Emancipation In Denver Colorado

[OlderThanMyYears]

My name is Audrey, I am a 15 year old minor and a resident of Westminster. As of recently, I have been seeking information on Emancipation. I would like to know the EXACT requirements. My family has had a lot of issues in the past few years, neglect and foster care have recently occured. I feel I would be able to do better on my own and have a better drive for academics etc.
I already obtained a workers permit and I plan on job searching soon. I have previous experience as a cashier and receptionist so i should have no problem obtaining a job. My dad has consented to provide a car when I turn 16 ( he has no legal obligation over me, he lives in Minnesota). My mom (guardian) has consented to let me get emancipated.I can easily get a place to live. I really need to know what all I need to do and the time it will take to gain emancipated status.

[demartian]

My name is Audrey, I am a 15 year old minor and a resident of Westminster. As of recently, I have been seeking information on Emancipation. I would like to know the EXACT requirements. My family has had a lot of issues in the past few years, neglect and foster care have recently occured. I feel I would be able to do better on my own and have a better drive for academics etc.
I already obtained a workers permit and I plan on job searching soon. I have previous experience as a cashier and receptionist so i should have no problem obtaining a job. My dad has consented to provide a car when I turn 16 ( he has no legal obligation over me, he lives in Minnesota). My mom (guardian) has consented to let me get emancipated.I can easily get a place to live. I really need to know what all I need to do and the time it will take to gain emancipated status.

Draw up a plan by researching the following. A job, how many hours you need to work are able to work and the amount of money you will make.

Deduct 25% of that money for taxes.

Find an apartment in the paper you will be able to afford along with monthly bills for electric, gas, health insurance and food.

Then calculate how you will be able to finish your education as well as provide for yourself.

All of that information and how you plan to take care of it all is required by the courts just for the first step.

[seniorjudge]

http://www.bostoncoop.net/lcd/emanci...ion_chart.html

Standard answer on emancipation: get a full time job and support yourself 100%; that will help you prove emancipation.


Thanks to MomOfBoys for the following:

This forum is often visited by teens looking for information on how to become emancipated. It is not a simple process. Here is some info, and the other adults on this forum will contribute by adding/subtracting to the list.

There are only three ways to become emancipated.

You must:

1. Join the military (but you must be 17 to be eligible to join, and there is always the possibility that the military will say no for various reasons.) And, at the age of 17, a minor still needs parental consent to enlist in the armed services.

or

2. Get married. To get married, you need your parents’ permission, although in some states you can get married without your parents’ permission if the female is pregnant or has given birth, which means you take on the expenses not just for yourself, but for a child as well. To be married w/o parental consent, whether pregnant or not, the minor still needs a court order in EVERY state in order to marry.

or

3. Have your parent’s permission. To do this, a parent must tell the court that they no longer wish to have control over the child and are willing to relinquish his/her rights and obligations to the minor, AND the minor must prove to be self-sufficient.

To become emancipated WITHOUT any of the above, the child must be able to prove that either the parent has abandoned the child, OR the parent mistreats the child.

Mistreating does NOT include arguments, discipline, enforcement of rules (curfew, grounding, limited time on computer or cell phones), dictating who the child may associate with, or requiring the child to perform household chores. Mistreating DOES include parental abuse (physical or mental), neglect or failure to support.


When applying for emancipation, the petition needs the following information:
1. The name, address, residence, and date of birth of the minor.
2. The name, address, and current location of each of the minor's parents, if known.
3. The name, date of birth, custody, and location of any children born to the minor.
4. A statement of the minor's character, habits, education, income, and mental capacity for business.
5. A plan for success, i.e., an explanation of how the needs of the minor with respect to food, shelter, clothing, medical care, and other necessities will be met.
6. Whether the minor is a party to or the subject of a pending judicial proceeding.
7. A statement of the reason why the court should grant emancipation.

If the minor does not have the permission of BOTH parents for emancipation, then the parent who has NOT consented must be served with the petition, so to be made aware of the process.


The plan for success must include explanations for how the minor meet the following needs:

1. Shelter (rent AND utilities)
2. Food
3. Clothing
4. Medical Care (securing medical insurance)
5. Transportation
6. Living necessities (toilet paper, toothpaste, soap, shampoo and other “sundries.”)
7. School supplies
8. Furniture

The minor must also consider how s/he will pay for the following non-necessities:
1. Phone (cell and/or land line)
2. Television
3. Entertainment
4. Computer/internet access


When applying for housing, remember that a landlord may be reluctant to rent to a minor despite their emancipation status. In this case, a landlord can protect him/herself by asking the minor to find an adult to co-sign the lease. If any problems occur, the landlord can pursue the adult for the unpaid rent or other problems. So minors may still need an adult to help them secure housing.

Employers are bound by child labor laws, so a minor will not be allowed to work full time at a single job, despite emancipation status, until s/he reaches the age of 18.

Emancipated minors are required to remain in school full time until they reach the age of 18.

If emancipation is granted, the minor will have the status of an adult for purposes of all criminal and civil laws.

And, last but not least, if the state does NOT have statutes or case law allowing for emancipation, it is not an option. You cannot file for emancipation in another state that you may wish to move to once emancipated.

If you do not have parental consent for legal emancipation, the odds of it being granted are nil.

[mommyof4]

And before you waste all your time and energy trying to convince everybody that you are ready and able to be on your own, recognize the fact that Colorado does not have statutes for emancipation of a minor. Implied emancipation may be recognized, but that is only after you have been living on your own and your parent can prove to the court that you are fully supporting yourself, in order to deny responsibility for your financial support (in the case of your father trying to nullify a child support order) or legal liability. You are legally able to leave your home with your parents' permission, but as CPS has been involved and you have already been placed in foster care, if an investigation turns up that you are not living at home (where a child of 15 should be) you can count on living away from home, only you will be in state's custody as your mother faces charges of child neglect, endangerment, and abandonment.

[OlderThanMyYears]

And before you waste all your time and energy trying to convince everybody that you are ready and able to be on your own, recognize the fact that Colorado does not have statutes for emancipation of a minor. Implied emancipation may be recognized, but that is only after you have been living on your own and your parent can prove to the court that you are fully supporting yourself, in order to deny responsibility for your financial support (in the case of your father trying to nullify a child support order) or legal liability. You are legally able to leave your home with your parents' permission, but as CPS has been involved and you have already been placed in foster care, if an investigation turns up that you are not living at home (where a child of 15 should be) you can count on living away from home, only you will be in state's custody as your mother faces charges of child neglect, endangerment, and abandonment.

The past is the only time when there was any kind of neglect or abuse and our case file has been closed. I am currently living with my grandma and she doesnt exactly have custody, i take it as a first step because i pay for everything but rent and food. But i am not sure if i need to be worried.

[mommyof4]

The past is the only time when there was any kind of neglect or abuse and our case file has been closed. I am currently living with my grandma and she doesnt exactly have custody, i take it as a first step because i pay for everything but rent and food. But i am not sure if i need to be worried.

If your mother has given you permission to live with a relative, then there is no issue. However, you cannot move out of your grandmother's home without her (your mother's) permission to live on your own. Once you do and it becomes known to CPS, THAT is when there could be an issue and another investigation, possibly resulting in charges against your parents.

As you are not paying for your food and rent, even if emancipation were an option in CO, you would not be able to show a court that you are fully and solely supporting yourself. Therefore, emancipation would not be a viable option.

Even in states that have statutes for emancipation, there is only ONE state that will even consider emancipating a 15 year old. There is NO state that it is legal for a 15 year old to live on their own, without benefit of legal emancipation. At 15, unless you are a successful actor or professional athlete, there is no job that you can secure that will allow you to earn enough or work enough hours to fully support yourself. You (and any potential employer) will come up against labor laws that restrict what jobs and what hours a minor may work. I know of no state that allows a 15 year old to be free of the law's restrictions.

[MomofBoys]

The past is the only time when there was any kind of neglect or abuse and our case file has been closed. I am currently living with my grandma and she doesnt exactly have custody, i take it as a first step because i pay for everything but rent and food. But i am not sure if i need to be worried.

I am pretty sure that your case wouldn't actually be CLOSED, but rather, just inactive. I'm pretty sure that the case file will actually CLOSE only if the child dies or ages out of the system. Since you are only 15 and alive & kicking, it can be reactivated.

What are you worried ABOUT?

[demartian]

I am pretty sure that your case wouldn't actually be CLOSED, but rather, just inactive. I'm pretty sure that the case file will actually CLOSE only if the child dies or ages out of the system. Since you are only 15 and alive & kicking, it can be reactivated.

What are you worried ABOUT?

I think she feels that she has reached the first step to emancipatieon because she "pays for everything but rent and food".

Rent is the major part of expenses needed. My food bill is over $500 a month! And that is just regular stuff the family eats.

[MomofBoys]

Our mortgage is well below what rent would be for a home the size of ours, and it takes almost half a month's pay!

If I think back to my single days, I believe the cheapest I ever paid for rent (without living in a total dump) was around $500/month for a one bedroom, and my food expenses were anywhere between $150-200 a month. I couldn't afford cable, couldn't afford long distance on my phone, couldn't afford the air in summer, and had to keep the thermostat at about 66 degrees in the winter to be able to afford the heat. I would often forget about the few bucks it took each week to go to the laundromat, and ended up wearing dirty socks, my torn-up underpants and less-than-fashionable tapered leg jeans because I had no clean clothes. Once, after paying my bills, I had $7 left over until the next paycheck came two weeks later, and I hadn't gone to the grocery store yet. And sometimes I had to walk to work because I had no gas in the car, and payday was still a week away. Oh yeah, I only had a car because my Dad co-signed for me, AND he was nice enough to pay the insurance because every time it was due I had no money. And this was SEVERAL years ago, so prices of EVERTHING have gone up quite a bit.

These are just a few of the things to consider when wanting to be emancipated.

[OlderThanMyYears]

Our mortgage is well below what rent would be for a home the size of ours, and it takes almost half a month's pay!

If I think back to my single days, I believe the cheapest I ever paid for rent (without living in a total dump) was around $500/month for a one bedroom, and my food expenses were anywhere between $150-200 a month. I couldn't afford cable, couldn't afford long distance on my phone, couldn't afford the air in summer, and had to keep the thermostat at about 66 degrees in the winter to be able to afford the heat. I would often forget about the few bucks it took each week to go to the laundromat, and ended up wearing dirty socks, my torn-up underpants and less-than-fashionable tapered leg jeans because I had no clean clothes. Once, after paying my bills, I had $7 left over until the next paycheck came two weeks later, and I hadn't gone to the grocery store yet. And sometimes I had to walk to work because I had no gas in the car, and payday was still a week away. Oh yeah, I only had a car because my Dad co-signed for me, AND he was nice enough to pay the insurance because every time it was due I had no money. And this was SEVERAL years ago, so prices of EVERTHING have gone up quite a bit.

These are just a few of the things to consider when wanting to be emancipated.

Thanks for that, I know prices have gone up but so has the pay for most jobs, can I ask you what you were working as?

And as for what im worried about 1. Its gonna be hard LOL.
I really doubt social services will get involved because my parents are willing to "free" me so there will be no accusations ( not sure if i spelled that correctly) of abuse, thats what i was trying to say

[OlderThanMyYears]

Oh

And where my uncle lets me work, i make rougly $80 a day, odds are i wont be able to work there when i move out but the point is im not all that high maintenance , i can go off of 80 dollars a week for everything, So i assume i will be making more than that and it should (hopefully) make ends meet.
I was talking to my friend and she said her mom might let me take a room there if i help with the rent and other bills, so that would probably be cheaper than an apartment.

[demartian]

Thanks for that, I know prices have gone up but so has the pay for most jobs, can I ask you what you were working as?

And as for what im worried about 1. Its gonna be hard LOL.
I really doubt social services will get involved because my parents are willing to "free" me so there will be no accusations ( not sure if i spelled that correctly) of abuse, thats what i was trying to say

They may be "willing" to free you, but I don't believe that it is legal to have you totally unsupervised until you are 18 or emancipated.

Not sure about Colorado, but for instance, here in TN, you can't even go to many malls after 6pm without a guardian if you are under 18 years old. There is also a state-wide curfew and many other things that would bring CPS and others to the attention that you are not living with a proper guardian.

[OlderThanMyYears]

They may be "willing" to free you, but I don't believe that it is legal to have you totally unsupervised until you are 18 or emancipated.

Not sure about Colorado, but for instance, here in TN, you can't even go to many malls after 6pm without a guardian if you are under 18 years old. There is also a state-wide curfew and many other things that would bring CPS and others to the attention that you are not living with a proper guardian.

Well im not going to be on my own until I get the courts consent as well. So once i do that it should be no problem, Am I understanding you correctly?

[mommyof4]

And where my uncle lets me work, i make rougly $80 a day, odds are i wont be able to work there when i move out but the point is im not all that high maintenance , i can go off of 80 dollars a week for everything, So i assume i will be making more than that and it should (hopefully) make ends meet.
I was talking to my friend and she said her mom might let me take a room there if i help with the rent and other bills, so that would probably be cheaper than an apartment.

Trust me...you cannot live on $80/week.

Your parents cannot legally "free" you. Even if everybody is in agreement that you are the most amazingly mature 15 year old to ever walk the earth, a 15 year old cannot live on her own with no adult supervision.

[mommyof4]

Well im not going to be on my own until I get the courts consent as well. So once i do that it should be no problem, Am I understanding you correctly?

And you missed the biggest point of all. You will not get the court's consent, because there is no emancipation in Colorado, unless you have moved out of your home and are FULLY and SOLELY supporting yourself (that means living ALONE, paying your own bills, medical expenses, utilities, insurance, etc. with no help from anyone...not even a roommate or a friend's mom that is letting you "rent" a room) and your parents petition the court to recognize you as having achieved implied emancipation to get out of any legal or financial responsibility for you due to you committing an unlawful act or needing money.

Emancipation is not an option.