I am sixteen and trying to get emancipated.

[iriishzsoup]

I am sixteen, turning seventeen in a month and a half, and I wanted to know more about emancipation. I'm talking to counselors, but I'm still confused over a lot of stuff.

1) How long does it take to get started, and what's the longest it could take to finish?

2) Am I allowed to leave the house while the emancipation is going through?
(I'm sure you can guess the reasoning behind this question. My situation would only get worse if I stay at home...)

3) If my situation worsens because or during the process of the emancipation, is there anything I can do about it?

 

[cbg]

You have not posted your state; therefore, it is impossible to answer any of your questions. Not all states will emancipate a minor, and of those who do, the answers will be different from state to state.

However, I will tell you one thing that is common to all states who will emancipate a minor. Emancipation is not and never was intended to be a means of allowing a teen to leave home, regardless of how bad their home situation is. Emancipation was and is intended to be a way of providing legal protections to teens who, through no fault of their own, found themselves living alone.

Before a judge, in any state, will even LOOK at your reasons for wanting to be emancipated, you will have to prove to the satisfaction of the judge that you have a place to live that is NOT dependent on someone else and that you, yourself, all by yourself and with no help from anyone, are capable of paying your own rent, food, clothes, utilities, medical care, transportation, insurance, and all the other incidentals of life, and that you can do so while still going to school and getting good (not average - good) grades. You will have to submit a budget showing your earnings and how they are broken down to pay for all the bills, and what those bills are - so much for rent, so much for utilities, so much for food, etc. Estimating how much you think it will be, will NOT be allowed. In many states, you will have to have a proven history of ALREADY supporting yourself and in at least two states you have to have a savings account with a sum of money specified by the state (it's a different amount in each state) in it. Only when you have met all these qualifications will the judge ask you WHY you want to be emancipated. And even if you meet all these qualifications, emancipation is by no means guaranteed.

If your home situation is such that you need to be removed from it, of all the possible answers (and there are several) emancipation is the LAST one that a judge will consider.

 

[TheGeekess]

And in some states, parents or guardians have to petition for the minor's emancipation.

 

[kayla1014]

please help me

I am 17 years old, I live in massachusetts and I am hoping to be emancipated. I lived with my mothre for most of my life until I was 13 and was put into foster care because she had a drug addiction. Although I love my mother, she wasnt to fit for parenting at the time so I learned how to make it without a mother and I prefered it that way anyways. My father got me out of the foster home and I lived with him for a while, until I moved back in with my mother and once again I was pretty independant. I lived with my father again for about a year until he passed away and my aunt and uncle recieved legal guardianship of me. I am currently still living there but I am miserable and depressed and wish to become emancipated. Can I do this?

 

[CdwJava]

Kayla,

Massachusetts appears to have no formal procedure to apply for emancipation, but you can try to seek it through your local Probate and Family Court. However, all that I can read indicates that emancipation of a minor is rarely ever granted. You should probably speak to someone at the courthouse. Know that the court will want to see how you will support yourself without dropping out of school or relying on others, and what plans you have for transportation, education, support, etc.

If you want to continue this, please start your own thread.

- Carl