Can a Teen Parent Get Emancipated to Qualify for Public Assistance

My question involves guardianship in the State of: Texas
My grandson is now 19 years of age, his girlfriend is 15 years of age. They have a 7 month old daughter and have been living together for close to a year unmarried. They are wanteing to apply for state or goverment help for housing and financial however with the girls age they are having problems. How can this issue be solved? Is emancipation for her the answer and if so what is required to do so? My grandson works a a decent job however it is not enough to meet rent, food, utilities, personal needs, gas etc. therefore they need assistance.

There is no chance at all of her being emancipated.

What EXACTLY is the State saying when she applies?

How Can This Be Done

It can't. There is only one state that will even consider emancipation of a 15 year old; that state is not Texas; and even in the one state that will consider it, for it to happen she'd need to be either an Olympic class athlete or spend her spare time as an extra in the Hunger Games movies.

If she needs government support to survive then she doesn't qualify for emancipation anyway.

Now I think about it, grandson might have FAR more serious issues to deal with.

The age of consent in Texas is 17; the exception is that someone over the age of 14 can have sex with someone no more than 3 years older without penalty.

No matter how we figure out the math in this case, he does not fall under that exception.


(And are her parents completely insane?!)

What does guardianship have to do with your question?

Grandson might be smarter to review his options with legal counsel.

TX allows for emancipation by marriage ..and it is possible to get married at 15 IF the right combinations of parental or guardian consent or court order are present ....but NOT otherwise!

TX allows for a defense against statutory rape by marriage status ...but that does NOT seem to fit the math going backwards if some prosecutor wants to address the points...

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Quoting HRinDEVON

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What does guardianship have to do with your question?

Grandson might be smarter to review his options with legal counsel.

TX allows for emancipation by marriage ..and it is possible to get married at 15 IF the right combinations of parental or guardian consent or court order are present ....but NOT otherwise!

TX allows for a defense against statutory rape by marriage status ...but that does NOT seem to fit the math going backwards if some prosecutor wants to address the points...

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Subsequent marriage does not provide an affirmative defense for acts committed before the marriage occurred.

Which is clearly the case here.

His girlfriend’s parents or guardians still have the obligation to support her. Having a child doesn’t change that. If her family has the ability to support her then the government is not going to do it (nor should the government have to do it — the taxpayers ought not be paying for the girl’s mistake here if her parents can support her).

Your grandson, of course, as the father would have a legal obligation to support the child (as does his girlfriend, of course) once his paternity is established and support is ordered by a court. The problem is that it appears that your grandson committed a sex offense by having intercourse with an underage person; confirming paternity would risk potential legal problems for him if the DA decided to pursue the matter as that would be strong evidence against him. This assumes, of course, that the intercourse took place in Texas. I strongly suggest he seek legal advice on how best to deal with this potential problem going forward.

I too question the absence of girls parents in this post....her parents would seem to have a duty to support thier child under Tx law thru age 18 and not visit their problems of taxpayers. And if necessary return the girl to her parents ....

What would happen to the girl if, say, the parents were not around (incarcerated, deceased, can't be located)? Could she possibly be removed from her current situation and placed in foster care?

7 month old baby and she's 15..poor kids (her and the baby)

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Quoting geek

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What would happen to the girl if, say, the parents were not around (incarcerated, deceased, can't be located)? Could she possibly be removed from her current situation and placed in foster care?

7 month old baby and she's 15..poor kids (her and the baby)

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Yes, that's entirely possible.

To be perfectly blunt, I also question the son's parents in this situation. I'm unaware of when it became a good idea to let a 19 year old play house with his underage girlfriend. Couldn't somebody have stepped in? Anybody?

None of which changes the fact that emancipation is a dog that's not going to hunt.

The point remains that IF the teen marries under the rather liberal TX laws that allow for same merely with parental consent or that of her guardian at age 15 then she is emancipated . The family unit may or may not qualify for means tested public assistance based on the income facts.

C'mon, Drew. Do you REALLY think that there's a reasonable likelihood of marriage in this kid's immediate future? Seriously? More than a .01% chance? That even if the parents agree, a court is going to permit the marriage of a 15 year old child with a 7 month old baby, who clearly needs far more supervision than she's been given and whose boyfriend under ANY state definition committed a crime when he impregnated her?

I don't. And if you do, my opinion of your capability for rational thought (which isn't that high to begin with, frankly) just plummeted several points. And if you don't, what the Foxtrot are you bringing it up for?

Im all in favor of holding girls parents accountable for all her support thru 18 and not visiting any of this on taxpayers .

But my crystal ball is out as what a TX might do as to best meeting needs of infant.

And at 16 court permission is no longer required ..just parental

But she isn't 16, is she?

No, not yet...

What would be more helpful is for OP to comment on what efforts are being made to hold her parents feet to fire to support her .....

I tire of everything being visited upon the taxpayer

Well, you're certainly not going to get any arguments from me on that one. But if they're not doing their duty to her and she's already got a child of her own, frankly foster care is a lot more likely than marriage. And you should know that.

Is this REALLY necessary? For real?

Marriage WILL NOT make Daddy's previous crimes go away.

Marriage WILL NOT make the parents immune from prosecution.

And clearly somebody hasn't thought too hard or too long about this one... marriage WILL NOT make things easier for Junior Mom.

marriage might ease fit into TANF if the point is to qualify for public assistance ....that doesn't change my personal view that girls parents need to be supporting her as required by law ...but i didn't t write the TANF rules...

TX would hang this dude and someone needs to call the police and have this little girl and her baby removed from this situation. Each individual sexual act (and they aren't celibate) is a completely separate charge

Drew, stop it. Just stop it. You are making up scenarios again and those of us who've known you longer that the mods of this board are getting pretty damned sick of it.

There is no friggin' way, given this particular fact pattern, that the state of Texas is going approve the marriage of a 15 year old. And if you're not smart enough to realize that, you've got no business posting here or anywhere else.

I'm right there with you when it comes to holding her parents responsible. But as for the rest of it, you're so far out in left field you can't even see the ball park.

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Quoting HRinDEVON

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marriage might ease fit into TANF if the point is to qualify for public assistance ....that doesn't change my personal view that girls parents need to be supporting her as required by law ...but i didn't t write the TANF rules...

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Do I really need to explain the obvious flaw in your little idea?

I mean I'd draw you a picture with crayons, but I doubt you'd understand that either.

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Quoting cbg

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Drew, stop it. Just stop it. You are making up scenarios again and those of us who've known you longer that the mods of this board are getting pretty damned sick of it.

There is no friggin' way, given this particular fact pattern, that the state of Texas is going approve the marriage of a 15 year old. And if you're not smart enough to realize that, you've got no business posting here or anywhere else.

I'm right there with you when it comes to holding her parents responsible. But as for the rest of it, you're so far out in left field you can't even see the ball park.

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C my darling, I'm fed-up with him and he's only been posting since what... June? SPINNY would make more sense. There. I said it.

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Quoting Dogmatique

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Do I really need to explain the obvious flaw in your little idea?

I mean I'd draw you a picture with crayons, but I doubt you'd understand that either.

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Can I haz the crayons?