High School Senior Wants to Emancipate

My question involves juvenile law in the State of: Texas. I am 17 years old and live Texas, I am currently a senior and have a good paying job 10$ and hour and i work 8 hours 5 days a week. I want to apply for emancipation or at least know my rights until i am 18 . 6 more months to go. I have a permanent spot to live with my sister until i move with my mom to Florida. Right now I am being threatened by my dad saying he'll "drag me" if i get in contact with my mom or sisters. Also i have recordings of him being negative towards me and saying this. My mom says to stay where Im at because im not grown i dont know what to do. what are my rights? can leave without telling my dad?

Here's the Texas emancipation statute. It explains the process.

http://minors.uslegal.com/emancipati...-of-minor-law/

Note that 31.002 (b) requires that "a parent of the petitioner must verify the petition."

That alone might prevent you from succeeding.

Emancipation is a complex and time consuming process. Even if you were successful at getting court approval (iffy) it would probably take quite a number of months until you get through the court system.

At this stage you should probably just suck it up until you are 18 and then you can go where you please.

Well am I allowed to go to my sisters? They know where I will be at. they meaning my dad and grandmother, its just until i turn 18 or graduate from high school. Do i have to tell them anything because me being 17 and in the gray area age wise

Texas has special laws for 17 year old runaways. As long as the parent and local law enforcement are notified where you are, staying with your sister in TX should be legal as she is not in a position where she would be "taking advantage of you". You need to research the appropriate codes to make sure you both are legally covered.

What do you mean taken advantage ? And I talked to CPS and The Harris county Sheriff department.

If it were for a boyfriend who would be getting sex, thing like that. I'm sorry I am not up to researching and providing the exact code today. Suffice it to say within the parameters of TX law you can move in with your sister at 17 usually. Just make sure to comply with runaway and harboring statutes.

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Quoting kirstink17

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What do you mean taken advantage ? And I talked to CPS and The Harris county Sheriff department.

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Conspiring with your sister to run away from home, antagonizing both of your parents in the process, does not sound like much of a plan.

My mother knows what's going on. I will be moving with her in a few months.

Given that Dad appears to be the custodial parent, Mom's knowledge isn't going matter.

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Quoting kirstink17

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My mother knows what's going on. I will be moving with her in a few months.

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Appears that your father has legal custody of you and has control over where you live as long as you are under 18.

If he objects to your moving out, he may be able to have you hauled back by the police.

If he objects hard enough he may be able to get your sister charged with custodial interference.

He's already told you that he'll "drag you" back if you try to leave.

As for you moving to FL with your mother, is your mother going to court to get awarded custody of you? If not, then she has no right to take you out of state.

Seems to me like you risk unleashing a firestorm if you try to leave before you're 18. As unpleasant as you think it is now, that could make things so much worse.

Again, I suggest you just suck it up until you are 18, then leave.

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Quoting kirstink17

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My mom says to stay where Im at because im not grown i dont know what to do. what are my rights? can leave without telling my dad?

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Quoting kirstink17

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My mother knows what's going on. I will be moving with her in a few months.

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You just told us that your mom doesn't want you to run away from home. You need to make up your mind.

See TX Family Code section 25. Read each one then finish with 25-06. You should be able to determine under what conditions it is legal to run away to your sisters.

He doesn't have legal custody.

You have told us that you live with your dad, and that your mom wants you to live with your dad. It thus appears to be only in your wild, immature fantasies that dad doesn't have custody.

I live with my grandmother weekdays and weekends with my dad. It's not immature if you come to pass judgment you can leave because I have been threatened by this man

You change your story with every new post.

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Quoting kirstink17

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I live with my grandmother weekdays and weekends with my dad.

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That's something you should have explained at the beginning of this thread.

So who was awarded custody by the court and with what division of custody?

Please don't answer that unless you have the court order in front of you.

Otherwise what you think you know or what you mightHo have been told might not be entirely accurate.

A visit to the courthouse and a look in the case file will get you a copy of the order.

How, exactly, did your father threaten you? What words did he use? Did he commit an act of physical violence on you or threaten to do so? Explain thoroughly.

If she claims to be abused, she can attempt to get help from protective services. Claiming that she was abused in some fashion isn't going to either allow her to get emancipated or justify her running away to another state.

Yes I have recordings of him threatening to hit me. He has already assaulted my step mom and has been arrested before for assault charges

Kirstin, I'm going somewhere specific with this. Please answer the following:

1.) In what part of Texas do you live?
2.) Have you graduated from high school?
3.) How long before you turn 18?

I have proof of the abuse. It's not like I'm just making this up. I've talked to te Sheriff department and CPS. They said that me being 17 they can't force me to go
Back if I feel unsafe. They are just worried about my safety.

Please answer my questions.

Houston. This is my last year in High school an exactly 6 months I'll be 18.

Thank you. I need to check some things - I'll be back later with more info.

WHO has custody of you (on paper) and with WHAT division of custody?

Please don't ignore this question again.

My mother. She is my legal guardian on paper. What do you mean division.

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Quoting kirstink17

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I have proof of the abuse. It's not like I'm just making this up. I've talked to te Sheriff department and CPS. They said that me being 17 they can't force me to go back if I feel unsafe. They are just worried about my safety. I have recordings of him threatening to hit me. He has already assaulted my step mom and has been arrested before for assault charges

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Based on the history of domestic violence in your family I suggest you quit mucking about with strangers on the internet and get yourself some professional help NOW.

Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse - DVDA
Monday - Friday: 9:00am - 4:00pm
1001 Texas Ave., Suite 600
713-224-9911 (call for appointment)

http://avda-tx.org/

More information from the Houston PD:

http://www.houstontx.gov/police/fvu/po.htm

Your solution may be as simple as taking out a protective order against your father and just not showing up at his place on weekends. Then, if he violates the order, he goes to jail.

The domestic violence element of your situation requires immediate action on your part.

If you aren't willing to that, then nothing you learn here will help you and you'll be stuck in the situation until you are 18.

Thank you. Anything helps.

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If I do a protective order , will he be allowed to contact me at all?

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Quoting kirstink17

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Thank you. Anything helps.

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If I do a protective order , will he be allowed to contact me at all?

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Depends on how it's written.

I suppose you can have it written to allow phone calls without any personal contact.

You'll have to check on that.

Generally, though, protective orders are all or nothing.

You might be able to make it for a specific duration, like maybe to lapse on your 18th birthday. Then resume whatever level of relationship you want to have.

You might be able to make it for a specific duration, like maybe to lapse on your 18th birthday. Then resume whatever level of relationship you want to have.[/QUOTE]

What do you mean by this?

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Quoting adjusterjack

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You might be able to make it for a specific duration, like maybe to lapse on your 18th birthday. Then resume whatever level of relationship you want to have.

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Quoting kirstink17

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What do you mean by this?

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This kit from the TX Attorney General explains all the options

https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov...tiveKit_dv.pdf

Go to your local police department and advise them you are running away to live with your sister and give them her address. They will make a report and you should be legal as should your sister. Do not in any manner say she encouraged it. Simply advise she agreed to allow you to stay there until you turn 18 if you are bound and determined to run away because she does not want you living on the streets.

The following applies ONLY to the initial question, which had to do with emancipation. It does not address other options.

For the state to recognize you as emancipated, you need to be self-supporting. That means that you, without any help from anyone, are paying your own rent, food, utilities, clothing, transportation, medical care, insurance, staples, school fees and supplies, and all the other incidentals of life.

Your gross income is $400 a week. I don't know that you'll be able to work 40 hours a week once school starts again, not and keep your grades up. If you don't have a higher than average GPA, that's going to work against you in the emancipation process. A gross income of $400 a week means a net income of a little less than $350, and that's before any deductions for health insurance. (Yes, you are required by law to have health insurance.) I did some looking at rents in the Houston area and the cheapest one I found was $240 week, but that required that you be 18. Even so, $240 a week doesn't leave you a whole lot more to pay utilities and food, let alone medical care, transportation and insurance. You're likely to be looking at living in someone else's house, with a single bedroom and maybe use of the kitchen.

AND by the time you're established as self-supporting, assuming you can find someone to rent to you before your 18th birthday, sufficiently for the state to consider an emancipation petition, you'll be 18 and it will be a moot point.

There are other options, but emancipation does not appear to be a viable one.

So could I live with my sister?

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Quoting kirstink17

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My mother. She is my legal guardian on paper. What do you mean division.

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That wasn't the question.

Legal guardianship is different from custody.

Both your parents are your legal guardians but as a result of the divorce the court will award custody to one of the parents with visitation allowed for the other. Sometimes there is shared custody where one parent has custody of the minor most of the time and the other part of the time.

You still haven't answered the question about what was on the court's custody order.

And there's also the issue of why you live with your grandmother during the week. That's where guardianship might come in. Was she awarded guardianship by the court or is it an informal arrangement with either of your parents?

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Quoting kirstink17

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So could I live with my sister?

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You could but the protective order only affects your relationship with your father.

It does not entitle you to live with your sister, nor would it prevent your father from reporting custodial interference to the authorities.

What the police or your sister know or do does not prevent him from filing in family court to regain custody.

Keep in mind that I'm giving you worst case scenario.

You could move in with your sister and a big mess might erupt that might take months to resolve to the detriment of everybody involved, or maybe you could move in with your sister and nothing at all happens.

It's a gamble that everybody around you has to take.

The major point here being you do not need to seek emancipation or file for a protective order against dad to legally run away and live with your sister. You simply need to notify the local police where you will be and your sister cannot entice you to run away. She can only decide to allow you to stay since your other option appears to be the streets.

Ok well my dad isnt even on my birth certifacte my parents weren't even married. It hasn't been any court it's just been them taking me. My dad would automatically be out the picture because one of his past and two because of the allegations and recordings I have of him. This has happen before but when my mother was down here. I got legal advice. It states " a 17 year old is not a runaway if the guardian, parent , or parents know the whereabouts. As well the police cannot force me to go back home.

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I've called the sheriff department. I don't know if they kept that on file or anything but how would I go about this.

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Quoting kirstink17

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Ok well my dad isnt even on my birth certifacte my parents weren't even married. It hasn't been any court it's just been them taking me. My dad would automatically be out the picture because one of his past and two because of the allegations and recordings I have of him. This has happen before but when my mother was down here. I got legal advice. It states " a 17 year old is not a runaway if the guardian, parent , or parents know the whereabouts. As well the police cannot force me to go back home.

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I've called the sheriff department. I don't know if they kept that on file or anything but how would I go about this.

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Let me get this right.

You're fine with Dad - heck you LIVE with Dad - right up until you want to do something he doesn't like, and suddenly he's the anti-Christ?

Awesome.

I'm not fine with him. This man has threatened me an i do not feel safe with him If you come to be sarcastic then don't reply. I'm just looking on what to do and advice

I have been politely trying to pass on the hint that you can leave without trying to ruin dads life. Apparently you are too stupid to follow the instructions. We can all have a snark party if you wish.

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Quoting kirstink17

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I'm not fine with him. This man has threatened me an i do not feel safe with him If you come to be sarcastic then don't reply. I'm just looking on what to do and advice

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