Emancipation Rights in Texas

I already know all the procedures to getting emancipated in Texas but I still have questions. I had a friend tell me that in Texas when you turn 17 and you leave the house of your "guardians" the police can't make you come home...I was wondering if that was true. Also...are physical and mental abuse the only good reasons for emancipation? I'm not physically or mentally abused...but I do feel as if I could support myself. I'm behind in school, my license was suspended before I even got the chance to use it...and my parents aren't helping with any of this so I feel I'd be better off on my own. I feel as if I'm being held back, and living on my own would be the only way to fix that. Also if I'm only 16, and plan on getting emancipated can I leave the house without permission to prove I can live on my own?

Your friend is wrong. You have to be 18 to leave without your parents consent or emancipation.

I don't think you would qualify for emancipation under the circumstances you gave. The first thing you would have to prove is that you can FULLY support yourself. That would be very hard to do with out an education or a DL. Also, getting behind in school and losing your DL is not going to look very responsible to a judge.

What exactly do you mean by "your parents aren't helping you"?

emancipation isn't just a ticket out, it's really stressfull and you have to go before the court proving your reasons for emancipation are liable. In texas, if you're 17 you can move out on your own w/out your parents griping at you - i have like 5 friends who've done that, even though their reasons are stupid.

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Quoting french07vanilla

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emancipation isn't just a ticket out, it's really stressfull and you have to go before the court proving your reasons for emancipation are liable. In texas, if you're 17 you can move out on your own w/out your parents griping at you - i have like 5 friends who've done that, even though their reasons are stupid.

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Actually, the parents can report you as a runaway. Alot of times parents don't because either they don't know they can or they don't really whant the kid around anymore. When they do ,it is usually looked at differently than if the child were younger, too. At 17 (especially if it's close to the 18th b-day), the police will check on the child to make sure they are not out on the street and try and talk them into going home on their own and then go back to the parents, let them know their child is ok and does not want to return before they just arrest the "runaway" and return them. Of course, it depends on the police officer too. But in many circumstances they try to get the parents and child to come to a peaceful agreement when the child is close to the age of majority.