Can I Get Emancipated in Maine

My question involves emancipation laws for the State of: Maine
I am 16, I will be 17 this December. I really need to get emancipated as soon as I can. I am an emotional mess, but not suicidal. My parents fight every day, They have a low income and they have a hard time supporting me and my brothers. There is never any food in our house, only enough to have small portions once maybe twice a day. I am mistreated often. I am told I am fat and i need to stop eating junk food when that's all my mom buys and she wont get anything extra for me. Living in my home is not safe for me or any of my brothers. I find myself being sad, emotionless, hurt, emotional sick and I always have a constant head ache due to stress. I have to take care of my three little brothers and I am not aloud to have any freedom. They use my money to buy McDonalds and go to fairs and parks and to get things here and there and never pay me back. They bounced my account and I have a negative balance in my account. My parents call me a little bitch when I stand up for myself towards them. They try and keep my from my friends and don't let me see my family unless i have one of my siblings with me because they don't want me to be free from there rules and control. I am a High honor student, I have a job making $9.00 an hour and I have a way to work and a place to stay with a distant family member. Is emaciation right for me?

No, you will not qualify to become emancipated.

Please read the other posts here about emancipation; it's about need, not about being unhappy at home.

Your only real option is your parents allowing you to go and live with the family member.

I should have been more specific. I NEED to leave my house. My parents threaten me with punishment if i try and move out. I have been emotionally abused for six years now and i can NOT take much more.

That's not "need" as far as the law is concern. Punishing you for running away is called good parenting. If you are being abused try 1 800 4 A CHILD or your local social services department. The answer for that is removing you and placing you with alternate (foster) care NOT letting you run around on your own.

I would not be running around on my own. I would be living with a distant family member. If good parenting is not being aloud to eat, leave my room, or contact my family for months, then i question your help.

Quote:

---

Quoting Title 15, Part 6, Chpt. 511 § 3506-A. Emancipation.
1. Petition for emancipation. If a juvenile is 16 years of age or older and refuses to live in the home provided by his parents, guardian or custodian, he may request the District Court in the division in which his parents, guardian or custodian resides to appoint counsel for him to petition for emancipation.

2. Contents of petition. The petition shall state plainly:

A. The facts which bring the juvenile within the court's jurisdiction and which form the basis for the petition;

B. The name, date of birth, sex and residence of the juvenile; and

C. The name and residence of his parent or parents, guardian or custodian.

2-A. Mediation. Upon the filing of a petition and prior to a hearing under this section, the court may refer the parties to mediation. Any agreement reached by the parties through mediation on any issues shall be stated in writing, signed by the parties and presented to the court for approval as a court order.

3. Hearing. On the filing of a petition, the court shall schedule a hearing and shall notify the parent or parents, guardian or custodian of the date of the hearing, the legal consequences of an order of emancipation, the right to be represented by legal counsel and the right to present evidence at the hearing. Notice shall be given in the manner provided in the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 4, for service of process.

4. Order of emancipation. The court shall order emancipation of the juvenile if it determines that:

A. The juvenile has made reasonable provision for his room, board, health care and education, vocational training or employment; and

B. The juvenile is sufficiently mature to assume responsibility for his own care and it is in his best interest to do so.

5. Denial of petition. If the court determines that the criteria established in subsection 4 are not met, the court shall deny the petition and may recommend that the Department of Human Services provide continuing services and counseling to the family.

6. Appeal. Any person named in the petition who is aggrieved by the order of the court may appeal to the Superior Court.

7. Public proceeding; exception. Notwithstanding section 3307, subsection 2, paragraph B, the court shall not exclude the public unless the minor or the minor's parent or parents, guardian or custodian, requests that the public be excluded and the minor or the minor's parent or parents, guardian or custodian, does not object. If the public is excluded, only the parties, their attorneys, court officers and witnesses may be present.

---

I believe I do have the credentials for my state.

Then we need to be more specific also. That is still not "need" legally - that is still "want" legally.

"My parents were killed in a car crash and I need to be able to sign contracts to pay the rent and keep the light bill on" is a valid NEED for emancipation. And even then you would not be a candidate for emancipation unless you were able to show the state that you are capable of paying 100% of your own expenses (that includes the market rate for rent, utiliies, food, clothes, insurance, medical care, transportation, school fees and supplies, staples, and all the other incidentals of life). Can you do that? Because regardless of your reasons, you will NOT be emancipated unless you can, while simultaneously going to school and getting better than average grades.

If you are truly being abused, there are answers for you but one of those answers is not emancipation.

And if you ARE truly being abused - you can contact child services in your area.

Getting snippy with the volunteers here isn't going to help you, either. Hardly a show of maturity.

I am fully capable. Where I would live, I only have to pay $50 a months to cover my laundry and water. I work 6-12 hours three times a day at 9$ per hour. I have medical insurance that i pay for on my own already, my family that i would be staying with would provide me with my own transportation, I already buy my own food and clothes. I have no school frees.

Im not trying to be snappy, I really am not a disrespectful person. I am just tired of trying to find away out and people who don't listen to my whole story. I plan on joining the Army and a year and a half anyways. I am in ROTC as it is. I am always being mentally abused. I have called DHHS and they said if I wasn't emancipated I would be put into a foster home and I truly do not want that. I fear foster homes due to stories of close friends.

Quote:

---

I would be living with a distant family member.

---

That's not emancipation. That's living with someone else.

It's really cute that you think that quoting the statute - which we're all well aware of here - makes any difference to the answers you're receiving. See, you missed something important:

Quote:

---

A. The juvenile has made reasonable provision for his room, board, health care and education, vocational training or employment; and

B. The juvenile is sufficiently mature to assume responsibility for his own care and it is in his best interest to do so.

---

How much money do you make at your full time job? How much rent do you pay? How many consecutive semesters have you been on the Honor Roll or Dean's List while working full time?

Making provisions for your own care does not at any time include going off to allow someone else to support you. If you're not already doing it yourself 100%, your petition will be denied.

I make between 300 and 500 a month working part time. I have been a high honor student seance the 6th grade. i am not living with a close family member. I have to pay 50 a month for rent utilities are included . The only thing they would be giving me is food and letting my use their car.