Well I am a 17 year old living in Texas. I had just left my house a few days ago because I heard from various people that, that was the legal age where you could move out. I am still in school and have no intention in dropping out. The day i left my dad said i could leave but to never come back but since my mom wanted me home the police had to go get me and return me home. I do have a boyfriend who has helped me through all of this. My parents don't like him to the point where they want to put a restraining order against him because they think he's a bad influence on me. He has never layed a hand on me or anything close to that so I didnt think it was possible for them to do that. The only reason I have tried to do good in school is because he asked me too. I want to gradute..I have one more year. The officer told me that in Texas you can only move out at 17 if your pregnant, married, or emancipated. But to get married I have to have my parent's concent, as well as the whole emancipation thing. My boyfriend's mom has already told me she will take care of me. She has a well enough income to take me in. I have a job and also does my boyfriend. What can I do to get out of this situation??? And also what are good reasons for me to get emancipated??

Thank you,
Sincerely;

FLY-N-PERU-V-N

My parents don't like him to the point where they want to put a restraining order against him because they think he's a bad influence on me. He has never layed a hand on me or anything close to that so I didnt think it was possible for them to do that.

Think again, because they certainly can get a restraining/no contact order against him even if he’s never hit you.

The officer told me that in Texas you can only move out at 17 if your pregnant, married, or emancipated.

Well, he got 2 out of 3 right. If you’re married (which would automatically emancipate you) or emancipated by a court decree, then you can leave home. But pregnancy is NOT an emancipating event.

But to get married I have to have my parent's concent

That’s right.

As far as the emancipation issue…you’d have to prove to the court that you are capable of fully supporting yourself without any assistance (paying for rent, utilities, food, medical expenses, etc) which does not mean living with someone else (ie boyfriend’s mom) and depending on them for even partial support. You’d also have to provide a valid reason that emancipation would be in your best interest. The fact that your parents don’t like your boyfriend and won’t let you see him is NOT a valid reason. Also, on another thread you stated that you're in legal trouble (charged with possession of marijuana) and when a minor has been in trouble with the law, that’s generally viewed by the court as an indication that they are in need of supervision, and therefore they should not be emancipated. Based on the information you’ve stated, emancipation is not going to happen for you.

pty is right, emancipation isn't going to happen based on what you have said here. First, your bf and/or his parents ability to take care of you isn't a factor. YOU have to take care of YOURSELF.

You also need to get your priorities straight. You need to do well in school for YOU, not your boyfriend or your parents or anyone else. The chances of you still being with this boyfriend 5 years from now are very slim. (Don't bother to argue that you will be together FOREVER because you are sooooooo in LOVE. It's nothing personal, it's just a cold hard FACT that the odds are against it. I was in the group that has the HIGHEST success rate, a full grown, well educated, self-supporting ADULT when I got married, so was he. But we still ended up divorced.) You need to be able to take care of yourself before you get into a situation where you depend on someone else to do it for you.

yes i understand all of that. But my question is, how do teenagers ever get emancipated if a 16 or 17 year old in school can't get a good enough job to afford all of that medical and other stuff. How is a teenager supposed to do all that?

yes i understand all of that. But my question is, how do teenagers ever get emancipated if a 16 or 17 year old in school can't get a good enough job to afford all of that medical and other stuff. How is a teenager supposed to do all that?

Honestly, they are NOT supposed to be able to do it. That's why the law makes a parent responsible for providing for their children until they are actually old enough to take care of themselves.

A few teenagers do actually find a way to support themselves and they can be emancipated. Some of them lucky enough to stumble into a good job by being in the right place at the right time (that's how I finally got my first well paying job).

Others do it out of necessity because they have had to fend for themselves for years while still living at home with parents that abuse and/or neglect them. Many times these teens have quit school to work multiple jobs to pay the bills.

What he might have been talking about when he said a 17-year-old could leave home if she was pregnant is that a minor 16 or 17 years of age in Texas who is pregnant can legally leave home and check herself into an emergency shelter. Once the baby is born, she can legally give consent for her baby to also be in the shelter.

By the way, it does not sound like you have a valid reason to be emancipated.

Honestly, they are NOT supposed to be able to do it. That's why the law makes a parent responsible for providing for their children until they are actually old enough to take care of themselves.

A few teenagers do actually find a way to support themselves and they can be emancipated. Some of them lucky enough to stumble into a good job by being in the right place at the right time (that's how I finally got my first well paying job).

Others do it out of necessity because they have had to fend for themselves for years while still living at home with parents that abuse and/or neglect them. Many times these teens have quit school to work multiple jobs to pay the bills.

I have come to the conclusion that it is not going to be possible for me to get emancipated, but I still want to know about all this stuff, especially since I have many friends who have aggressive parents. A friend of mine has a stepdad who hits her. She is also 17 but he won't let her out of the house. She's turning 18 in september but I am still worried about her. He has no reason to hit her if he's the stepdad and her mother won't do anything to help it.

Can you also tell me what good jobs there are..just a few examples please

Thank you