Obtaining Legal Guardianship of 16 Year Old

[hawkschild]

My question involves guardianship in the State of: Florida, Ga, and/or Tennessee. My son is 22 yrs old and has been a sort of mentor to a 16 yr old male he met while he lived in Fl. This child's mother was a known drug addict, in and out of jail, and the child has had to live here and there, wherever he could find a roof to sleep under. My son befriended him and they have stayed in touch even though my son returned home to Ga, and the child's mother dragged him to Tennessee, where she has abandoned him yet again, The child is now in foster care. My son and his girlfriend are both stable, both have jobs and are both enrolled in school. Neither of them have any criminal record, and have their own place to live. My son wants to help the boy by giving him a stable home, helping him find a job, and getting him back in school, at least for his GED. There are 3 states that I would assume would be involved so we have no idea where to start trying to help this young man. Do any of you have any suggestions on what we should do? We are non relatives, but I would think since the boy has no one who cares, that a court may consider a non relative better than foster homes? Should the boy try to get emancipated first? And how hard would that be? The boy is very unhappy and I wouldn't be surprised to see him run away from his foster family. I believe he would come to my son for help and I am terrified of the legal ramifications if he showed up here as a runaway. I am also afraid of the emotional ramifications if he should show up and my son, someone he trusts, maybe the only one he trusts, should turn his back and say he couldn't help him for fear of legal reprocussions. Any advice from anyone would help us all so much. Thanks

[cbg]

To answer the easy question first, emancipation is not an option here. Emancipation, in the very rare cases when it is approved, is granted ONLY to a minor who has demonstrated his ability to completely support HIMSELF. That means paying all his own bills, not living with someone else. A minor who is living in foster care does not have that ability or that history. No fault attached to the boy; don't misunderstand. But emancipation is not granted easily. In some states it is not granted at all. And yes, it's SUPPOSED to be hard for a minor to be emancipated.

I'm not even going to try to wade throught the legal ramifications with so many states - there are others here better qualified than I to do so, and I'm sure someone else will take up that angle. But I do know that the courts generally are happier to have a minor under their jurisdiction to be in a foster home that their state has licensed, than with a non-relative in another state that they cannot supervise.

I applaud your son for what he is trying to do, but he's going to have a very difficult row to hoe.

[hawkschild]

Thanks for the reply. I am positive you are right that this is going to be a hard time for everyone, still, to try and make sure this child finds some sort of security, I am willing to try. I just don't know where to start. I would really hate it to find out the boy ended up in prison just because he has never had any adult who cared one whit about him. Thanks again for your time and wish us luck. I am sure we will need it!