Emancipation/moving out at 17 in Louisiana

[choppastyle]

LouisianaWhat is the name of your state?

Okay, here is my case:

i am a 17 year old female from new orleans. i am in dire need of being emancipated from my overbearing, mentally abusive mother. i haven't graduated yet, but i could if i wanted to; i have enough credits and the gpa to receive state funding (TOPS) even if i graduated early.

there are several reasons i wish to move out and i was wondering which ones would have the most effect if i ever went to court for emancipation. she smokes marijuana and cigarettes (even when friends come over), lets her boyfriend who lives with us tell me things like i "will never amount to anything" and just things like that hurt me emotionally and mentally, is making me go to a school that makes me miserable to the point of almost suicide (it's a residential high school in a backwards town in LA), and constantly abuses me emotionally for my 'preference' in guys...i.e. calling me a '****** lover' and bringing up the fact that my father (who died 3 years ago) would never approve...

i have a place i can go to, which is at a guy friend's house. his mother has already agreed to let me stay with her until i head off to college with free room and board, as long as i can get and hold a job. she already has a job for me with her at pizza hut (or i can get one at the local hospital since i may have a high school diploma by then) so i can pay for insurance (I don't have a car so i guess it would only be medical insurance i need right?), a cell phone, and money for when i go to college. on the other hand, the school i go/went to forbids us to work at all...it just seems like the most beneficial thing for me. also, i can go to school there where he lives.

i've also been living away from home for about a year and a half while at my residential high school. in dorms of course, but still. does that help my "is she mature enough?" case? my mom did send me money, although not much...not more than what i could make myself, you know?

anyway, i've read in another subject forum that there are so-called "grey areas" for 17-year-olds leaving home. how much of this is actually true? i can't stand this anymore, and i am about to start packing so i can leave on december 23rd. someone please help! i've been researching this for awhile and can't seem to come up with any real answers.

any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance.

 

[stealth2]

Pretty much, to be emancipated you'd need (a) your mother's consent and (b) proof that you can support yourself totally, without help from anyone including the state. SO you would need to be making enough money to pay for a place to stay (without a roommate contributing to the cost), utilities, clothing, food, transportation, medical insurance/care, entertainment, school fees, etc.

 

[choppastyle]

but is there any way i can get it done without my mother's consent by going in front of a judge and proving i can live by myself and it would be in my best interest to leave?

 

[CdwJava]

but is there any way i can get it done without my mother's consent by going in front of a judge and proving i can live by myself and it would be in my best interest to leave?

Emancipation is often talked about and rarely granted. I have seen it done only once in 14 years at this job and 24 total years working in the public sector in education and law enforcement.

From THIS link, I found the following:

Q. How can I get emancipated?

A. You can get emancipated by:

Notarial act. You have to be at least 15 years old for this. You must have the right adult sign before a notary public and 2 witnesses, declaring you emancipated. The right adult is either your father (if your parents are alive and living together); your mother (if your father is dead); or, if your parents are divorced or separated, the appropriate legal guardian (called "tutor" in Louisiana). If your mother wants to emancipate you but your father does not, or you don't know where or who your father is, you may have to get a lawyer's help. Emancipation this way leaves you with some legal restrictions.

Court order. If your parents won't agree, you can go to court and get emancipated at age 16 or older. You can also go to court even when your parents agree. The advantage to judicial (by the court) emancipation is that you can get "full" emancipation - as if you had reached 18, with no limitations on your rights. The court can order you emancipated if you show "good reason" and that you are capable of managing your life (for example, you are able to pay your bills, have a place to live, and so on). If your parents treat you badly (for example, hit you or say bad things to you), don't support you, or give you bad examples (for example, not letting you go to school, not paying for food or clothes, breaking the law, or doing bad things to others in your family), that should be "good reason" for emancipation. There may be other good reasons.

Marriage. Emancipation is automatic on marriage. Your marriage has to be legal, though. Until you reach age 16, you still cannot give away or sell or mortgage property such as land or a house, without the permission of a court or the right adult.

It's not going to easy, and will have to be more compeling than what you have posted ... and moving in with boyfriend is NOT going to convince a judge.

- Carl

 

[choppastyle]

Court order. If your parents won't agree, you can go to court and get emancipated at age 16 or older. You can also go to court even when your parents agree. The advantage to judicial (by the court) emancipation is that you can get "full" emancipation - as if you had reached 18, with no limitations on your rights. The court can order you emancipated if you show "good reason" and that you are capable of managing your life (for example, you are able to pay your bills, have a place to live, and so on). If your parents treat you badly (for example, hit you or say bad things to you), don't support you, or give you bad examples (for example, not letting you go to school, not paying for food or clothes, breaking the law, or doing bad things to others in your family), that should be "good reason" for emancipation. There may be other good reasons.

i can't post everything on here...it's no t just like "GOD my mom makes me miserable" like so many other posts i've seen...my own sister, who got pregnant in order to leave my mom's house, agrees with what i am doing (or want to do). but right now my concern isn't necessarily with getting emancipated, but about this "grey area" with 17-year-olds in louisiana in leaving.

if the girl who brings me to my destination awat from home, can she get in trouble with the law in any way? i don't mind getting in trouble for what i want, but the last thing i need is for something to happen to her.

sorry if i'm not as clear as i think i am. i've explained this situation to so many people and i forget when i've already or haven't already said...

 

[CdwJava]

Yes, someone can get in trouble for encouraging or aiding you in disobeying your parents or being out of their control. Whether the police in LA are permitted to drag you back home or not if you are a runaway, I don't know. There are still a small number of states (one or two, I believe) that have a strange loophole in their laws that permit 16 and/or 17 year olds to remain at large if they want to be.

In my state they can drag you back in most circumstances, and they could charge the person harboring you with a crime under certain circumstances.

I believe that every state holds that nobody can encourage or aid a juvenile in being delinquent. So, anyone that assists you by housing or aiding you in your flight from your parents may find themselves in trouble with the law.

But, LA is an unusual place with laws that are slightly 'irregular' to the rest of us.

If things are so bad, then let the proper authorities know. If that happens you won't be with your boyfriend, but you would be out of the house (IF it's really that bad).

Why not tough it out a few more months til you're 18? What's the rush right this minute?

- Carl

 

[stealth2]

Out of curiousity, just how much are you at home anyway - since you live at school?

 

[choppastyle]

I don't go to the school anymore, but when I did, I was home usually only on holidays and school-mandated "extended weekends." I am home all the time now that I don't go there anymore.

I would wait until I'm 18, but it's like this has all be going on for so long that I'm not sure I can hold out that long.

 

[sUpErMANdaN2231]

What about your friends parents file for guardianship of you?? I don't know much about laws, but my mom has a drinking problem and it's pretty tough here at home and my aunt is filing for guardianship of me and my sister has new guardians now. Good luck with whatever happens. Sounds pretty rough at home to me. Happy Holidays..Everything will work out in the end (everyone keeps telling me that)..God bless you. I admire how you are being brave. Later

Dan