A few words
Why We Are Here
History
Our story starts with a child...
It starts with many children, actually. It starts with a broken system, and children caught in it. It starts with parents, whose love for their children isn’t enough to overcome a system designed to nullify it. It starts with an outdated system that treats children as property, a system designed to make money for lawyers and court officials at the expense of families. A system that treats children as property has consequences for those caught in it. After all, property does not have rights. Property does not have autonomy. Property does not have hopes, or dreams, or emotions. Property does not need love, or to be protected from abuse. But children are not property; they do have hopes and dreams, and emotions; they are people who need love and protection.
It starts with a child, being told their parents are getting divorced. They accept it, after an explanation of what that means – and then comes the realization that they can’t trust their adults to keep them safe anymore. All life plans must now be approved by a nebulous “Judge” whose name they are not allowed to know. In order to know where they will go to school, they must act as a spy. They’re not legally allowed to know what happens at court, but finding out anyways becomes a matter of survival. They aren’t allowed to be told when court is – but finding out becomes crucial. After all, knowing when court is means knowing when to tread on thin ice around aggrieved adults. It starts with a mantra, and a countdown: “At eighteen I’ll be a person. At eighteen I’ll be safe. At eighteen, I’ll be free.” When trapped in a broken family court system, the only hope is that one day, you’ll be out. Some children never make it out – they die, to abuse (60% of all child abuse victims have separating or divorced parents), or to suicide (children of divorce are 40% more likely to experience depression.) We survived, and dedicated ourselves to changing the system, because kids shouldn’t have to fight to survive their childhoods.
...and continues forward with a child's dream for a better future.
Children are more than pawns, cash cows, (emotional) punching bags, therapists, afterthoughts, or property.
Children are more than pawns, cash cows, (emotional) punching bags, therapists, afterthoughts, or property.
We at Sage Lantern believe the family court system needs change. As our system stands today we are failing our children, our families, and our society. Our current child custody system disrupts family relationships, creates undue financial burdens, incentivizes hostility, and enables abusers to cheat the system, and abuse to go unchecked.
And is it any wonder in a system that fundamentally treats children as something to be fought over, rather than one that encourages, even insists, that family should come together to work on a future that is beneficial for all? Blended families are still families. We want to support families, not lawyers and courts.
We believe our children, and our families, can have better.
Recognizing that emotional and verbal abuse is abuse.
Courts are Not the Answer, but the Last Resort
When parents are in a happy, healthy, and loving
co-parenting relationship – even when they are living in separate homes- the child feels loved, safe, and secure. But it is often difficult and confusing for parents to find a way to reach a peaceful resolution– and too easy for them to simply fight it out in courts.
This has resulted in courts and judges that are overwhelmed, with little ability to connect to any individual case. There were 110,000 open family court cases, as of Sept 2021. There is a crisis. We believe we need to restructure and simplify the system so that decisions can be made in the best interest of our children and families. After all, the family is who must live with the decisions.
Help us help our children and families!
Believing the 6th Amendment to the US Constitution must be paramount to all, whether a child or adult.
Our Children, Our Families, and Our Dignity.
What happens to the children? Children should have a chance to live their best lives with dignity and respect. They should have the chance to escape a volatile or abusive situation.
What happens when the child becomes unwilling prey caught between battling parents’ lawyers? Lawyers who have no incentive to help, and, worse, an incentive to increase their legal fees? Judges and lawyers simply walk away from the fallout from their arguments – never even bothering to check in with the children to see what they did to them. But the children, the families? They live with the consequences.
We believe we can do better.
No family should be torn apart without a chance. No child should have their entire life decided without any say. A child should understand their own rights; they should be in a position where they feel safe, secure, and seen; and if their lives are determined by a legal system, they ought to have legal representation.
We believe in changing this current culture of enablement through:
Goals
- Standardize and improve custody laws state by state to prioritize families and children, while mitigating the impact of parental conflict on children
- Ensure that children of divorce have a voice to determine their own futures
- Promote quality judges, guardians ad litem & mediators
- Tighten safeguards against child abuse through education and awareness