No More “Rag Dolls in the Corner”: A Proposal to Give Children in Custody Disputes a Voice, Respect, Dignity, and Hope

Abstract

Divorce and custody decisions affect more than a million children every year. These decisions may change the lives of those children in profound ways. These decisions often affect the child's health care, what church they will attend, where the child will reside, where the child will go to school, when child support will end, and how often the child will see the other parent, the grandparents, siblings, and friends. The decisions affect other important issues concerning the child's welfare. Yet, courts routinely fail to appoint representatives for children. In doing so, the courts deprive themselves of a valuable source of information about how best to serve the interests of the child, independent from the often biased information provided by the parents and their counsel. By relying on less reliable sources of information, the courts often fail to protect children's rights. They may also fail to find an outcome fair to both parents.