I have been wondering about this for some time now, and would like to know if it is legal to move out on my own at 17. I currently live in Arizona, but would like to move to Nevada. I do not know if it is legal to move to another state or not, but have heard from many people if I were to have a place to move to, I would be able to move out. I would also like to describe my current situation I am in:
I currently live with my mother and step father, and my two brothers, (9, 14). My biological father is an alcoholic who is trying to gain custody of my brothers, but does not have a stable job or place for them to live. I have tried to speak with my father about his problem, but he refuses to listen and does not understand that he has to let my mother know what is going on in his life in order to see my brothers. I fear for the safety of my brothers, but we have an attorney on our side, whom was my father's attorney, but then they married, and she no longer is his attorney. Due to events in March, they divorced. After our Spring Break, the day after we arrived at our home, he had left without notice to his wife, he had also taken her truck, atv, chainsaw, a few guns, money and credit cards, and left. We did not, and still do not, know where he is. He is in Idaho, but we are not sure of his exact location. Because of this, my mother does not wish to send my brothers to visit him. They are suppose to visit him in a week, he claims he has a stable job and place for them to live, but will not be specific as to what his job is or where he is living.
This may seem to not relate to what I am getting at, but it does in a way. If the oldest of my brothers (14) does not wish to visit our father, then my mother will not send either of them, and I refuse to visit him. This past event was not the only time he has done something like this, and his drinking only gets worse. As I was saying, if my mother does not send my brothers to visit him, he will, as he always has, become angry with my mother and once again take it up with the court if he so wishes to. This has happened before, but when my parents first divorced, he did not even try to visit us, and when he did, he would not come pick us up, even for a day visit. (Mind you we (my father, my mother and us children) lived in Washington state. He blamed not visiting us on my mother, this is when his drinking first started to become out of hand. He would call our house countless times in the middle of the night, and would argue with my mother. This has not happened recently, but I fear it will again once my brothers will not show up in Idaho/Washington.
This relates to my situation in the sense that my home situation is difficult. It may be a teen rebellion type thing, but I wish to move out. I may not have enough reason to have everyone agreeing with me that I should move out, but I have some personal reasons on which I wish to move out. To better describe myself, I am 17, a Junior in high school, although I think I may have failed this year, I have switched schools so many times now. I am dating a guy I have known since I was in the seventh grade. He is going to be 19 in October, and he lives in Nevada. I wish to move in with him, but because of the situation with my father, I am afraid to. I have not yet told my parents about my boyfriend and I, but I soon will, and hope they understand. If not for my father, my situation at home would be fine, expect I have been changing schools for quite some time now. In my three years of high school, I have changed to three different schools, and because of my most recent change, if I were to go back to a different school again, I would be held back to retake my Junior year of high school. I do not wish to retake a year of high school, so I have been planning on getting my GED. This way if I were to move out, I would not have to deal with school and a job at the same time.
I wont be 18 until April 2006, and may not move until then, but I will be saving up more than enough money to get by after I move and find a job up there. My step father is also in the Army, and he may be going to Iraq in September or January, or any time between then, he asked me to stay here until he got back, for emotional support for my mother. I have a feeling he knows I may move soon, thus being the reason he asked that. I would like to stay because of that and my biological father, but would also like to move out with my boyfriend. There isn't anything wrong with my actual home life, but I feel it is the time for me to move out. As I had said before, I think this may be a teen rebellion thing, but I also feel I am mature enough to move out, live with someone else, and many other things. I may not have explained this the way I wish I could have, but it is late at night and have been thinking about this all day, and only until recently I have been able to speak up and try to get advice.
I would be more than happy to hear from anyone about this, (moving out at 17, from Arizona to another state) and emancipation. I did not mention it before, but would like to know more about this as well. Along with this information, I would gladly accept any advice anyone has. I am still unsure of what I want to do, so please, any advice and information you have, let me know. You may also contact me at hiacfys@yahoo.com. Thank you so much!

~Arizona Girl

Tough situation. It sounds like your father has custody to avoid paying child support, but I am not sure if moving in with a boyfriend at your age is wise. Sometimes, boyfriends turn out to be good and may later become husbands. Sometimes, you find out it is not what it is supposed to be later. If you have a relative you could move in with, I think that may be a better alternative- a grandparent, aunt or uncle, cousins, if you have any you have a positive relationship with.
To answer your question, check this link http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/Table_Emancipation.htm
Your father may give permission for your move, or you may go see DCS to see what your alternatives are if you do not want to live with your father and have no family or friends to live with, but maybe not sure about living with your boyfriend, or you may go thru the process to become an emancipated minor. Marrying your boyfriend is an option, but marrying so young has its own set of issues.

Thank you for getting back to me so quickly. And thank you for the link. You may have misunderstood me though, my father does not have custody, but he wants to gain custody. He is unstable and unreliable, and with his ex-attorney on our side, I doubt he will gain custody of my brothers or myself. I am having a bit of trouble finding what I need on the link you have included, but am sure I will soon find it. I completely understand what you are saying when you speak of moving in with my boyfriend not such a wise choice. This is one reason I wish to get as much information as I possibly can. So far in our relationship, it would seem to me we are heading down the road of marriage later in life, but things may change, and I am aware of this. I do have friends and family I could live with, none here in Arizona or Nevada, which I wish to move to, all of them live in Washington state. This would bring me closer to my father’s location, I am unsure of what he would do if any of us, (my brothers and I) were to move closer to him.
I still have yet to discuss this with my mother and step father, although I don’t think my step father has a legal say in this situation, so I have heard, he may only discuss it with my mother. I was curious as to know, if there were no laws in Arizona about Emancipation, would my mother or father be able to allow me to move out legally? I am not saying they will or will not, but if there is no law containing anything about Child Emancipation in Arizona, would they be able to allow me to move out legally on my own? Also, seeing as I do not live with my biological father, would he be able to allow me to move out on my own? Technically it is not on my own, I would much rather move in with someone, whether it be family, friends, or my boyfriend.
Marriage at this point in the relationship with my boyfriend and I seems a bit too much at the moment. We speak of it openly towards one another, but I am unsure of what my parents would think of this. Am I correct in saying if a child is at the age of 17, they may not marry unless they have parent permission? I wonder about this too, people have told me it is so, unless a minor has become pregnant. This is not the case for me though, and I hope it will not become so.
Once again I am brought to emancipation, if there is no law stating anything about child emancipation, is it still possible for me to go through the process to become an emancipated minor? Once again, thank you for your time, and thank you for the advice you have given me. I much appreciate it and would like to know more about what I can do in my current situation.