Domestic Violence Emancipation

My question involves juvenile law in the State of: indiana

Hello,

I am currently 16 1/2 yrs old. I have a 3.0 GPA with several Certificates online for computer programming, neurology studies, and nano technology. These are college course classes that i choose to take out of my free time.

Anyways, My parents are not very happy, ever. They have been together for about 5yrs and out of those 4 3yrs of it has been a living hell. My stepdad has hit and beat me and my little brother. he has strangled my two older sisters before. My mom has evidence that he has hit her and thrown things at her countless times. My mom and stepdad are both VERY manipulative people! countless times they've been emotionally and mentally abusive, to the extent of attempted suicide and just going crazy because of what they expect and how they put us down. They also set VERY strict rules, for example i go to a friends house once every 3 weeks, and i am forced to work outside every day after school and on weekends. My step dad has OCD and everything in the house has to be absoloutly clean, else he will get very upset. Which is stressful for my siblings and I. My mom has told the police about being hit, but as you will soon find out they did basically nothing. about 7 weeks ago my mom registered for a protective order against him so he could not come to our house, in response he then filed for divorce. I was so happy that they were finally getting divorced! But like all good things, it ended, not their relationship, but the divorce. In court about 2 weeks ago my mom had said that she didnt want a divorce because she still "loved him" (therefore no charges went through) and the court issued that he had to go to counseling and then go from there. i dont even know if my mom is lying, but she said that he did go counselling once. in response the divorce was canceled and never went through. I am very positive that my mom has Battered wife syndrome. anyways i saw him for the first time in 7 weeks today and i was not happy with it at all! my mom pulled me out of school early, lied to me and said it was for a doctors appointment, when it was really for me to go with him to his baseball coaching (he is a coach). i sat there doing nothing, then later for probably the first time in 2.5yrs we went and got icecream. my mom just made me put on a fake act and smile and made me hug him and act like absolute nothing happened. anyways lets rewind about 2 weeks ago. My overall happiness is very depressing and theres been days that ive intentionally not gotten on the bus to go back home because i really hate it there, there was an argument between them every weekend (by argument i mean extreme yelling and hitting in some cases). i just want out

around 2 weeks ago my sisters (after hearing news of them getting back together), decide to leave (they are 20 and 19, 20yr old has a nursing license and a job, 19yr old is in ivy tech college getting her associates of nursing degree) my moms ex-friend decided to help them, in the end her ex-friend turned out to be a manipulative person and tried to get them to take care of her forever and tried to arrest my mom for made up stuff. so my sisters left this person and came back home. my stepdad has not set foot in our home for 7 weeks now, but my mom told me that she is making plans and he'll be back at the house next week fyi, he basically lives in his truck (he has a job). my mom also has a job.

I realize that i need 4 things in order to be emancipated:

(1) wishes to be free from parental control and protection and no longer needs that control and protection;
(2) has sufficient money for the child's own support;
(3) understands the consequences of being free from parental control and protection; and
(4) has an acceptable plan for independent living.

for item 1, i think it is a no-brainer i do not want to live with him again. i still love my mom, but this is a moral dilemma, and i think ive made my choice. to leave

for item 2, i can easily get a job as a developer or/and computer repair person because ive been offered a job there (had to say no because my mom forced me to)

for item 3, my mom works around the clock and i often have to take care of my brother and i. i realize how hard it is. ive also realize how hard it is to go to school and have a job, but i bet i can get it to work, it not like its an unheard thing

for item 4, My sisters are taking a finally leave this weekend for good. they said if i can work on the emancipation then i can come live with them and they will support me financially if they have too. Even if that doesnt work out i have another friend who is 25, works 40 hours a week and is attending Ivy Tech. He lives in an apartment with a spare bedroom (his mother is a landlord) and will support me as well. and if all else fails (which it wont) i can get a job and rent out a very cheap apartment without cable or other luxuries that I don't actually need.

I am getting my drivers license in 10 days, I feel that i am a very responsible individual, a smart one at that (i mean i do have bragging rights considering ive completed 20 online college courses and got credit for them too). i do realize that my GPA is painfully low, this is because as i said before, every day with him in the picture i was working outside (even if I have an exam) cleaning the goat barn out, chickens and what not. i also fix all the cars if they have a problem (unless its something big like the engine needing to be dropped because i dont have the tools for it). I am willing to leave my mom at this point

SO my question is, do you think that it is possible for me to leave and get emancipated?

Please help and thank you so so much in advanced i hope i provided enough info, i left off on some because there is just so much. and im also sorry

You don't have what is needed to be emancipated. If you and/or your sibling are being abused, you need to call Child Protective Services or the police.

Please go and talk with your school's social worker or counselor. The issue is not getting you emancipated but getting you and our brother into a safe situation. As mandated reporters, they will contact authorities if appropriate. You are still a child and should be able to live without fear of abuse; there are alternatives to emancipation. Being smart is not the issue. Being required to support yourself at a time when you should be in school and preparing for a future is not in your best interest when there are other options.

If you or your brother is ever abused and the other adults in your life do not do anything, call the police and ask to be taken to the ER where any injuries will be assessed and proper reports made.

Quote:

---

Quoting Help_

---

for item 1, i think it is a no-brainer i do not want to live with him again. i still love my mom, but this is a moral dilemma, and i think ive made my choice. to leave

---

That's the first part, that you want to move out. But wanting to move out does not establish that you don't need parental control and protection.

Quote:

---

Quoting Help_

---

for item 2, i can easily get a job as a developer or/and computer repair person because ive been offered a job there (had to say no because my mom forced me to)

---

Except you'll need that job at the time you go to court.

Quote:

---

Quoting Help_

---

for item 3, my mom works around the clock and i often have to take care of my brother and i.

---

Babysitting is a far cry from proof that you understand the consequences of emancipation. I suspect that if you were to argue, "I understand what it would mean to be emancipated because I look after my little brothers when mom's at work", the court would infer that you did not understand the consequences of emancipation. The argument, "I know it will be hard", is very superficial. It also doesn't help that, living at home, you're doing badly in school.

Quote:

---

Quoting Help_

---

for item 4, My sisters are taking a finally leave this weekend for good. they said if i can work on the emancipation then i can come live with them and they will support me financially if they have too.

---

Sorry, but saying, "I'm going to live with my sister (or an adult friend) who will support me and care for me is not evidence that you should be emancipated, and undermines the argument that you will be capable of supporting yourself.

A 3.0 GPA is not "doing badly". Its not doing great either. Its basically medium.

And the fact that the OP thinks her GPA is going to be important anywhere in the real world or that she deserves any kind of attention or credit in the real world for having done well or not done well in school is just sort of an underline of her general need to be looked after until she is older. There are so many things she is not considering here that it's frightening, unless you realize she is barely 16. Foster care isn't a great place, but it's better than being on the streets, and the OP should speak to her school counselors and to Children's services and other helping people to get her and her brother out of an abusive situation. Emancipation isn't going to be any sort of issue she can work on, and obviously her sisters don't know this either.