Emancipation Through Parental Abuse

[southerngirl4life]

My question involves emancipation laws for the State of: Florida.
Hi all,

I am 16 years old and i currently live with my father and stepmother. I have been living with them for five years now and i have not seen or spoke to my biolgical mother since I moved in with my father. My stepmother and I do not get along and haven't since I was about 10 years old.

I have been with my boyfriend off and on for 9 months now. We broke up for a few weeks and just recently got back together. My parents do not care for him too much, mostly my stepmother. When she found out we were back together, she got really angry. She started cursing at me, threatening me, and calling me names. She has threatened to hit me across my face many times and to lock me in my bedroom and cover my windows so i can not see the daylight outside. We started arguing that day and she called me a whore.

My father was not home when all this happened so she called him on his cell phone and told him a bunch of lies of things that I did. My stepmother is also, threatening to get a restraining order on my boyfriend because she doesnt want us to be together.

When he finally got home I tried talking to him and tell him what happened but he said "I don't want to hear it!" The day after the whole scene happened my stepmother left to go out of town for three days. The whole time she was gone my father did not talk to me. She came home today and not even five minutes after she got home, she started screaming at me about something. My father still has not said anything to me.

What do I need to do about this? Can i be emancipated and move in with my boyfriend and his parents? I need help.

Any kind of help would be greatly appreciated.

[cyjeff]

You didn't read the stickies at all, did you?

If your parents say that you can't see someone, that is the end of the discussion. There is no law you can wave in front of them that says, "See, I can do what I want."

No judge in any jurisdiction will emancipate you so that you can go place house with a boy your parents don't like.

You lose.

[cbg]

Additionally, in Florida if your parents will not file the emancipation petition, emancipation will not happen. Period.

Not that you would have had a prayer of being emancipated on the basis of your post in any case. Emancipation is granted, on the very, very rare occasions that it is granted, on the basis that you have a proven record of self-support. It is NOT granted, EVER, on the basis that your parents (stepparents, adopted parents, legal guardian of any kind) do not like your boyfriend. And, as Jeff says, no judge in any jurisdiction will emancipate a teen so that she can go live with her boyfriend/his family. They just aren't that stupid.

You're going to have to find a way to live with your stepmother because emancipation ain't going to happen.

[southerngirl4life]

Thank you for the heads up.

I'm not really trying to get emancipated because my stepmother doesnt like my boyfriend. I want to get emancipated because I am fed up with the way my stepmother treats me. She hasnt been treating me this way just because I got back together with my befriend, its been like this with her for 4 or 5 years now. No matter what I do she screams and curses at me all the time. My father just drowns everything out and acts like he doesnt hear it.Doesnt the way she treat me mean anything?

I have talked to my brother, 27, about getting help and getting out. He says he will help be do whatever it takes to get me out of here, even if it means me going to live with him.

I have also talked to my grandmother whom lives here at my house, so she hears and sees everything that goes on. She says if she had her own place she would talk my father into letting me live with her, but unfortunately she doesnt.

Is there anyway that can help me?

[cbg]

If your father will give you permission to live with your brother or grandmother, you can. If he will not, you can't.

There is nothing in the law that is going to give you permission to move out prior to your 18th birthday unless you have parental permission. NOTHING.

I'm sorry you're having this problem. No one deserves to be treated badly. But no, being yelled at and cursed by your stepmother does not give you the right to move ANYWHERE unless your father says you may.

[LawResearcherMissy]

Is there anyway that can help me?

No. All teenagers are fed up with their parents/step parents. Sometimes, justly so.

"My step mother is an evil bitch" does not qualify you for emancipation. Emancipation is not, and was not ever, intended as a way for minors to leave home before the age of majority just because they're impatient. It is, and always has been, intended to remove the restrictions of minority for teenagers who, through no fault of their own, find themselves needing to take care of themselves (and sometimes younger siblings), and need the courts to allow them permission to enter into contracts so they can do things like take over their deceased parents' mortgage so they don't lose their home.

It's clear you still haven't read the stickies, either. In the state of Florida, your parents need to initiate the petition. If they don't, it's done.

There is no emancipation for you. Suck it up and deal with your parents, then move out on your 18th birthday.

[cyjeff]

Thank you for the heads up.

I'm not really trying to get emancipated because my stepmother doesnt like my boyfriend. I want to get emancipated because I am fed up with the way my stepmother treats me. She hasnt been treating me this way just because I got back together with my befriend, its been like this with her for 4 or 5 years now. No matter what I do she screams and curses at me all the time. My father just drowns everything out and acts like he doesnt hear it.Doesnt the way she treat me mean anything?

I have talked to my brother, 27, about getting help and getting out. He says he will help be do whatever it takes to get me out of here, even if it means me going to live with him.

I have also talked to my grandmother whom lives here at my house, so she hears and sees everything that goes on. She says if she had her own place she would talk my father into letting me live with her, but unfortunately she doesnt.

Is there anyway that can help me?

And here comes the "since I can't just go live with my boyfriend, let me try THIS excuse" part of the program.

so what part of ...

I have been with my boyfriend off and on for 9 months now. We broke up for a few weeks and just recently got back together. My parents do not care for him too much, mostly my stepmother. When she found out we were back together, she got really angry. She started cursing at me, threatening me, and calling me names. She has threatened to hit me across my face many times and to lock me in my bedroom and cover my windows so i can not see the daylight outside. We started arguing that day and she called me a whore.

My father was not home when all this happened so she called him on his cell phone and told him a bunch of lies of things that I did. My stepmother is also, threatening to get a restraining order on my boyfriend because she doesnt want us to be together.

When he finally got home I tried talking to him and tell him what happened but he said "I don't want to hear it!" The day after the whole scene happened my stepmother left to go out of town for three days. The whole time she was gone my father did not talk to me. She came home today and not even five minutes after she got home, she started screaming at me about something. My father still has not said anything to me.

What do I need to do about this? Can i be emancipated and move in with my boyfriend and his parents? I need help.

Wasn't true?