I am 16, in Maryland, And Want to be Emancipated...

[Kaynubs]

I am sixteen, in Maryland, and I want to be emancipated. My parents currently have pending abuse charges, however due to the lack of evidence I am certain they will win the case when it goes to trial. Currently, I can't stand being home, my parents no longer touch me but they abuse me just as much emotionally. It's gotten to the point where I've felt like just ignoring them and doing what I want, but in response they have called the cops whenever I leave the house, even if I tell them where I am going. I have several families who have offered to take me in permanently and take care of me. What do I do?

 

[TheGeekess]

I am sixteen, in Maryland, and I want to be emancipated. My parents currently have pending abuse charges, however due to the lack of evidence I am certain they will win the case when it goes to trial. Currently, I can't stand being home, my parents no longer touch me but they abuse me just as much emotionally. It's gotten to the point where I've felt like just ignoring them and doing what I want, but in response they have called the cops whenever I leave the house, even if I tell them where I am going. I have several families who have offered to take me in permanently and take care of me. What do I do?

You do not qualify for emancipation. Even if.

If you are being abused, you report it to the proper authorities. Abused children are not emancipated, they are placed in the foster care system if the situation warrants a removal from the home.

 

[justalayman]

Regardless of anything else, leaving the house against your parents explicit wishes is not going to win you any favors in court. It makes you seen as an incorrigible child.

Emancipation doesn't mean you get to go live with somebody else. To be granted emancipation you must show you are capable of providing for yourself. That includes housing, food, medical needs, and general personal needs. You have stated nothing that even comes close to allowing emancipation

If your parents have been charged with abuse, child protective services has to be involved. You need to contact your case worker to discuss the problems. It also does not require a parent be convicted of abuse for a child to be removed from their home. Cps can act based on much less than what it takes to convict.

The fact your parents are being tried for abuse and you remain in the home suggests your story isn't completely true. One of the first things cps will do when there is a reasonable belief there is abuse is to remove the children. The fact you claim there are pending criminal charges and you remain in the home suggests you aren't being honest.

 

[Kaynubs]

You do not qualify for emancipation. Even if.

If you are being abused, you report it to the proper authorities. Abused children are not emancipated, they are placed in the foster care system if the situation warrants a removal from the home.

I have contacted CPS and talked to state police. Both of these systems are and by the definition of the very people who are part of them, "Not efficient or very beneficiary" in the state of Maryland. CPS does not even attempt to address the abuse trouble, they believe in forgetting the past and trying to get the family to work again, which has not worked in this case. Only the courts are currently involved with the abuse troubles. I spent two months at a friends house this summer, with my father's permission, because the living conditions weren't stable at home and my mom went to rehab in Pennsylvania for alcohol addiction treatment.

Yet, even with all this that has happened, I was put back in my home, with a CPS worker who by law has to stay in touch for 30-60 days, but has not answered any calls nor has reached out in any way since the day after I was put back home. I'm much more serious about getting emancipated now because large events keep happening that I can't keep going through. Yesterday my parents locked me out of my house and got in the car and drove off without telling me where they were going or how long they were going to be gone. After several hours and talking to several friends through email,sitting outside my house in the dark, I decided it would be best to notify the police so I could locate them, etc, so I walked to the nearest establishment, a WaWa, and used their phone. When the police came, they found my parents, but my parents twisted the situation into making it seem like I ran away, which is unbelievably not the case. Instead of getting help, the cop gave me a long warning about running off.

 

[TheGeekess]

You. Do. Not. Qualify. For. Emancipation.

 

[Kaynubs]

Regardless of anything else, leaving the house against your parents explicit wishes is not going to win you any favors in court. It makes you seen as an incorrigible child.

Emancipation doesn't mean you get to go live with somebody else. To be granted emancipation you must show you are capable of providing for yourself. That includes housing, food, medical needs, and general personal needs. You have stated nothing that even comes close to allowing emancipation

If your parents have been charged with abuse, child protective services has to be involved. You need to contact your case worker to discuss the problems. It also does not require a parent be convicted of abuse for a child to be removed from their home. Cps can act based on much less than what it takes to convict.

The fact your parents are being tried for abuse and you remain in the home suggests your story isn't completely true. One of the first things cps will do when there is a reasonable belief there is abuse is to remove the children. The fact you claim there are pending criminal charges and you remain in the home suggests you aren't being honest.

I understand all this, yet if I am not mistaken, it is possible for the child to set up living arrangements. At least, that is what I have been told in Maryland. I have an adult friend who has been kind to me throughout all this, and they went to the courts awhile ago, several days to be exact, and I was told that if my parents agree to let me be emancipated, meaning give up their rights as guardians and allow her custody, than the law permits that. That is what several attorneys have stated.

 

[cbg]

In order to qualify for emancipation, you are going to need to show proof positive to a judge, who will not be easily convinced, that you have the means to pay every single penny of what it takes to support you. That means paying market rate for rent (not a token for living in someone else's house); utilities; food; clothing; transportation; insurance; medical care; school fees and supplies; staples; and all the other incidentals of live. While living in someone else's home is not prohibited, you will not be emancipated unless the judge is convinced that you will not become a burden on the taxpayers if they kick you out, or get hit by a bus, or are transferred to Belgium and cannot/will not take you with them.

Health insurance alone in your state is likely to run several hundred dollars a month. Market rate rent will be even more. And that's not even touching the other issues.

So. What job have you got that will allow you to pay all these expenses while still going to school and getting better than average grades? Because you'll need that too.

Emancipation is not and never was intended to be a means for a minor to leave a bad situation. It was and is intended to be a means of providing legal protections to minors who, by virtue of circumstances outside their own control, found themselves living on their own.

 

[justalayman]

I have contacted CPS and talked to state police. Both of these systems are and by the definition of the very people who are part of them, "Not efficient or very beneficiary" in the state of Maryland. CPS does not even attempt to address the abuse trouble, they believe in forgetting the past and trying to get the family to work again, which has not worked in this case. Only the courts are currently involved with the abuse troubles. I spent two months at a friends house this summer, with my father's permission, because the living conditions weren't stable at home and my mom went to rehab in Pennsylvania for alcohol addiction treatment.

Yet, even with all this that has happened, I was put back in my home, with a CPS worker who by law has to stay in touch for 30-60 days, but has not answered any calls nor has reached out in any way since the day after I was put back home. I'm much more serious about getting emancipated now because large events keep happening that I can't keep going through. Yesterday my parents locked me out of my house and got in the car and drove off without telling me where they were going or how long they were going to be gone. After several hours and talking to several friends through email,sitting outside my house in the dark, I decided it would be best to notify the police so I could locate them, etc, so I walked to the nearest establishment, a WaWa, and used their phone. When the police came, they found my parents, but my parents twisted the situation into making it seem like I ran away, which is unbelievably not the case. Instead of getting help, the cop gave me a long warning about running off.

So you're saying you weren't home when your parents left and they didn't know where you were or when you were going to come home. Got it.

How were you taking to your friends through email? Do you keep a computer outside your home? Sounds like you had your cellphone with you which begs the question; why did you have to go anywhere to call the police?

But let's accept you didn't have an actual phone. Is there some reason you couldn't ask one of these friends you were conversing with through email to call the police?

Seriously, the more you post the more it sounds like a bunch of BS.

 

[justalayman]

I understand all this, yet if I am not mistaken, it is possible for the child to set up living arrangements. At least, that is what I have been told in Maryland. I have an adult friend who has been kind to me throughout all this, and they went to the courts awhile ago, several days to be exact, and I was told that if my parents agree to let me be emancipated, meaning give up their rights as guardians and allow her custody, than the law permits that. That is what several attorneys have stated.

Your story is simply so fraught with unrealistic situations that it is not believable. .

Your friend went to the courts? So she just walked in and into a courtroom and spoke with a judge?

 

[Kaynubs]

In order to qualify for emancipation, you are going to need to show proof positive to a judge, who will not be easily convinced, that you have the means to pay every single penny of what it takes to support you. That means paying market rate for rent (not a token for living in someone else's house); utilities; food; clothing; transportation; insurance; medical care; school fees and supplies; staples; and all the other incidentals of live. While living in someone else's home is not prohibited, you will not be emancipated unless the judge is convinced that you will not become a burden on the taxpayers if they kick you out, or get hit by a bus, or are transferred to Belgium and cannot/will not take you with them.

Health insurance alone in your state is likely to run several hundred dollars a month. Market rate rent will be even more. And that's not even touching the other issues.

So. What job have you got that will allow you to pay all these expenses while still going to school and getting better than average grades? Because you'll need that too.

Emancipation is not and never was intended to be a means for a minor to leave a bad situation. It was and is intended to be a means of providing legal protections to minors who, by virtue of circumstances outside their own control, found themselves living on their own.

Alright, so say that is gospel. What are my options? For a forum, this is not very helpful. It appears people hear would rather shut down a conversation than participate in helping. What can I do? Eliminate the possibility of me staying at my home, because at this rate, I would rather kill myself then live under these conditions, and that is not me being childish, I'm trying to give a picture of how bad I need to leave. Is there any options for me?

 

[Kaynubs]

So you're saying you weren't home when your parents left and they didn't know where you were or when you were going to come home. Got it.

How were you taking to your friends through email? Do you keep a computer outside your home? Sounds like you had your cellphone with you which begs the question; why did you have to go anywhere to call the police?

But let's accept you didn't have an actual phone. Is there some reason you couldn't ask one of these friends you were conversing with through email to call the police?

Seriously, the more you post the more it sounds like a bunch of BS.

My parents refuse to let me have a cellphone. I had my school computer as well as my school bag. And no, you are not reading what I write correctly, my parents and I were home when they told me to sit outside. From there, they locked all the doors to my house and windows, I checked, and got in the car and drove off. I used google hangouts, which allows you to email or make calls to people. Unfortunately the service prevents any calls to 911, so I had to walk to the WaWa. I didnt have any of my friends call the police because I am in Rehobeth Beach, they are all in a different area, about an hour and a half away. I'm not sure if I can say what city, on here, so I won't. I wish I had a cellphone, everything would be much easier.

 

[Kaynubs]

Your story is simply so fraught with unrealistic situations that it is not believable. .

Your friend went to the courts? So she just walked in and into a courtroom and spoke with a judge?

No, she was down there already to deal with divorce settlement issues. She is the person I spent two months with while my mom was at rehab.

 

[cbg]

If your parents permit you to live with someone else, you can. If there is someone who is willing to take guardianship of you and your parents do not object, that can happen.

That is NOT the same thing as emancipation. You do not qualify to be, and cannot be, emancipated under the circumstances you describe. But WITH parental permission, you can live with someone else. Emancipation is a different animal entirely.

 

[Kaynubs]

If your parents permit you to live with someone else, you can. If there is someone who is willing to take guardianship of you and your parents do not object, that can happen.

That is NOT the same thing as emancipation. You do not qualify to be, and cannot be, emancipated under the circumstances you describe. But WITH parental permission, you can live with someone else. Emancipation is a different animal entirely.

I see, thank you. See, that is helpful. Unfortunately, I don't think my parents will permit me to live with this woman or her husband, (they are divorced) who also has told me AND MY PARENTS, that I could live with him. This is because it was them who helped me originally contact CPS and the state police. Is this the only option? They are extremely bitter towards both of these people simply because of their involvement in helping me.

 

[justalayman]

My parents refuse to let me have a cellphone. I had my school computer as well as my school bag. And no, you are not reading what I write correctly, my parents and I were home when they told me to sit outside. From there, they locked all the doors to my house and windows, I checked, and got in the car and drove off. I used google hangouts, which allows you to email or make calls to people. Unfortunately the service prevents any calls to 911, so I had to walk to the WaWa. I didnt have any of my friends call the police because I am in Rehobeth Beach, they are all in a different area, about an hour and a half away. I'm not sure if I can say what city, on here, so I won't. I wish I had a cellphone, everything would be much easier.

So your friends couldn't dial your local police department for some reason? Hell, I'm half the country away an I could have called your local police department. Are you that technologically ignorant?

It is a bit odd your parents would boot you out of the door and you would have your school computer and school bag in hand. Very unbelievable.