Can a 17-Year-Old Get Emancipated if He Can Support Himself

My question involves juvenile law in the State of: Indiana
My son is 17. Has a job making enough money to live on his own. His dad is horrible. We have called CPS several times but he feeds them lies and they fall for it. I do not have the money to pursue custody of my son. He is to the point that if something isn't done soon he has threatened to run away or kill himself. I need help. I don't know what to do for him.

Just exactly what is dad doing that is so horrible? And how long before Junior turns 18?

We've had teens here claiming everything from being beaten to not being allowed to play on a sports team and calling everything in between, abuse. Where on the spectrum does this fall?

Emancipation is not and never was intended to be a means to allow a teen to leave a bad situation; it was and is intended to provide legal protections to those teens who, through circumstances outside their own control, found themselves living on their own.

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Quoting Calla429

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My question involves juvenile law in the State of: Indiana
My son is 17. Has a job making enough money to live on his own. His dad is horrible. We have called CPS several times but he feeds them lies and they fall for it. I do not have the money to pursue custody of my son. He is to the point that if something isn't done soon he has threatened to run away or kill himself. I need help. I don't know what to do for him.

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You can't, and shouldn't, do anything for him.

Emancipation means he is given the rights of an adult and the obligations of an adult. One of those obligations to figure out for himself how to go to court and convince a judge to emancipate him.

Fortunately, Indiana appears to be a bit more liberal than other states, and does not appear to even require parental consent.

I don't know what you mean by "has a job making enough money to live on his own" but does he make enough money to pay rent, utilities, transportation expenses and other living expenses? If yes to all that ($2000 per month or better) then maybe he is ahead of the game.

Read the statute. Have your son read the statute.

Emancipation of child; findings; Terms - Indiana Code §31-34-20-6:
Sec. 6.
(a) The juvenile court may emancipate a child under section 1(5) of this chapter if the court finds that the child:
(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.
(b) If the juvenile court partially or completely emancipates the child, the court shall specify the terms of the emancipation, which may include the following:
(1) Suspension of the parent’s or guardian’s duty to support the child. In this case the judgment of emancipation supersedes the support order of a court.
(2) Suspension of the following:
(A) The parent’s or guardian’s right to the control or custody of the child.
(B) The parent’s right to the child’s earnings.
(3) Empowering the child to consent to marriage.
(4) Empowering the child to consent to military enlistment.
(5) Empowering the child to consent to:
(A) medical;
(B) psychological;
(C) psychiatric;
(D) educational; or
(E) social services.
(6)Empowering the child to contract.
(7) Empowering the child to own property.
(c) An emancipated child remains subject to the following:
(1) IC 20-8.1-3 concerning compulsory school attendance.
(2) The continuing jurisdiction of the court.

Note that the petition gets filed with the juvenile court but I have found no forms or instructions anywhere online so your son will either have to hire a lawyer or go to a law library where he can look up this stuff.

He might not be able to convince CPS that his problems with his father amount to much but he might be able to convince a judge of his "ability" to be an adult in spite of CPS's opinion.

NO GUARANTEES that any of this will work but he's got nothing to lose by trying.

Otherwise, he will just have to stick it out until he's 18.

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Quoting Calla429

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he has threatened to run away or kill himself.

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On the other hand, if he's that unstable and mentally challenged maybe he still needs a keeper for a while longer. Or are you just giving us emotional hype to elicit sympathy which is what we usually get from non-custodial parents about their childrens' plight with the custodial parent?

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Quoting Calla429

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My question involves juvenile law in the State of: Indiana
My son is 17. Has a job making enough money to live on his own. His dad is horrible. We have called CPS several times but he feeds them lies and they fall for it. I do not have the money to pursue custody of my son. He is to the point that if something isn't done soon he has threatened to run away or kill himself. I need help. I don't know what to do for him.

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If he's 17, he can leave soon enough (at 18). To him, that probably sounds like an eternity, but you must encourage him to hang in there and be patient. He should be saving his work earnings and considering education beyond high school. That can be college, trade or technical school, etc. If he has something to plan ahead for, that will probably make the present time more tolerable. He may also benefit from counseling.

If he is threatening suicide, you need to get him help ASAP from a Mental Health Professional. He is going to run into people that are horrible to him living his life. He needs to learn how to deal with it.

My son's biggest complaint about dad is that he lives in a home that son calls "uninhabitable" (sewage in yard from the septic system, large 4 ft hole in bathroom floor that goes down to the basement, and he has no bed only an air mattress while his other children all have beds). I have not personally seen this as I am not allowed in ex's home. Both of my kids and other family members have told me that they deal drugs out of the home (CPS told me to mind my own business as I have not seen it personally it becomes hearsay). My children are not allowed to eat the same dinner as the other children because "they eat too much". Mark (son) has a job making $2000 /mo and now dad is making him pay rent while he has no job.
The list goes on.
I understand that this is not ideally what emancipation was created for but Mark wants to pursue it as an option.
He will be 18 in January.
I agree that he needs to see someone for counseling but dad refuses due to a past experience where a counselor told dad that he was doing harm to his children by treating them this way. Dad has custody so I cannot take Mark for counseling.

Thank you for the information. I will have Mark read it. I don't think he's unstable. I think he's just at the end of his rope in regards to how much he can take from his dad. However, ideally, I'd still like him to get counseling but dad refuses.
I am not intentionally submitting "emotional hype" but I do understand your position. As a mother I do feel an emotional need to provide the best for my kids which includes protecting them from pain inflicted from others. And I will admit that I do feel strongly about this issue but my intention is to gather information that may or may not help my son. If emancipation is not the correct path to pursue in this situation I need to be able to show Mark why. I need to present Mark with well informed options.

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Quoting geek

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If he's 17, he can leave soon enough (at 18). To him, that probably sounds like an eternity, but you must encourage him to hang in there and be patient. He should be saving his work earnings and considering education beyond high school. That can be college, trade or technical school, etc. If he has something to plan ahead for, that will probably make the present time more tolerable. He may also benefit from counseling.

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Thank you. This is a point that I have brought to his attention as well.

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Quoting Mercy&Grace

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If he is threatening suicide, you need to get him help ASAP from a Mental Health Professional. He is going to run into people that are horrible to him living his life. He needs to learn how to deal with it.

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I attempted to but dad blocked my attempts. I agree - he will run across many painful situations in life. So far he has presented himself very admirably however he has already endured so much. I am only trying to help him find out what all his options are.

You need to talk to a mental health dr and get advice on things that you might be able to do to get your son into treatment. Threatening suicide should never be taken lightly. If he commints suicide, blaming your ex will not being Mark back.

I do not understand why CPS will not get involved if dad's home is clearly as uninhabitable as it sounds. When school starts again have the child talk to his school guidance counselor about the situation at home. They are mandated reporters and their reports tend to be taken quite seriously.

Chances are his age has a lot to do with CPS not being concerned about the condition of his fathers house. Or what is being described isn't accurate. A 17 yr old has the ability to pitch in and help clean, a child 5 yrs old doesn't..

Can your son speak to school counselors about his suicidal thoughts? That should get him some help for his mental state. Turning 18 in January, I suspect he might not get any emancipation hearings on a docket before then.

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Quoting Mercy&Grace

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Chances are his age has a lot to do with CPS not being concerned about the condition of his fathers house. Or what is being described isn't accurate. A 17 yr old has the ability to pitch in and help clean, a child 5 yrs old doesn't..

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Bingo!

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Quoting Mercy&Grace

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Chances are his age has a lot to do with CPS not being concerned about the condition of his fathers house. Or what is being described isn't accurate. A 17 yr old has the ability to pitch in and help clean, a child 5 yrs old doesn't..

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You have a valid point but a 4 ft hole in the bathroom floor that goes down into the basement and sewage from a leaking septic system is a bit different than just dirty. It also appears that there are younger children in the home as well. The 17 year old does not appear to be the only child.