Friend is 16 pregnant mother deceased cannot stand her father

[bestfriend1728]

What is the name of your state (only Florida U.S. law)?

Hi,

My friend is 16 she is 5 months pregnant. Her mother has been deceased since december 2009. She is living with one of her mothers best friends.... My friend does not get along with her father at all he is mean to her and has not helped her at all in her life and i am a witness to this. She has a sister who is 19 and lives all the way across the U.S. and has a husband and child of her own... But she doesnt get along with her either her sister wants to make her have an abortion but my friend doesnt believe in it and neither do i. And she doesnt want to give the baby up for adoption... My friend does know who the father of the baby is but the problem is he may or may not be a legan U.S. citizen... She wants to become emancipated but neither one of us know of going about finding information or even beginning where to look... I thought maybe she could marry the babys father but with him may not being legal IDK... But would she need her fathers consent becuase he definitly wouldnt give it. And time is of the essence she is currently a ward of the state and shes running out of time before they send her off to her fathers or sisters or someone she doesnt even know. So please help!

 

[Rushia]

IIRC the parent (or in this case perhaps the state) has to file the petition for emancipation in FL. Since she is pregnant and you make no mention that she is completely supporting HERSELF it's not going to happen.

Your friend is going to have to stay where she is told to stay by the state or whoever the state gives custody of her to until she is 18.

 

[CdwJava]

Not getting along is not grounds for emancipation nor is it grounds for the state to remove a parent's custodial rights to a child. The fact that your friend is pregnant at 16 shows that she is not yet making mature and reasonable decisions so that is a strike against her for emancipation.

If she runs away from home or stays away, and dad reports her as a runaway, anyone she stays with or who aids her could be subject to arrest and prosecution for assisting her.

It might be a good idea for her to support her local health services agency so that she can obtain some counseling as well as prenatal care.

 

[cbg]

She would need her father's consent both to be married and also to be emancipated. In Florida it is absolutely impossible to be emancipated unless the parent or legal guardian not only agrees, but files the petition; there is no state where a minor, pregnant or not, can be married without parental consent, judicial consent, or both.

Even in a state where emancipation is theoretically easier than in Florida, if she is a ward of the state her chances of emancipation just went down so far you'd need the help of a coal miner to find them.

She's not going to be emancipated. Don't even go there.