Getting Emancipated or Placed in Somebody Else's Custody

[kmknipple]

My question involves emancipation laws for the State of: Virginia

Here's the deal. I'm graduating high school at the age of 16 in January of 2010. I will be going to the community college that is 45 minutes away from me, for a year and a half. My sister, who lives in the city where the community college is located, has offered to let me live with her. I will be going to school full time and will have a part time job. My parents are completely supportive and will do anything to help and will be giving me a monthy stipend of 500 dollars. My question is, am I eligible for emancipation if I don't have a full time job to pay for my own place? Again, my sister is letting me move in with her. Also, if I can't be emancipated, how can my parents sign over custody to my sister?

[divemedic]

Why does she need custody? Your parents can simply give you permission to stay with her. You don't need emancipation or custody to do that.

[kmknipple]

Why does she need custody? Your parents can simply give you permission to stay with her. You don't need emancipation or custody to do that.

She needs custody for the legalities involved with me living there. She needs to have custody over me or I need to be emancipated if I live with her as she rents her house and since she is 24, landlords are not crazy about a random teenager also living in the house. Also, it gives both of us financial aid that we need as she is also still in school. Also it gives her the ability to sign papers and such. It is just too risky living an hour from my parents without her having custody over me in case of emergency.

[divemedic]

Not true. The papers thing can easily be solved by granting a limited power of attorney. I am guessing there is more here than you are admitting. Anyhow, in case of emergency, health care providers can treat you (even with telephone permission from parents, if necessary) and an hour's drive is not that big a deal. (When my kids lived at home, if an emergency were to have occured while I was at work, I was an hour away from home.) Not buying what you are selling.

At any rate, emancipation is not going to happen. You are in no way, shape or form a candidate for emancipation at this point in time. In order to be emancipated, you must be 100% self supporting, not living off of your sister and parent's money.

[kmknipple]

Not true. The papers thing can easily be solved by granting a limited power of attorney. I am guessing there is more here than you are admitting. Anyhow, in case of emergency, health care providers can treat you (even with telephone permission from parents, if necessary) and an hour's drive is not that big a deal. (When my kids lived at home, if an emergency were to have occured while I was at work, I was an hour away from home.) Not buying what you are selling.

At any rate, emancipation is not going to happen. You are in no way, shape or form a candidate for emancipation at this point in time. In order to be emancipated, you must be 100% self supporting, not living off of your sister and parent's money.

Not buying what I am selling/not true? I am not lying about anything or leaving anything out. I am telling the complete truth. Lying on an advice forum is pointless. We want to keep things as simple as possible while helping everyone involved. I see you disregarded the part about the landlord not allowing me to live there without her having custody. Also, we could both really use the financial assistance the school would grant us. While my parents LIVE an hour away, they will both betravelling all over the state starting in January for work, and while one hour seems short, four or five is not. And if we are granting power of attorney, we may as well sign over custody.

[aardvarc]

OK - there are a LOT of misconceptions going on here.

First, you're not a "random teenager" - you're a sister (biological I assume). However, you'll find that LOTS of landlords don't want to rent to 20-something tenants who have younger siblings with them, regardless of if one sibling has legal custody or not. They don't want their properties to become "party central" (not saying this would be you, only that landlords usually come up with such guidelines after an expensive experience or two). Most likely he set the bar here very carefully - basically saying only LEGAL children or wards - knowing full well that a change in guardianship would be HIGHLY unlikely. A good way to say "I don't want a bunch of minors living here, and I don't want to be sued for discrimination either". Smart guy, really.

Second, if your parents are giving you a monthly stipend, then you are going to be considered their dependants which will nix the whole school financial aid scheme. AND, even IF you got a change in guardianship, you'd still have to declare their income.

And finally, the reasons you've listed aren't going to press upon a judge that a change in guardianship is in your best interest. Guardianship isn't considered on what's easiest or what might garner the biggest windfall of school financial aid. It's considered on much bigger and broader factors and unless there's something seriously wrong with your parents, I wouldn't count on a court's blessing for the change to be approved.

[kmknipple]

OK - there are a LOT of misconceptions going on here.

First, you're not a "random teenager" - you're a sister (biological I assume). However, you'll find that LOTS of landlords don't want to rent to 20-something tenants who have younger siblings with them, regardless of if one sibling has legal custody or not. They don't want their properties to become "party central" (not saying this would be you, only that landlords usually come up with such guidelines after an expensive experience or two). Most likely he set the bar here very carefully - basically saying only LEGAL children or wards - knowing full well that a change in guardianship would be HIGHLY unlikely. A good way to say "I don't want a bunch of minors living here, and I don't want to be sued for discrimination either". Smart guy, really.

Second, if your parents are giving you a monthly stipend, then you are going to be considered their dependants which will nix the whole school financial aid scheme. AND, even IF you got a change in guardianship, you'd still have to declare their income.

And finally, the reasons you've listed aren't going to press upon a judge that a change in guardianship is in your best interest. Guardianship isn't considered on what's easiest or what might garner the biggest windfall of school financial aid. It's considered on much bigger and broader factors and unless there's something seriously wrong with your parents, I wouldn't count on a court's blessing for the change to be approved.

I appreciate your insight, but I'm not finding it particularly helpful. I just need to know whether or not my parents can sign custody over to my sister if they so choose.

[divemedic]

You are not finding it helpful because we aren't telling you what you want to hear. The answer is there- it is highly unlikely that a court will give you what you are looking for. In order for emancipation OR a change in guardianship to be approved, you must PROVE to a JUDGE that the action is in the child's (in this case, that is you) best interest.

That is not the case here. There is no way that any judge in his right mind will take a child from a stable home and place her in the care of another sibling who is a college student simply because the child wants to.