Emancipation in California

I am 16, will be 17 in the middle of October, and my younger brother is 15 and a half. Our mom died 4 years ago, and since then we've lived with our father. They were divorced at least 8 years ago because our father was physically and verbally abusive to her, my brother, and me and our mom remarried about 6 years ago to an awesome guy who still totally loves and supports us 100%. But when she died we went to live with our father who has essentially been a stranger we have no interest in getting to know. We are far more mature than mot others our age and we agree that we are ready (and really are better off) moving out on our own away from our father. He lost his drivers license (and his well-paying job as a plumber) more than a year ago due to a DUI, and now he works a part-time $8 dollar an hour job as a fry cook. Since our mother's death, my brother and I receive approximately 760 dollars a month each from social security, but it's in our father's name and he insists on living in this expensive place on the beach despite my trying to discuss how unreaonable he is being; rent is $1500 a month thus all of our social money goes to that. We haven't had adequate food in the house for several months, and so many people (teachers, family, friends) are concerned about our well-being and are ready to back us when we decide to get emancipated. My brother already has a well-paying job with our stepfather and I will within the next month. Our main concern is figuring out whether we will still receive the social security checks until we are 18 even if we are emancipated... so can anyone get an answer on that for us? Our stepfather is into real estate and will help us find a place to live, and I will be graduating from high school in about 4 months and my brother is for sure enthusiastic about staying in school. Our father is just a miserable human being who is really contributing nothing to our growth at this point in our lives. Do you think we meet the requirements to become emancipted in California?

1 You must be at least fourteen years old.
2 You must be living apart from your parents with their consent or acquiescence.
3 You must be managing your finances and have a legal source of income.
4 The judge must find that emancipation is in your best interests.
5 The judge also wants to see that you are in school or have a GED.

I'm sure that we meet 1, 3, 4, and 5, but as far as 2 goes... we can move in with either of our grandparents or our stepfather while we attempt to get emancipated, but our dad might not agree with it.. but I was told as long as he isn't actively trying to get us to come back it counts, as much as he might bitch about it.

I am sorry if this post isn't the most coherent, this has been heavy on my mind for awhile and I'd really appreciate any advice. We need to get out of here.

I think you'll need more for #3 - that is, you'll need to prove not just that you are capable of supporting yourself at that moment, but that you are managing your own financial affairs and will continue to do so into the future. If your father goes to court and contends that you moved out without his consent or acquiescence, you would probably be unable to establish that factor.