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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
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    3

    Default Take Custody of 16 Year Old Sister Out of State

    My question involves guardianship in the State of: VA and IN.

    My sister is 16 and lives in the state of IN. I live in VA with my husband and daughter. In Indiana, you can legally leave home and live on your own at 16 (my mother and both of her brothers did this in the early 80s, we were all born and raised in IN).

    Here is my question. My sister is living in a highly unstable and emotionally dangerous environment and needs to get out. I want her to come to VA and live with me and my husband. The problem is, she is diabetic and we would need to immediately place her under our insurance. Would we need to go to court to get guardianship for this, or would she automatically become a legal adult and need to have her own insurance? This also becomes an issue when enrolling in the local high school.

    Thank you for any assistance.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Massachusetts
    Posts
    24,521

    Default Re: to Take Custody of 16 Year Old Sister Out of State

    In Indiana, you can legally leave home and live on your own at 16 (my mother and both of her brothers did this in the early 80s, we were all born and raised in IN).

    That may or may not have been true in the early 80's. It is no longer the early 80's and that is NOT true now. The last of those legal loopholes was closed in 2005 and there is now NO state where a child can legally leave home without permission when they are under 18. There are one or two states where it might be difficult (though not impossible) to make a 17 year old return home in some circumstances but (1) Indiana is not one of those states and (2) your sister is not 17.

    Who is currently her legal guardian? You can certainly apply for legal guardianship, particularly if you can show evidence that your home would be a more stable environment that she is currently in.

    You would need to be her legal guardian to add her to your health insurance. You would have 31 days from the day the guardianship becomes official to apply to add her to the plan and it would be retroactive to the day the guardianship is official.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Posts
    3

    Default Re: to Take Custody of 16 Year Old Sister Out of State

    Our mother is currently her legal guardian. I am hoping to avoid a long drawn out, expensive court battle but if I have to do so, I will. Both my sister and I want her out of that house, and I can certainly prove fit to become her guardian.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Massachusetts
    Posts
    24,521

    Default Re: Take Custody of 16 Year Old Sister Out of State

    Then your first step is to apply to the court to become her guardian. I would run it past a family law attorney first to make sure all the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed; you don't want an inadvertant procedural error to cause a denial.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Posts
    3

    Default Re: Take Custody of 16 Year Old Sister Out of State

    Quote Quoting cbg
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    Then your first step is to apply to the court to become her guardian. I would run it past a family law attorney first to make sure all the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed; you don't want an inadvertant procedural error to cause a denial.
    Is this the kind of thing I need to submit to the court?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Massachusetts
    Posts
    24,521

    Default Re: Take Custody of 16 Year Old Sister Out of State

    That's probably a good place to start but you'll need the Indiana package. The courts in VA do not have any jurisdiction over a child in Indiana.

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