My Sister Needs Help

[mrjdada]

Im 25 and reside in Seattle. I was raised in VA and my sister currently lives there. She is 15 or 16 and needs to be emancipated. Our mother passed away last year and she now lives with my father who is disabled and verbally abusive. She has a trust fund from my mothers passing with plunty of money to buy a car and go to college. She is now a junior in highschool and im trying to help her get out here legally for her senior year and to attend college there after. What does she need to do and what can I do to help her.

[aaron]

As is indicated in dozens of threads in this forum, there are three ways to get emancipated in Virginia:

The court may enter an order declaring the minor emancipated if, after a hearing, it is found that: (i) the minor has entered into a valid marriage, whether or not that marriage has been terminated by dissolution; or (ii) the minor is on active duty with any of the armed forces of the United States of America; or (iii) the minor willingly lives separate and apart from his parents or guardian, with the consent or acquiescence of the parents or guardian, and that the minor is or is capable of supporting himself and competently managing his own financial affairs.

If emancipation is not predicated on marriage or military service, the minor must be living apart from her guardian with her consent or acquiescence when the minor brings the petition.

Any minor who has reached his sixteenth birthday and is residing in this Commonwealth, or any parent or guardian of such minor, may petition the juvenile and domestic relations district court for the county or city in which either the minor or his parents or guardian resides for a determination that the minor named in the petition be emancipated. The petition shall contain, in addition to the information required by § 16.1-262, the gender of the minor and, if the petitioner is not the minor, the name of the petitioner and the relationship of the petitioner to the minor.