divorce from parents

[mentoni]

What is the name of your state? pennsylvania

i am a 17 year old female with a rather abusve mother and a father who wants little to do with me. they are divorced and i am living with my mother anyway, i need to get myelf out o this house because it is a rather unhalthy situation and moving in with my father isn't an option. how can i go about legally doing this? someone please help me

 

[annefan]

If you're 17 already, I'd recommend biding your time until you turn 18 and then you can whatever you want to do.

Litigation for divorcing one's parents can take substantially longer than the time you have left to becoming an adult in the state of Pennsylvania.

If your safety is a grave concern to you, contact the Dept. of Children & Youth in your county and they can direct you on what steps to take next.

Good Luck.

 

[OnlyOneVoice]

Another option is to seek emancipation. But you have to prove that you are able to support yourself.

You're 17, find a friend who is willing to let you stay with them and hit the road until you are 18. Mom may bust a gasket but no one is going to step in and make you go home.

 

[mentoni]

would my friend be subjected to scrutiny from socil servces?

 

[stealth2]

So, are you actually the 17 yo girl, or her 22 yo boyfriend?

 

[annefan]

Another option is to seek emancipation. But you have to prove that you are able to support yourself.

You're 17, find a friend who is willing to let you stay with them and hit the road until you are 18. Mom may bust a gasket but no one is going to step in and make you go home.

Erroneous. The 17 year old is still a minor and the state of Pennsylvania will produce her to her biological father, even if he does not have much contact with her currently.

 

[stealth2]

annefan - would her "friend" (I assume her 22 yo boyfriend) be in hot water? I suspect so.

 

[annefan]

Absolutely. If her 22 yr old "friend" receives the 17 yr old into his home (to reside) the "friend" could be charged with unlawful restraint. Obviously, the charge list can grow by other factors.

 

[djohnson]

This is a copy from one of his other posts


"badtenant: I am not a lousy parent. heck, i am not even a parent at all. as a matter of fact I am the "innocent 22 year old man" you are referring to. i tried to write my post from a very objective point of view, as to not end up receiving responses from people telling me that i am some sort of sex-crazed child molester. Anyway, the 16 year old does not have bad parenting. I have spent hours on end talking with her mother, and she seems to be quite supportive of us. However, there is an absentee father who has come out of the woodwork after showing absolutely no interest in his daughter's life for 5 years, who is threatening to press charges on me. Her mother informed me that even though his involvement in my girlfriends life has been non-existant, he stil has legal rights as her father"


So is it really bad parenting or good parenting or you just trying to find a legal way of sleeping with her?

 

[OnlyOneVoice]

Whoaa up here!!! (yes I'm from Texas). I didn't advise her to move in with a boyfriend. If he's 22 and she's 17 he is already trouble because he's of age and she isn't. But in certain states, a girl the age of 17 can consent and mom won't have much recourse.

My intention was for her to move into the home of a female friend with parents in the home.

Pennsylvania courts aren't going to get all that involved in a minor aged 17 who is refusing to go home.

People, we all know the laws, but we also know that a kid between the ages of 16 and 17 can be pretty expressive and intense about their life style.

It's nearly impossible to force a child of 17 to go home if they don't want to and no police officer worth his salt will involve himself in this unless the mother seeks a court order for the child to return. Which would then place the child in jeopardy of being in contempt and possibly arrested.

Not likely. Exert your independence and find a female friend whose mom is willing to let you stay with them until you reach the age of 18. Also if your mother is abusive, you certainly have the right to report the abuse to CPS and seek to live in another home.

 

[stealth2]

OnlyOneVoice... go read this poster's other posts. All have been from her 22 yo boyfriend, not from a 17 yo girl. I think it's a reasonable presumption that she is planning on moving in with him.

 

[annefan]

My intention was for her to move into the home of a female friend with parents in the home.

Answer: The law acknowledges no gender nor familial status. If the 17 year old leaves her mother's custodial home and moves in with ANYone, that ANYone can get in trouble for unlawful restraint, especially if the mother "busts a gasket".

Pennsylvania courts aren't going to get all that involved in a minor aged 17 who is refusing to go home.

Answer: Erroneous statement.

It's nearly impossible to force a child of 17 to go home if they don't want to and no police officer worth his salt will involve himself in this unless the mother seeks a court order for the child to return. Which would then place the child in jeopardy of being in contempt and possibly arrested.

Answer: The child is obviously already placed into the mother's custody. Absent a formal court order, the law acknowledge's that the mother possesses physical custody of the child, based on where the child lives majority of the time. Also, I'd like to see case law where a CHILD was charged with contempt and arrested over a custody issue.

Not likely. Exert your independence and find a female friend whose mom is willing to let you stay with them until you reach the age of 18. Also if your mother is abusive, you certainly have the right to report the abuse to CPS and seek to live in another home. [/B]

Answer: Wrong. I previously suggested to the writer to contact the appropriate authorities to let THEM handle her placement. She is 17. She is a MINOR according to Pennsylvania law. She cannot make those decisions on her own, legally, at this time.

 

[OnlyOneVoice]

Annfan:

I know legally I didn't have a leg to stand on in my advice, but you need to see reality.

I don't recommend that he encourage her to move in with him in any way shape or form.

So what she's a minor. She's 17 and no one can FORCE her to move home. If she's that bent about getting out, even if they make her go home she will just leave again.

We all seem to "live by the court order" but a 17 yo girl can pretty much exert her independence without that much impunity. Legality aside there's not much way she can be stopped if she decides to move out. It's where she lands that could cause problems.

No to the BF. Don't do it. You are 22 she is jailbait. Because she is a minor and you are of age you could be charged with a crime of statutory rape (you are more than 3 years her senior and you are of the age of majority) so that would probably stand. Not to mention if you are convicted you are now a registered child molester for the rest of your life.

 

[annefan]

Annfan:

I know legally I didn't have a leg to stand on in my advice, but you need to see reality.

I do see reality. My realism is telling me that you are very inept about Family Law in Pennsylvania and your inaccurate advice/suggestions could influence a 17 year old young lady down the wrong path with probable LEGAL ramifications.

 

[annefan]

And....it's ann with an E