self-emancipation for business and personal purposes

Hi, I am an 17 year old in the state of Florida. My family has resided here for about 3 years.

I am interested in self-emancipation, although I turn 18 in only about 3 and a half months (mid June).




My main question is 1) Can a minor in the state of Florida file a petition/motion? for emancipation on his own behalf?

I have reviewed several articles available on the internet, including the one I've found to be most common, which starts like " 'Self-emancipation occurs when a child who is physically and mentally able to take care of himself voluntarily abandons the parental roof and leaves its protection and influence and goes out to fight the battle of life on his own account.' Iroquois Iron Co. v. Industrial Commission, 294 Ill. 106, 109, 128 N.E. 289 (1920)."

However, when it comes down to the paperwork required, I haven't found a form available to Florida residents that provides for the minor to file on his own, without his parent's signature. The form I did find looked like basically a cut-and-paste for those whose parents have explicitly agreed with them to allow emancipation, before any motion or petition has been submitted.

I am specifically trying to find out, as I have already stated, whether I can file on my own, and 2) is there a prexisting form with provisions for only the minor's signature.





Additionally, I realize that I need to show that I can provide for myself, if I can indeed get a judge to review my qualification for emancipation. I have access to a family car, but usually only in late evenings. I can, however, arrange to carpool to a local spot, or locate public transportation. In most of the cases I read about, the teen had already left his/her parents house. I don't think / I'm not sure if it's appropriate to leave my house when I know my parents would explicitly deny it, and immediately notify the police... even if they knew why I was leaving, and that I would have a place to stay. My father views it like: "I still have 3-4 months with him, and I'm going to do what I can to make sure he doesn't mess up..."

So: Question 3) to demonstrate self-sufficiency, what should I do? Should I get an hourly job at a local restaurant, for instance, and just begin paying for everything I do and need myself? Additionally, should I set some amount aside for rent, to maybe demostrate to a judge that I can pay/split rent? I know if I tried to pay rent my father wouldn't accept it, figuring that I was trying to prove emancipation. Same with groceries... if I eat food in my house, should I set aside money to demostrate that I could pay for it myself? I know these things may sound petty or selfish, but I don't feel like I can continue living happily in the environment I am in right now. If I do move out, I have several options for places I could share rent with others who attend the local college, while I continue to go to high school, via public transportation. I do know that it is very hard to start out living on your own, but I have friends who are 18+ who've moved out, without support of their parents, and they are doing well.





Well, that's the brief part. If your interested, you may read the following...


Also, I have noticed from reviewing a number of posts on this forum that often those who wish to help with something like this like to know the reasons behind the decision (especially since I am indeed a minor, and may not be equipped with the experience or maturity to make an informed decision). I am going to lay out a few of my personal reasons for wanting to educate myself on what rights I have, and why I might want to take such an action if it is available:


* Reason #1) I am very interested in business, in particular: owning and operating. I can probably thank my father, a career broker and marketer, for this. Although he doesn't own a business, we have had numerous discussions about finances and life in general that I think have aided in my understanding the entirety of business and financial undertakings.

I have worked for my father's current employer, a brokerage firm, and was able to help them beyond the scope of my $6 an hour internship by voluntarily creating a software program that automated a very mundane, time-consuming task. My main reason for working there was to get some experience in the field, and something to put on my resume.

I have also conducted some competitive business on eBay, selling a few cell phones and informational packets for a decent profit, while many competitors appear to have lost money in their attempts. I have designed websites for profit, as well.

Now, I have a number of business ideas that I would like to launch (and that my father would likely aid me with), but I would like to be able to take on these responsibilities myself legally. Emancipation, as I understand it, would remove "the disability of nonage," which would in turn enable me to set up a corporation in my own name, sign contracts in my own name, and be directly responsible to banks, investors, and others involved in business.

I do understand that because I am not 30, and "not even 18," that in business terms, many would probably feel less inclined to work with me on the grounds of risk (even if I was emancipated). However, I have spoken with and identified several willing, prospective (equity) investors and I am working on several written business plans that are presentable to banks, with statistics and so on. And the way I see it, in terms of numbers and my local market, if I build it, they will indeed come.

* Reason #2) I intend to go to college. For financial purposes, I do not believe that my parents will be able to support me monetarily in a very meaningful way once I leave the house and take on the costs of tuition and ordinary living expenses. I spoke with my father about this specifically; I asked him if he was going to put me as a dependent on his tax returns this year, and he thought about it a moment and said no. Typically, if a parent plans on supporting someone significantly durring college, they put that down as one of their tax right-offs. My parents have very legitimate reasons, particullarly, my father supports 4 other children and my mother on his own. He has also been on some shakey grounds with his current employer (his employer, a brokerage of 50-200 employees, has been cutting costs, and may not be able to afford to pay him even though he is very talented). My father has been seriously considering stepping out on his own and running a financial consulting business. I believe we have an understanding that I am going to take on the bulk of the burden of tuition costs and living expenses; after all, it is my education. Also, even if he offered to pay, I would probably not accept it, as I feel it would be unfair to my family -- I know I can make the money somehow, even if it means flipping burgers.

Anyway, with financial aid circumstances in relation to colleges, financial aid officers typically take into account what your parents make on their income statement, and whether you are listed as a dependent (technically, I will still be a dependent until next year, if I am not emancipated.) So on this count, my father will show up as making a very large / six-figure amount of money annually -- that might seem impressive, but it barely pays the morgage and bills for a family of seven to live comfortably in our current location. And especially with his job uncertainty, I think I have fair grounds to be concerned with insuring myself the option of a federally-sponsered student loan. With an emancipation circumstance (this has to be done before I turn 18 in order to fit this rule), I am fairly sure I qualify as an exception, and my parent's income isn't taken into account, which greatly increases my chances for being accepted in the context of a loan. I am also in the process of applying for numerous scholarships based on academic, musical, and leadership performance.

the rest...


Reason #3) As many other teens, including the vast majority of those who have posted to this board, my mother and I have a very different perspective on life. For some it is their father, or both parents. My mother, father, and sister (she's 16 now) began seeing family therapists a few years ago, after I insisted that we all (the four of us) go. My sister has always been "the target child" (physcologist talk for the one who gets picked on by a parent) since she was maybe 3 or 4, by my mother. Because of this, my parents assumed she was the "problem" with our family, and so those three ended up going to the first few years of sessions, without my participation. After little improvement with the emotional situation in our family, I insisted once again that all *four* of us go, with an emphasis that I was included from then on. Since then, I have talked to a few family physcologists with my family, and then individually (that is how sessions are usually done). Invariably, I get the same result: your sister is a "target child." They also talk to me about some of the issues I have with my parents.

Basically, I feel that my father is fairly reasonable, but when my mother begins making irrational judgements, such as "no one says 'they did it', so then it must of been you (or him or her)," my father will tell me, "well what am i supposed to do, i know you (or he or she isn't) aren't at fault, but i don't want to disrespect your mother, and all she wants to do is fight with me about it." And the two of them usually end of fighting loudly and endlessly for several hours. In the end it usually ends up like this: My father feels he has to stand behind my mother, even though this consistently happens on a daily basis, and either I or a sibling ends up being limited on extraciricular activites (for me this means school clubs, or business -- my main concern here --, or of course, friends). It's hard to run a business, then explain to a client that "your grounded" lol. I know this sounds like a typical part of growing up, but each of the therapists I've talked to have told me that most families don't have the kind of problems that ours does. There is more to it in terms of situations, yelling, and fighting, but I'm just going to leave it at that.

So anyways, the therapist will typically continue, "Because so much work needs to be done on your parents marriage, and on your family's dynamics, it is unlikely much will change for your situation until you leave the house / turn 18." They would ask me how old I was, and when I let them know ( I started participating in these "sessions" about 5-6 months ago ) they tell me just to "hang in there", and avoid confrontations. Please note, generally speaking, there really isn't any relatavent physical abuse... maybe once or twice it came to something like that, but generally, it's just a bad emotional and business setting. I kind of feel sorry for the rest of my siblings because they still have to live with my parents when I'm in college (or move out), and I feel especially for my 16-year-old sister, who is trying to graduate from highschool early so that she can leave the situation.


So there's what I need to know, and there's the reasons I need to know it. In summary:

1) Can a minor in the state of Florida file a petition/motion? for emancipation on his own behalf?
2) is there a prexisting form with provisions for only the minor's signature? (Florida-designated form?)
3) to demonstrate self-sufficiency, what should I do?

PS. 4) I am looking into the possibility of contacting and possibly hiring a Family Law attorney to assist me in my effort. Is this an appropriate or worthwhile step? If so, how much should I expect to come up with for his/her services?



For those of you who have taken time to read through this lengthy post, I greatly appreciate your time and concern.
Thanks in advance for your advice.

[Whyte Noise]

I don't really know the answers to your questions about the filing, but I'll tell you this...

By the time you get the paperwork done, get it filed, have a court date set, and finally have the hearing... it's more than likely going to be past your 18th birthday.

Most attorney's have a minimum $500 retainer fee. And in Family Law cases, it can be significantly higher. That is, if you could find an attorney willing to take your case. You're so close to the emancipation age anyways, they might not. Family Court dockets are very full. In divorces, it's not unusual to have it take a year or more to have it finalized. My own took 6 months, and it was uncontested.

I'm not telling you to just "tough it out" or anything. But in reality, you could be doing something that can cost you a bit of money, and not even be heard before you emancipate legally anyway.... and that's going to happen on it's own, for free, in a little over 3 months.

[kat1963]

I agree, by the time it gets to court, you will be 18 anyway. This isn't something you can file & get heard by a judge in a week.

Hence, you if want to be able to move out when you DO turn 18 here in 3 months, don't you think you should be working consistently & saving money towards rents/expenses during the last few months that you can live actually live for free? Do you even know where you are going to live, pay rent (security deposit?) how you are going to pay for auto insurance, car payments (?) food etc?

Additionally, there are always student loans if you decide on college (an EXCELLANT CHOICE!!!). It’s not a given, even if your father is worth millions. If you want it enough, it will happen…but the repayment of the tuition will be up to you. Right now I don’t know of any states that mandate college education from intact families such as yours. So basically, if Dad says he doesn't have it, you are on your own anyway.

You have 3 months, save, build, then have at it. But if I were you, I’d leave the door open & not piss off my parents too much. You just might need them later.

Good luck on your endeavors.

KAT