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Teen mother needs help with emancipation laws

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ejriam

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Oklahoma
I have a friend who is 15 and just had a baby in Oklahoma. She is living in a household that is very unsanitary and unsafe for both herself and her child. She is trying to find out what her legal rights are. She has been told that since she had her baby, that she is concidered an adult and others have told her that she is not. She would like to be able to move out and get a place for herself and her baby or with her father. However her mother told her that her father's rights had been terminated. Can she legally be emancipated or can she go live with her father?
 


moburkes

Senior Member
Doing a simple google search I found this:
Oklahoma:
Confirmation of Majority Rights
Gives minors the legal right to contract, but rarely granted in court.
and this
OKLAHOMA





TITLE 10. CHILDREN


CHAPTER 4. PROCEEDINGS TO CONFER RIGHTS OF MAJORITY




§ 91. Authority of district courts.


The district courts shall have authority to confer upon minors the rights of majority concerning contracts, and to authorize and empower any person, under the age of eighteen (18) years, to transact business in general, or any business specified, with the same effect as if such act or thing were done by a person above that age; and every act done by a person so authorized shall have the same force and effect in law as if done by persons at the age of majority.


§ 92. Procedure to confer rights of majority--Petition--Jurisdiction and venue—Decree.


Any minor desiring to obtain the rights of majority for the purpose named in Section 91 of this title may, by his next friend, file a verified petition in the district court of the county in which such minor shall reside, or, if the minor is a nonresident of the State of Oklahoma, said verified petition shall be filed in the county in Oklahoma where said minor owns real estate, setting forth the age of the minor petitioner and that said petitioner is then and has been a bona fide resident of such county for at least one (1) year next before the filing of the petition, or that said minor is a nonresident owning property within the State of Oklahoma, and the cause for which the petitioner seeks to obtain the rights of majority. The petition should state whether or not the parents of the minor are living, and if living, their names and addresses; whether or not a guardian has been appointed for the minor and, if a guardian has been appointed, the guardian's name and address; who has legal custody of the minor and, if the person having legal custody is not a parent or the guardian, the name and address of the person who has custody. And the district court being satisfied that the said petitioner is a person of sound mind and able to transact his affairs, and that the interests of the petitioner will be thereby promoted, may, in its discretion, order and decree that the petitioner be empowered to exercise the rights of majority for all purposes mentioned in this act.


§ 93. Notice of hearing of petition to be given by certified mail and by publication in newspaper.


When the petition mentioned in 10 O.S.1971, § 92, is filed the court shall fix a day for the hearing thereof, which day shall be not less than fifteen (15) nor more than thirty (30) days from the date of the filing of the petition. Notice of the hearing of the petition shall be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, delivery restricted to addressee only, to the parents of the minor, if living, to the guardian of the minor, if one has been appointed, or to the person who has custody of the minor if such person is other than parent or guardian of the minor, and if both of the minor's parents are dead, the court may order that notice be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, delivery restricted to addressee only, to other relatives of the minor; provided, however, that no notice shall be sent to a person who endorses on the petition that notice of the day of the hearing is waived. Notice of the hearing shall be given by publication in some newspaper printed in the county where such petition is filed, and if there be none, then in some legal newspaper having a general circulation in the county one time, at least ten (10) days prior to the day set for the hearing of the said petition. Before the court may enter an order conferring majority rights in the hearing provided for herein, proof must be presented to the court at said hearing that notice was given to all persons entitled thereto as provided herein.


§ 94. Costs.


The costs of the proceedings under this article shall be paid by the minor petitioner.
 

ejriam

Junior Member
Thank You

Thank you for your help in this matter. I appreciate all of the information you have given me.
 

ejriam

Junior Member
Thank you for your response

My friend does clean the house daily. She does not have a boyfriend. She really wants to live with her dad. She tries to keep house clean while she continues to go to school and takes care of her child. So no it is not a matter of just wanting to go live with her boyfriend or being lazy. She admits she made a mistake getting pregnant at 15, but now she is trying to give her child the life she deserves no matter how young the mother is.
 

Just Blue

Senior Member
My friend does clean the house daily. She does not have a boyfriend. She really wants to live with her dad. She tries to keep house clean while she continues to go to school and takes care of her child. So no it is not a matter of just wanting to go live with her boyfriend or being lazy. She admits she made a mistake getting pregnant at 15, but now she is trying to give her child the life she deserves no matter how young the mother is.
If the fathers rights have been terminated than he is nothing to her...a legal stranger. She cannot just go live with him.
If the conditions are that bad have her call CPS. She does not qualify for emancipation.

BTW...Who are you to this girl?
 
Why were Father's rights terminated? Sounds like jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire! If there are issues within the home that place the minor Mother and her child at risk then CPS is best option
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
The only state that will even consider emancipating a 15 year old is California, and to be emancipated at 15 in California you'd better be either a nationally recognized child actor or sports figure.

A teenager with a child is LESS likely to be legally emancipated, not more.

What confuses things is that she is now MEDICALLY emancipated, meaning that she can make decisions regarding her health care and that of her child. She is not LEGALLY emancipated by virtue of getting pregnant or having a baby. Not by a long shot.
 

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