Emancipation in Pennsylvania at 17
My question involves juvenile law in the State of: Pennsylvania
I am 16 years old and want to get emancipated when I turn 17 in September. I want to move in with my 22 year old friend. He makes a decent amount of money, has a house, and is now attending online classes for collage. I live at home with my mother, sister, and my moms boyfriend. I feel like my mom is holding me back from moving forward with my life. She has been in rehab for drug abuse when I was 5 and still continues to use them, she has been in jail several times for stealing and is about to be put back in for failing to complete her community service hours. I feel like I could make it living with my friend and finishing up high school. What procedures should I take in order to make this happen? And what are the chances that this could work for me?
Re: Emancipation in Pennsylvania at 17
Get a job paying about $20k per year and maintain it for a year, to show the court you can attend school full time, as well as provide independently food, clothing, shelter, housing and insurance for yourself. Wanting to shack up with your 22 year old boy friend, is proof to the court you need more supervision, not less.
Re: Emancipation in Pennsylvania at 17
What procedures should I take in order to make this happen? As you were instructed to do, read the stickied threads regarding your state laws to find out why your chances of being emancipated under the circumstances you describe are non-existent.
And what are the chances that this could work for me? So slim that they'd have to increase by a thousandfold before they would be big enough to reach the 10,000 foot ladder they would have to climb in order to reach zero.
Re: Emancipation in Pennsylvania at 17
Nothing you have said justifies emancipation. Emancipation is not a process for escaping parental enslavement, it's a recognition of those children who are already independent that need relief from certain things like being able to enter into contracts. You won't get emancipated to go shack up with a friend.
We don't turn lose abused children to fend for themselves. If they are truly abused rather than just annoyed at their parents, we put them in alternative custodial care.
Sorry, you'll have to continue to be "held back" until you turn 18.
Re: Emancipation in Pennsylvania at 17
Additionally, Pennsylvania has NO statute allowing for the emancipation of a minor - it's done on the county-level.
Re: Emancipation in Pennsylvania at 17
And you have to be self-supporting, 100%. No living with a friend or roommate. And no judge in their right mind is gonna let a teen live with a 22 year old.
PS: I hope this 16 year old and 22 year old are not having sexual relations, as the 22 year old can be charged with a variety of sex offenses.