Comments
Regina wrote:
Yeah, im a 15 year old girl who just cant stand living with my mother. We always get into arguments and i just cant take it anymore. Is there anyway that i can leave home and live with my aunt without my mothers permission and doing all this without getting in trouble? Or what if i got my dad's permission to move out but he isn't my legal guardian? Is there any way i can get out of this house without getting introuble at all? Im so miserable here.
14/11 00:09:57
Breanna wrote:
Hi Im 17 in michigan and i just recently moved in with my aunt in a new city and truth be told i hate it here and i would really like to move out and have my independence im a senior in high school and her rules are so strict and different from what im used to. if i were to leave and make contact with my guardians and finish school. would the police come after me?
i also was wondering what the law in michigan was on dating someone 24 being 17?
i also was wondering what the law in michigan was on dating someone 24 being 17?
12/11 21:19:39
Marie wrote:
I was just responding to Tiffany's post with some experience. I went through this EXACT same about a year ago. I was 15 turning 16. I called the police and told them that I simply did not feel safe at home. Then police came to my house, excorted me out, then gave temporary care to my aunt (who wanted guardianship), and I stayed with her until the court hearing. At that point, when i was removed from the home, we went to the courthouse and got a form to change my guardian. I had to sign it and so did my aunt who wanted guardianship. Then the courts will determine if the child will be better off living with you or the parents..... In my case, my aunt didnt meet the requirements to house me, so they placed me in foster care because I could not go back home because I was not safe... If that is confusing, just say and I will try to explain it better... But simply if she does not feel safe, she can tell police she feels safe with you, and leave her in your care until court. During that time, Get your house ready for her to move in, so the courts know that you are ready and can handle it.
18/08 17:01:16
refadmin wrote:
Dear Tiffany:
Consider reporting the neglect to the Department of Human Services, Child Protective Services. If a report were made, CPS would perform an investigation. If an assessment were made that the 14 year old was in danger, she could be removed from the home and placed in care with you. You would have to be involved in the process from the beginning so that the girl could be placed with you. Furthermore, you should be able to present proof of your stable and continuing relationship with the girl so you can prove that it is in her best interests to be with you and not another family member. Consider however that if she is not placed with you, she could be placed with someone else and she may not have the freedom she has to walk away from that situation as she does now. Alternative to becoming her guardian, you could remain in her life providing her a safe haven and when she is a couple years older, you will have a solid foundation for a motion.
On the issue of termination/modification of guardianship, there must be an order for guardianship in place in order for there to be a petition for modification thereof. You have not indicated that there is such an order in the facts above. You may be referring to a motion to terminate parental rights. This can be done, but there would likely still be an order for an investigation and an assessment of abuse or neglect which would provide the basis for the motion. Furthermore, the court gives parents ample opportunity to become better parents before they terminate parental rights. If the parents did improve to the court's content, they could once again receive custody.
Consider reporting the neglect to the Department of Human Services, Child Protective Services. If a report were made, CPS would perform an investigation. If an assessment were made that the 14 year old was in danger, she could be removed from the home and placed in care with you. You would have to be involved in the process from the beginning so that the girl could be placed with you. Furthermore, you should be able to present proof of your stable and continuing relationship with the girl so you can prove that it is in her best interests to be with you and not another family member. Consider however that if she is not placed with you, she could be placed with someone else and she may not have the freedom she has to walk away from that situation as she does now. Alternative to becoming her guardian, you could remain in her life providing her a safe haven and when she is a couple years older, you will have a solid foundation for a motion.
On the issue of termination/modification of guardianship, there must be an order for guardianship in place in order for there to be a petition for modification thereof. You have not indicated that there is such an order in the facts above. You may be referring to a motion to terminate parental rights. This can be done, but there would likely still be an order for an investigation and an assessment of abuse or neglect which would provide the basis for the motion. Furthermore, the court gives parents ample opportunity to become better parents before they terminate parental rights. If the parents did improve to the court's content, they could once again receive custody.
21/07 16:10:06
Tiffany wrote:
I met a 14 yr. old girl, maybe 6 mo. ago, through my sister who is directly involved in her family. She is dating the girls brother and has spent a lot of time over there. The girls mother has HIV, the father may or may not, they are both alchoholics who give her no guidance at all. She leaves for weeks at a time without telling them. When she comes to stay with me her parents are informed and she has rules she follows. She wants me to be her guardian, and I have discussed this with her parents, and they will not give me guardianship, citing not wanting to split up the family, and losing food stamps. Do I have any chance at guardianship if she files for a termination/modification of guardianship. There are other family members who could take her, but she does not get along with them.
15/07 01:32:30
refadmin wrote:
Dear Help?:
As long as you are in a safe environment and you let your parent know where you are, it is unlikely that the police would come and retrieve you and bring you back. You should consider staying with your parents at least long enough to become enrolled for school next year. If you move out before you are enrolled in school, you will need your parent or a legal guardian to enroll you. The alternative is to finish school by getting your GED or by taking courses by mail or internet that will transfer to your high school so that you can graduate.
As long as you are in a safe environment and you let your parent know where you are, it is unlikely that the police would come and retrieve you and bring you back. You should consider staying with your parents at least long enough to become enrolled for school next year. If you move out before you are enrolled in school, you will need your parent or a legal guardian to enroll you. The alternative is to finish school by getting your GED or by taking courses by mail or internet that will transfer to your high school so that you can graduate.
11/07 16:41:53
Help? wrote:
I am 17 and I need to leave home. I am concerned about the fact that I have ADD and ODD and I am (sadly) labeled disabled. Does that give my parents any excuse to come after me legally? I also want to finish school... is that possible?
11/07 16:25:03
refadmin wrote:
Dear Noah A.:
The girl should start out by protecting herself from her abusive parents. She should contact child protective services and complain of the abuse. If there is immediate abuse, she should contact the police. Once she makes a complaint, an ex parte motion for change of custody could be sought, however a family member such as an aunt or uncle would have more success at gaining custody.
The girl should start out by protecting herself from her abusive parents. She should contact child protective services and complain of the abuse. If there is immediate abuse, she should contact the police. Once she makes a complaint, an ex parte motion for change of custody could be sought, however a family member such as an aunt or uncle would have more success at gaining custody.
26/06 20:25:42
Noah A. wrote:
I know a girl she is 14, her parents are not what you would call calm tempered. Her father has not beaten since October I believe, but the screaming and verbal abuse has not ceased. She wants desperately to get out, but does not know how to do so legally she is afraid she will be thrown back into that hell with her father and mother. I myself have known her for a few years and have a place in Indiana with a church family that could bring her in and tend for her. Is there any legal way to relocate her, since she is in a abusive home, but take her from there to here?
26/06 14:07:01
confused wrote:
My son will be 16 in Aug 09, he is constintly in trouble with the law since the age of 13. he already has a 2.5 yr felony, expulsion from school, incorigability, durg and alcohlo charges and distruction of property charges. Totally defies any thing i say, curses me, puts holes in walls and breaks household belongings. He says hes not going to change for anything. His PO is making him go through out patient substance abuse counceling, but he's already done inpatient which didnt make a difference. He doesnt want to be here, and honestly im about fed up. I have younger children to also think about who are picking up on his behaviors. Is there anything i can legally do?
10/06 22:31:39
refadmin wrote:
Dear Coriena:
If your 17-year-old wants to move with you and the move is in her best interests, she should consider making her plans to move (buying her ticket, getting packed, etc.) and then telling her father of her plans. At her age, he will be unable to prevent her from going if she so chooses.
If your 17-year-old wants to move with you and the move is in her best interests, she should consider making her plans to move (buying her ticket, getting packed, etc.) and then telling her father of her plans. At her age, he will be unable to prevent her from going if she so chooses.
02/06 17:15:08
coriena wrote:
My daughter is ready to come home to Milwaukee. She stays in Grand Rapids. She is seventeen. In 6 months she will be 18. She does not want to stay with her dad.
23/05 19:12:12
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30/06: Michigan Runaways
Can a 16 year old leave home without permission? No. If the individual is under age 18, they are a “minor”. MCL 722.1. The age of majority in Michigan is 18. MCL 722.52. A child can leave home with permission, however, it is still the parents obligation to support their minor children unless the court modifies or terminates the obligation via a petition for emancipation, or the minor is emancipated by operation of law. MCL 722.3.“Emancipation” means
termination of the rights of the parents to the custody, control, services and earnings of a minor. Emancipation can occur by court order pursuant to a petition filed, whereas emancipation can occur by operation of law if certain conditions are met. An emancipation occurs by operation of law when a minor is validly married; when he/she reaches age 18; during active duty with the armed forces; and to consent to certain care when in the custody of a law enforcement agency and when incarcerated.
If a child leaves home without permission, the child should be reported missing and the Department of Human Services should be contacted as Department agents can requisition the child back into the jurisdiction and help set in motion charges against anyone who aids the child knowing they are a runaway. It is against the law for any person to knowingly and wilfully aid or abet a child under the age of 17 years to violate an order of a juvenile court or knowingly and wilfully conceal or harbor juvenile runaways who have taken flight from the custody of the court, their parents or legal guardian. Violation is a misdemeanor with fine of not more than $500.00 or imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both. MCL 722.151 and MCL 722.152.
A parent can give permission to a 16-year-old child to leave home and live somewhere else, however, they are still obligated to support the child.
An ancillary bit of information is that the parent has the right to contact the child's employer and direct the employer to pay the parent directly. This is because until the child is age 18, the parents of an unemancipated minor are entitled to the custody, control, services and earnings of the minor. This could be used to coerce the child back home, but it may also just coerce the child to quit the job and find another.