emancipation of 16 y.o.?

[partysoverr]

i live in new york state and have a sophmore friend (turned 18, am a senior) who is having it rough in her family. she wants to be emancipated but she can't because her parents won't let her have a job. they've locked her down heavily. how can she still be emancipated? she can't give up, even if it's 2 more years left.

 

[Just Blue]

Your thread title says 16 and below you say 18. which is it?

i live in new york state and have a sophmore friend (turned 18, am a senior) who is having it rough in her family. she wants to be emancipated but she can't because her parents won't let her have a job. they've locked her down heavily. how can she still be emancipated? she can't give up, even if it's 2 more years left.

 

[CdwJava]

i live in new york state and have a sophmore friend (turned 18, am a senior) who is having it rough in her family. she wants to be emancipated but she can't because her parents won't let her have a job. they've locked her down heavily. how can she still be emancipated? she can't give up, even if it's 2 more years left.

Are you saying that YOU are 18 and a senior, and your friend is a sophomore and 16?

Really, it does not matter how old YOU are. Your state does not have a specific process by which a minor may be emancipated. In fact, there are provisions in the law that permit a person to be the responsibility of their parents until the age of 21! If your friend is brought before the court for some other reason, they may get the court to permit emancipation if any of the following are true:

If she were married, if she joined one of the branches of the military, or if she completed college.

In addition, courts may classify her as emancipated if the following conditions are true:

• she is at least 16 years old
• she lives apart from her parents
• she lives outside of her parents control (and NOT as a runaway)
• she is not in foster care, and
• she supports herself with her own earnings.

Chances are that she will be 18 before she could get the matter before a court for some reason.

Becoming emancipated (i.e. becoming fully responsible for your life and expenses) is no easy thing and would likely create more (new) problems than it might resolve. Soon enough she'll be able to flounder about in the world on her own. If she doesn't need to rush it, she shouldn't. Keep in mind that being emancipated means that she has to support herself! her parents will not be required to help her, and if she can only survive on state aid, she would not be emancipated.

If your friend is being physically abused or neglected in some way, she can speak to a counselor or teacher at school and ask for help, she can call Child Services, she can report it to the police, of she can call one of any number of hotlines for assistance. If she merely doesn't like the rules or conditions at home, there may not be much that could legally be done. Your friend might also benefit from speaking to a counselor or therapist to help her deal with her problems at home.

 

[FlyingRon]

Being denied a job or going out is not abuse. Especially given adults who want to have sex with minors around, it's called good parenting.
We don't emancipate minors to shack up with adult "boyfriends" nor do we turn the abused out on the streets to fend for themselves, we find alternative custody for them.

Understand that emancipation (especially in your state) despite what you think the term means from your eighth grade social studies class, isn't a procedure to escape parental enslavement, but is a judicial recognition that an already INDEPENDENT minor needs relief from certain things denied them by their age (notably the ability to enter into certain contracts).

If your girlfriend is truly abused, she should consult a competent adult (a school teacher or counselor, minister, or call 1-800-4-A-CHILD if she has no better options).

 

[cbg]

Write this down so you don't forget it.

Emancipation is rare. It is hard. It is supposed to be hard. It is intended to be hard. The law goes out of its way to make sure that very, very few minors are emancipated.

Emancipation does not mean what you evidently think it means and it will not do what you fondly believe it will.

Your girlfriend does not meet the qualifications to be emancipated. From what you have said, it is unlikely that she will meet them in the future.

She is not going to be emancipated. You and she are going to need to get your heads around that right now.

Did you write all that down?

 

[commentator]

Incidentally, do not make the mistake that someone very close to me almost made, assuming that moving in with you and your family would constitute her being self-supporting and lead to emancipation. Or that the two of you could run away (across state lines, in fact!) lie about her age, get married and get away with it. Too much involvement with an underage girl, since you are over 18, could get you in some really serious trouble. If she is in a truly abusive situation, she needs to talk with the authorities, and it must be serious enough that she's willing to do that, not simply complain to you. Remember, being where you are, and her being where she is, you have no ability to help her or fix this, and can get yourself in trouble for trying.

 

[not2cleverRed]

i live in new york state and have a sophmore friend (turned 18, am a senior) who is having it rough in her family. she wants to be emancipated but she can't because her parents won't let her have a job. they've locked her down heavily. how can she still be emancipated? she can't give up, even if it's 2 more years left.

I am a parent of a teen in NY state.

Everything you have been told by the other seniors is correct.

Your friend's parents don't have to allow her to have a job.
Your friend's parents can dictate the rules she has to live by while she is a minor. Even if. (And none of the "even ifs" come across as being anything but petulant complaining.)

You are legally an adult.

You are still in high school.

Perhaps you should work on preparing yourself for meaningful career training (either vocational or post secondary school) and developing life skills rather than hanging with petulant children.