior to that parent’s death. By appointing a testamentary guardian you are not appointing somebody to care for your child if you die.

Surrogacy in New Zealand

Surrogacy is an arrangement which enables couples to conceive when they are experiencing hardship conceiving themselves. What many people are not aware of is the legal implications surrounding surrogacy, in particular the rights of the “intending parents” – that is, those who intend on assuming the psychological parental role of raising the child. What is surrogacy? Surrogacy occurs where a surrogate mother agrees to carry a child to term on behalf of “intending parents” and in place of the intended mother throughout the term of gestation. The surrogate is the “carrier” of the child. If the surrogate has a partner, under current law, that partner must consent to the surrogate carrying the child. The surrogate and their partner are the “carriers” of the child. There are two forms of surrogacy: Traditional surrogacy: The surrogate’s eggs are used, making her the biological mother of the child. Gestational pregnancy: The woman carrying the child to term has no genetic link to the child and the embryo is typically biologically that of the intending parents. Legal parenthood Whilst surrogacy itself in New Zealand is not illegal, any surrogacy arrangement is unenforceable. This means that, until a child is adopted by intending parents, the surrogate mother and her partner (if any) remain the legal parents and guardians of the child and they could change their minds at any time about the child going to the intending parents. This is true regardless of whether one or both of the intending parents donated their genetic material for the pregnancy by surrogate. Once the child is born via the surrogate, the intending parents must legally adopt the child before they are recorded as the parents. The adoption process is done through the Family Court. The mandatory 10 day stand down period before the application for adoption can be made still applies in these circumstances. It is possible, however, with social work consent, to have the child placed with the intending parents from birth. The court needs to be satisfied that the intending parents are “fit and proper” people to adopt the surrogate child and also that the carriers consent to the adoption. Until the adoption order is granted, the carriers will have all guardianship responsibilities for the surrogate child. The Care of Children Act 2004 (“COCA”) defines guardianship as having all duties, powers, rights and responsibilities that a parent of the child has in relation to the upbringing of the child. An exercise of guardianship of a child means determining for or with the child, or helping the child to determine, questions about important matters affecting the child. Important matters affecting the child include: The child’s name (and any changes to it); Changes to the child’s place of residence that may affect the child’s relationship with their parents and guardians; Medical treatment for the child (if that medical treatment is not routine in nature); Where, and how, the child is to be educated; and The child’s culture, language, and religious denomination and practice. Guardians are required by law to act jointly, by consulting with each other wherever practicable with the aim of securing agreement on important matters. Once the adoption order is granted, the carriers lose any and all guardianship or parenting rights to the surrogate child. That means that they will not have a say in any of the matters referred to above, they cannot enforce contact with the child and the intending parents do not need to consult with the carriers on matters such as the child’s education, religion or health options. The birth certificate is amended to record the intending parents as the surrogate child’s parents. Financial support Surrogates can only be financially supported by intending parents for the physical surrogacy process (such as in-vitro fertilisation or IVF), independent legal advice in relation to the surrogacy, and other reasonable expenses incurred as a result of the surrogacy arrangement. Any financial support given outside of these reasons is not lawful and carries penalties of up to $100,000 fine or one year imprisonment. The intention behind this law was to prevent commercial surrogacy. However, the effect is a financial limitation on the surrogate mother when opinion varies as to whether a surrogate mother qualifies to take paid parental leave under the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987. A surrogate would qualify for 10 days unpaid special leave but this does not resolve the issue of loss of income in relation to the pregnancy. The decision to be conservative with the payment of reasonable expenses can be linked to the unenforceability of surrogacy arrangements. For example, a couple may prefer to be careful with what financial support is provided, despite wanting to support the surrogate, when the surrogate could decide to keep the child. In this case, the couple would be left open to accusations of committing a criminal offence by providing liberal financial support. This also leaves surrogates financially vulnerable. Te Ao Māori view Whāngai is a relatively well known Māori arrangement where a child is given to others to raise. The arrangement is considered similar to surrogacy. However, one of the principles that underpins whāngai is whakapapa (genealogy) and for this reason, whāngai arrangements rarely go beyond whānau or hapū. This ensures that a whakapapa connection is maintained between the child and the birth parents. Reasons for whāngai arrangements other than infertility also include strengthening relations within hapū or iwi, or to instil cultural knowledge into a child. However, once a child is legally adopted in Aotearoa New Zealand, the carriers lose any guardianship rights and cannot enforce contact with the child. The Law Commission’s July 2021 Review of Surrogacy Issues paper notes that this goes against whakapapa in principle. While it is still possible to make a contact agreement for the carriers to remain in contact with the child, the law affords guardians with ultimate deciding rights. Further, once intending parents adopt a surrogate born child, they are the legal parents recorded on the new issue of that child’s birth certificate, whether or not they are the child’s full genetic parents. This can cause a loss of knowledge of whakapapa if open conversations are not had and causes issues in relation to state law specific to that child’s hapū or iwi. Conclusion With the myriad issues that arise in relation to surrogacy arrangements, both for the intending parents and the carriers, it is important to seek advice early on to ensure as smooth a process as possible. The Family Law team at Holland Beckett would be happy to help you with advice in relation to surrogacy arrangements and adoption orders.

Family Dispute Resolution for non-urgent parenting disputes

What is FDR? Family Dispute Resolution (“FDR”) is a mediation service, designed to help separated couples and their families resolve disagreements regarding care of children. Attempting FDR is usually a mandatory pre-requisite before you can apply for a parenting or guardianship order in the Family Court. There are limited exceptions to this. For example, FDR is not appropriate where family violence is involved or where urgent orders are required to prevent harm or hardship to you or your child. Preparing for FDR The ‘Parenting through Separation’ course (“PTS”) is a free 4 hour course which aims to help you understand and manage the effects of separation on your child/ren. You and your ex-partner attend separately. During the course you will create a parenting plan which will help you work out what parenting arrangements could work best for you. PTS is also normally a pre-requisite before you can file proceedings in the Family Court. What to expect at FDR An impartial mediator will run the FDR session. Mediators, also known as “FDR providers” can be found on the Ministry of Justice website at: https://www.justice.govt.nz/family/care-of-children/find-a-service-to-help-with-disputes/. Once you have found a mediator, you will be required to provide details of all parties involved in the dispute. This will usually be your ex-partner, however it can also include a member of your wider family, for example a grandparent of the child/ren, if they are involved in providing care for the child/ren. Before FDR begins, the mediator will want to understand whether the dispute is suitable for FDR. They will ask you some screening questions such as: whether you or your children have been subject to domestic violence; whether you can fully take part in FDR. For example, the other party may live overseas or, does not wish to partake or, you may have a disability which makes it difficult for you to attend/participate; and whether you may be benefit from preparatory counselling before attending the FDR session/s. Preparatory counselling can be helpful if you are feeling too stressed about the relationship issues to think clearly and calmly about shared care arrangements for your children. It can help you prepare for discussion you will need to have at FDR. During FDR, the mediator is there to facilitate an open discussion and to help you resolve your disputes about care of your children, including: who they live with and when; how changeovers are managed; childcare arrangements (e.g. after school care and holiday care); and other important dates like birthdays and celebrations. Guardianship issues can also be discussed, for example: where the children go to school; religion; names; and medical treatment. Lawyers are not allowed to attend FDR, although you are entitled to seek legal advice at any stage during the process. In particular, you may wish to seek legal advice before agreeing to a particular arrangement. If an agreement is reached following FDR, the mediator will write up the agreement in full. This is not a binding Court order. If, after time, you want to vary the agreement, both parties need to give their consent to the variation. It is also possible to formalise the FDR agreement by way of applying to the Family Court by consent for a Parenting Order. Conclusion FDR is often a compulsory first step in resolving parenting disputes following separation. If you would like any further advice regarding care of children and guardianship issues, please don’t hesitate to get in contact with one of our family law specialists.