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Runaway in Tennessee.

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se.brooks

Junior Member
I am three months away from being eighteen. I have heard that in the state of Tennessee, you can't be filed as a runaway after you are six months from eighteen. I want to go live with my boyfriend, as I am graduated from high school, and my living situation isn't the best. Could my parents file me as a runaway if I did this? I considered emancipation at one point, but the process is too long.
 


mistoffolees

Senior Member
I couldn't find any special law in TN related to runaways, so there doesn't appear to be any exemption like you want. Therefore, until you reach the age of majority (18), you need to do what your parents tell you.

If your home is unsafe or you are being abused, contact child protection services in your state. But other than that, you have to stay where your parents tell you - like it or not.

Oh, and btw, TN doesn't have a statute for emancipation, either, so that wouldn't be an option. Even if it did, you probably wouldn't qualify since you want to live with your bf rather than being fully self-supporting.


ETA:
TN does allow for a runaway shelter:
http://tennessee.gov/tccy/tnchild/t37/t_37_ch_2_p_5.htm
Note, however, that the shelter must be registered with your state (so your BF's home does not qualify) and they must notify the parents and they can only keep you for 72 hours.
Read the last section of that law - penalties. Your BF could be guilty of a Class C misdemeanor for sheltering you against your parents' wishes.
 
Last edited:

se.brooks

Junior Member
I couldn't find any special law in TN related to runaways, so there doesn't appear to be any exemption like you want. Therefore, until you reach the age of majority (18), you need to do what your parents tell you.

If your home is unsafe or you are being abused, contact child protection services in your state. But other than that, you have to stay where your parents tell you - like it or not.

Oh, and btw, TN doesn't have a statute for emancipation, either, so that wouldn't be an option. Even if it did, you probably wouldn't qualify since you want to live with your bf rather than being fully self-supporting.


ETA:
TN does allow for a runaway shelter:
Part 5 Tennessee Runaway Act
Note, however, that the shelter must be registered with your state (so your BF's home does not qualify) and they must notify the parents and they can only keep you for 72 hours.
Read the last section of that law - penalties. Your BF could be guilty of a Class C misdemeanor for sheltering you against your parents' wishes.

Well, when I was still in school, I went through the guidance office and called the county about emancipation papers. They said that I was so close to eighteen that I couldn't file for emancipation because the process takes too long. They also said that if I told my parents that I was leaving, that law enforcement wouldn't do anything. Thank you for clearing up the validity of that, because that's what I was curious about.
 

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