Can a Parent Emancipate a Minor Child if the Other Parent Won't Agree to Custody

[rocknhardplace]

My question involves a marriage in the state of: Florida. I 8nitiated divorce, we have a 15yr old. he wants to move far away, he got a lawyer that I cannot afford. we r only buttimg heads on our child. in the papers he wants me to sign, my child cannot sleep over at my home, cannot be left alone with my boyfriend. if i choose not to agree, I was told that my ex and my child would submit papers for her emancipation, and they would still move far away. she will be 16 next year, has no job or income, can she get emancipated from one parent? I don't see this as fair, either I agree and they stay somewhat willingly, or I don't agree and I loose my child. that can't be legal, can it?

[Mercy&Grace]

One of the requirements is she be self sufficient. That means she can pay her rent, utilities, food, health insurance, transportation, clothing, etc without help from anyone. You need to get an attorney.What Is your custody arrangement ? Is it court ordered ?

[Dogmatique]

Your post is a little muddled. Let's see if I got this straight:

You're going through a divorce. Your child lives primarily with the other parent. The other parent is threatening to move away and take the child, if you don't agree to some sort of visitation plan which says child cannot stay overnight, and cannot be left alone with your boyfriend.

Is that right so far?

[Mr. Knowitall]

...he got a lawyer that I cannot afford.

If he has significant assets or income and you do not, consider seeking a lawyer who will (a) petition the court to order him to provide an advance against the judgment to allow you to afford your own lawyer or (b) get paid out of the eventual property settlement or judgment.

in the papers he wants me to sign, my child cannot sleep over at my home, cannot be left alone with my boyfriend.

Is there a valid reason for his concern, or is this his anger at you for what he sees as your dumping him for a new love interest? Does he want you to agree that the child can never sleep over at your home at all, even if your new boyfriend is absent? A long-distance custody order with no overnights?

can she get emancipated from one parent?

No. Emancipation is from both parents. If granted, the minor can choose where she lives.

One of the requirements is she be self sufficient.

That's not the case in Florida. In Florida, the petitioning parent may provide in the proposal for emancipation a plan for how the child will be supported after emancipation, and that could include a court ordered provision for support from the parent(s).

A fifteen-year-old cannot be emancipated, and this sounds to me like an effort at intimidation as opposed to anything approximating a genuine plan. I would not expect a court, presented with an emancipation petition from one parent who is involved in a custody case and who is actually seeking custody of the child as a dependent minor in that custody case, to be particularly receptive to the petition.