Emancipating a Sixteen-Year-Old Who Is Real Trouble

[twhitten]

Good day, folks. I'm not a minor. I'm 42 years. A year ago, we acquired my wifes children from her previous marriage. The 17 year girl is not much of a problem. But the soon to be 16 year boy is a goner. He has a history of problems with the law and will soon be serving time in DJJ as well as some type of live in 'military' farm established by the state (his next court date is later this month when this will happen). Prior to living with us, he was fiercely independent and had virtually no parental control over him. He's too far gone for a step back under parental control at this point. It's in everyones best interest for this child to be out of my house and on his own; everyone will be happier, I'm sure. I've enough sense to read through the qualifying steps to be taken and we'll have to work on a thing or two so don't just post the statutes again.

As the step father with guardianship status and with the consent of the mother, will obtaining emancipation for this child be difficult? Can we emancipate him without his consent? Can we emancipate one child but not the other? When does my responsibility to take care of this child cease (when he's 18 or 21)? Can I legally kick him out at age 18?

[panther10758]

Have you even read the emacipation Statute? Does he have a job? Can he support himself 100%? With a criminal past its unlikely as well. Boot camp seems like an option

[panther10758]

Quoting Florida Statutes, Section 743.015 - Disabilities of nonage; removal.
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(1) A circuit court has jurisdiction to remove the disabilities of nonage of a minor age 16 or older residing in this state upon a petition filed by the minor's natural or legal guardian or, if there is none, by a guardian ad litem.

(2) The petition shall contain the following information:
(a) The name, address, residence, and date of birth of the minor.

(b) The name, address, and current location of each of the minor's parents, if known.

(c) The name, date of birth, custody, and location of any children born to the minor.

(d) A statement of the minor's character, habits, education, income, and mental capacity for business, and an explanation of how the needs of the minor with respect to food, shelter, clothing, medical care, and other necessities will be met.

(e) Whether the minor is a party to or the subject of a pending judicial proceeding in this state or any other jurisdiction, or the subject of a judicial order of any description issued in connection with such pending judicial proceeding.

(f) A statement of the reason why the court should remove the disabilities of nonage.
(3) If the petition is filed by the natural or legal guardian, the court must appoint an attorney ad litem for the minor child, and the minor child shall be brought before the court to determine if the interest of the minor will be fully protected by the removal of disabilities of nonage. The attorney ad litem shall represent the child in all related proceedings.

(4) If the petition is filed by the guardian ad litem or next friend, service of process must be perfected on the natural parents.

(5) If both parents are not jointly petitioning the court for the removal of the disabilities of nonage of the minor, service of process must be made upon the nonpetitioning parent. Constructive service of process may be used, provided the petitioning parent makes an actual, diligent search to discover the location of, and provide notice to, the nonpetitioning parent.

(6) The court shall consider the petition and receive such evidence as it deems necessary to rule on the petition. If the court determines that removal of the disabilities of nonage is in the minor's best interest, it shall enter an order to that effect. An order removing the disabilities of nonage shall have the effect of giving the minor the status of an adult for purposes of all criminal and civil laws of the state, and shall authorize the minor thereafter to exercise all of the rights and responsibilities of persons who are 18 years of age or older.

(7) The court shall consider the petition and, if satisfied that the removal of the disabilities is in the minor's best interest, shall remove the disabilities of nonage; and shall authorize the minor to perform all acts that the minor could do if he or she were 18 years of age.

(8) The judgment shall be recorded in the county in which the minor resides, and a certified copy shall be received as evidence of the removal of disabilities of nonage for all matters in all courts.

Thus, the emancipation petition would have to be initiated by your parents.
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[twhitten]

Yes, I've read the statute. I did say that there were some things we'll have to clear up or work on. He is going away to the boot camp, he just doesn't know it yet. We're not telling him at the request of the probation office as most kids who find out what's going to happen to them tend to go crazy, give up and become hellions in what they percieve to be their last hours. The emanication would obviously come after the boot camp (6 to 9 months). That gives us plenty of time to get these things straight or well on their way to being straight.

The questions at the end of my post are the ones I'm interested in. If you don't know or cannot answer them, do you have a reference to someone who does?

[Mr. Knowitall]

As I read "A statement of the minor's character, habits, education, income, and mental capacity for business, and an explanation of how the needs of the minor with respect to food, shelter, clothing, medical care, and other necessities will be met," it does not in any way require that the minor be self-supporting. It could involve the parents providing financial support pursuant to the order of emancipation.

Florida's statute seems designed for cases similar to this, where the parents as opposed to the teenagers are interested in pursuing emancipation. But short of just letting the parents cut their troubled teens loose, the state wants to know that despite whatever reasons the parents have for seeking emancipation, the minor will not become a ward of the state or a burden on the state's taxpayers.

I question whether a teen this "out of control" would qualify, not due to support issues (which the statute indicates don't have to come from the minor's job or assets) but due to the low likelihood that he will be able to act responsibly or manage his assets in an independent household.

[panther10758]

As the step father with guardianship status and with the consent of the mother, will obtaining emancipation for this child be difficult?

Yes for all the reason already stated

Can we emancipate him without his consent?

No what would make you think you could?

Can we emancipate one child but not the other?

Yes

When does my responsibility to take care of this child cease

when he reaches age of majority (18) legally but morally never! Unless of course you are successful with emancipation which is very unlikely

Can I legally kick him out at age 18?

Yes and anything that happens to him will be his legal problem and your moral one

Now to insert opinion. Give boot camp a try make an effort teens are rebellious by nature some worse than others but as a parent you need to make the attempt. Yes its tough on the family and you took this role willingly. While hes in bootcamp see a therapist go to groups see what tools you can use to help both you and this child.

[twhitten]

Well, you make some good points. I too question his ability to a certain degree. Obviously, we'll help him out financally to a degree as well. We'll see how he responds to boot camp. He'll be close to 17 (or a few months shy of) by then. Maybe they'll teach him some things to help him in the real world. I guess I'll have to wait and see on that.

Yes, I accepted this reponsiblilty because my wife wanted her children back. I did not expect to have my house destroyed, my valuables stolen, my wife and his sister beaten up and police calls at 1:00am just after he returned from a church retreat. Morals? He has none. He's never apologized for anything he's done. He's not sorry. He meant all of it. There does come a point (at which I believe I am) where a decision has to be made: Sacrifice the one so the other three can survive or risk all of us to try to save the one (no Star Trek pun intended). I'm not so sure I'm willing to sacrifice his sister, her future, my wife, our jobs, our house and possessions and livlihoods for one person who seems destined to be in jail for the rest of his life. If that (in anyone's opinion) makes me a bad parent, so be it. But there are others to consider, not just him.

I thank all of you for responding and deeply respect your opinons and answers.

[panther10758]

Don't just sit and wait for boot camp top fix him you need fixing too seek counseling so you are better prepared to deal with him and his problems as a family unit.