16, Emotionally Abused, Feel Like Time is Running Out

My question involves emancipation laws for the State of: Georgia

I'm 16 years old and reside in georgia. my parents have always mentally abused me but recently it's gotten worse. i dont think they realize they do it, however, last april i was "dragged" by my boyfriend to the school guidance counselor because i honestly wanted to commit suicide. (a few weeks before this i asked my mom to set me up for counseling sessions and by either miscommunication, or sheer denial, she did not do so, nor did she attempt to do so.) For those of you who know the numbering score, i scored a 43. The counselor was forced to call my parents and was not allowed to leave me alone. i was taken to the local hospital's emergency room where BHL did yet another evaluation. i was allowed to go home because of the interpretation of my answers, however, when taken to an office to set up counseling my mother admitted to thinking that i didnt need it at all. (and two months later, my father now shares the same views. he wasnt necessarily emotionally abusive, however he can get very verbally abusive and has slapped me and hit me with a leather belt before.)
I was kinda okay for a while but im starting to slip back into the suicidal-ish state of mind and almost once a week my boyfriend has to frantically talk me out of running away/ killing myself. i need to become emancipated (within about 6 months, but i prefer NOW just for fear of my safety) because staying in this environment isnt helping nor are things staying the same; they are all declining rapidly. I really need answers, please!

You are not going to like this answer. It is, however, the legal truth. And no, I am not "judging" you or anything of the kind - I am simply telling you the facts.

Fact #1 - Georgia has recently tightened up their emancipation laws to that it is now virtually impossible for a minor to be emancipated.

Fact #2 - Even if that were not so, in no state in the US will a suicidal teen be emancipated. Ever. Under any circumstances whatsoever.

Fact #3 - Even if Georgia had not tightened up their laws, and even if you were not suicidal, you have not indicated that you are capable of supporting yourself without assistance, meaning that you do not qualify for emancipation.

Emancipation is not and never was intended to be a means for a teen to leave a bad situation. It was and is intended to be a means of providing legal protections to those teens who, for reasons outside their own control, found themselves living on their own.

If you are being abused, there are answers for you. But those answers will not include emancipation.

Now, if you are like most of the teens who post here, you will now come back with a multitude of reasons why what I have just said does not apply to you and why you should be emancipated anyway. Note that none of those reasons will change one word of what I have just said. If your goal is to be free of physical abuse, there are answers this board can give you that will help. If your goal is emancipation and nothing else but, then there's nothing we can tell you other than what I already have.

No ive read through a lot of what teens post here. I wont say all of that is wrong and i understand that a few factors would keep me from it. I am, however, capable of supporting myself (ive got a job waiting, as well as found an apartment i can afford on my own. utilities and all)

Is there any advice and/or loopholes to find a way to emancipate myself?

There aren't loopholes. That's the whole point of cbg's post.

Quote:

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i understand that a few factors would keep me from it.

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It only takes ONE factor, and it's all done. The fact that you've been suicidal, regardless of the reason, effectively puts an end to any hope for emancipation. The rest is really irrelevent - even if you HAD a job, health insurance, and the many other factors needed before a court will even consider emancipation. Courts simply will not consider emancipating teens whose problem-solving skills kit includes the suicide card.

Since you have enough money for an apartment....why not obtain counseling on your own?

And listen...my life was not rosy when I was your age. I was bullied in school. My grandmother was extremely strict, as well as mentally and verbally abusive. I lived through it.

Find a hobby like music or writing that you can use as an outlet. Get that counseling on your own (talk to your school counselor, they should be able to refer you someplace that has a sliding scale fee). Continue to work and save money. Look forward to that day when you are 18 and have your diploma and can leave on your own. (If you insist on leaving before graduation, please be studying to have your GED by then)

Also, read the book "Why Does He Do That" (can't think of the author..Lundy Bancroft?). But remember it is not always a boyfriend, the book can apply to girlfriends, parents, etc. It will show you why people act that way, and how to think.....

I live in Georgia. The Georgia legislature has gone out of their way to eliminate any real chance a teen that is currently living at home and eating regularly.

Further, the moment that you say you are routinely suicidal, your chances go BELOW zero.

You see, the court figures that if you are suicidal over what your parents say, then you will find another reason to be suicidal when you are on your own... the difference being that there is no one around when you are emancipated to stop you.

I concur with the above but will add that you can always contact Georgia DFCS at...

Child Protective Services
404-651-9361 (phone)
404-657-4483 (fax)
General information: 404-657-3400

Which i can understand, however, its not necessarily my parents being that make me that way, just the daily abuses. Being on my own actually makes me feel better as the tense atmosphere mostly dissipates. But, i understand this may not be a viable argument in a courtroom. But is there nothing i CAN do to convince a court? such as recordings and the like?

And I realize maybe im being a little annoying, but i want to find some alternative. Even if it's not actually becoming emancipated (which, honestly, would help a LOOOT more) i just want some way to get out, where my parents can't [B]make[B] me come back. I understand there was a "moving out at 17" policy at one point, can anyone explain that if no emancipation can take place at all?

Seriously - you ARE NOT going to be emancipated.

Period. Even if.

If you're genuinely being abused, social services can remove you from the home and place you in a foster home or other alternative.

But is there nothing i CAN do to convince a court? such as recordings and the like?

NO. There is nothing you can do to convince a court. The legislature of Georgia DOES NOT WANT MINORS TO BE EMANCIPATED. They have taken affirmative action, deliberately, to make it so difficult for a minor to be emancipated that you are wasting your (and everyone else's) time even discussing it.

You can move out at 17 WITH your parents' permission. There is NO provision anywhere in the law to allow a minor to move out without the permission of their parents.

If you are being abused, you can call CPS or whatever the child protective services are called in you area. They will NOT emancipate and they will NOT allow you to live on your own and they will NOT allow you to move in with your boyfriend or his family. If you have any idea of any of those resolutions happening, get them out of your mind right now because they simply are not going to happen. If CPS finds that you would be better off living elsewhere, then they will place you in foster care or a group home or some other supervised facility. But unless you are removed from your parents' care by the authorities, there are no legal means by which you can move out, prior to the age of 18 and not one minute before, unless your parents give you permission.

Nothing you will say to the court will trump your parents saying, "she is currently under observation for suicidal thoughts".

It just won't.