Turning 18, moving out ASAP

[Guest]

My home just turned very unstable and I'm planning on moving out, I've been wanting to run away for the past year and I've made up my mind that I'm moving out. I turn 18 in just over a month, so a lot of legal hurdles are going to be out of the way soon. That's when I can take them off of my bank account without their involvement, and when they can't hunt me down and drag me back.

I have $5000 in my checking account, which should be plenty for most expenses as I live in a rural area. I'm currently in an online school, my brother recently bought a new laptop and offered his old one for $300, so I'll be able to finish high school. I have a high ACT score, there's some good scholarships available because of that; I'll use raise.me to figure out what else I might qualify for. I also have a job, currently it's $8/hr and only 20 hrs/wk so I have time for school, so until I graduate I make about $450/mo. I don't know how long it'll last, I'd hardly be surprised if one accident closed the business, as it's somewhat physical work (heavy stuff) and the sole proprietor is old and has bad knees and a bad shoulder.

I don't have a car yet so I won't need to pay for insurance. I'll be staying with a friend in town at least until I finish school (can't afford an apartment currently) so I can ride my bike into town to work. For other transportation I'll have to rely on Uber or friends, but of course most of my needs can be dealt with in town. I'll be replacing my phone, so my parents can't say I stole mine and so they don't have my phone number. Basically the only things I'll be taking with me that my parents bought are my 13-year-old-backpack, calculator, some clothes (just shirts, socks, and underwear, I bought the rest) and some school supplies (notebooks currently in use for school).

I need help with a few things: how can I make major financial transactions a) without knowing for sure what my home address will be, and b) right now as a minor? I'll probably be living with a friend until I can get an apartment in town, so I don't know where I'll be or for how long. I tried to get a health insurance quote, and a home address was a required field. The website I went to also said it couldn't display my options at this time, but it went ahead and displayed them when I changed my birth year to 1998. I need coverage for a few prescription drugs: Vyvanse for ADHD, Lexapro, an allergy med, a topical acne product, and an antibiotic for my acne (my mother's idea, I'll be off of it soon). Due to the Lexapro I currently have to have a checkup every three months, so if I want to stay on that I need health insurance to kick in in about two and a half months. For dental insurance, I at least have wooden nickel coupons that lower the cost of a routine checkup with X-rays to $45, so if I'm careful with my teeth they should be fine until I have insurance.

With recent developments, it's not really a matter of whether I should leave the house now, it's a matter of getting everything together in time, and I don't want to forget anything. I know I'll probably need to buy some everyday stuff, which shouldn't be a problem, I have an Amazon Prime membership so everyday things are cheap and delivered free. How much more will I need to take care of other than buying a phone, getting health insurance, packing, and finding a place?

[ccsmod9]

Hello there,
Thanks for posting on the NRS forum today. We’re very happy to you came to us. It sounds like things are pretty hard at home that you’d be making such thorough plans to leave. We want to commend you on the planning, it looks like you’ve really thought all of this through.
A lot of this is difficult to comment on since we’re not legal experts. We really can’t tell you what you should do and we can’t make any speculation about the law. However, since you’re turning 18 in a month, many of these issues will only be a problem temporarily.
You’ll soon have access to health care, which as we understand it can be given any address you currently reside at. It might be a risk, but you can wait until you’re an adult to purchase a plan. As far as making a major purchase, one that require giving an address, it sounds like you shouldn’t have any problems doing this if you’re legally an adult. There might be issues surrounding this as a minor, but we don’t know of any offhand. It’s hard to say what you’d plan to purchase that would require you to give your address. If you gave a friend’s address, it might be ok, but would depend on what you’re buying.
If you’re very worried about some of these issues and would like to speak to a legal expert, we’d be happy to refer you to one. If you wanted to talk about this plan in more detail, we’re here for that too. If you wanted to give us a call here at 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929) we’d be happy to talk to you about your plan and make sure you’re going to be safe.
It sounds like you are very set on leaving and we’re not here to tell you not to. However considering all these angles is important. One thing to keep in mind when you leave, and leave for good as it sounds, is important paperwork that you might need to get a job (Social Security Card and/or birth certificate). If you wanted to brainstorm with someone here about that, we’re here for this purpose as well.
Stay strong,
NRS

[Guest]

Thank you very much! I've done a quick check of the house, everywhere except the attic (inaccessible, it's in a closet and there's shelving in the way, can't do that right now), and so far I haven't found the safe that my parents said a long time ago contained our birth certificates and Social Security cards. I also haven't found any information on what's in our safety deposit box or where it is. I haven't even found any photocopies of them, which (last I knew) were in our emergency bag. Basically, I have no idea where my birth certificate or Social Security card is. Do you have any advice on how to bring it up? I'm sure they'd be suspicious, and probably try to come up with some argument against giving me them based on me not being ready for the real world or something. I'm not sure what to do about that.

[ccsmod6]

Hi again,
Thanks for returning to the forum. It’s important to have some documentation showing your data of birth and other information. You may need this to apply for insurance, bank accounts, and other items. If you have a driver’s license or state issued ID it would be helpful. One option is to apply for replacement documents. You can apply for a replacement social security card when you’re 18 at https://www.ssa.gov/ssnumber if you have a driver’s license or state ID. You can also apply for a replacement birth certificate through the county you were born in. Another option is just to ask your parents to see if they can find the documentation. You may want to look for a new job, and these documents would be helpful in applying.
It’s really good you are thinking through your options and working on being well prepared. We’re here to talk more about this and other concerns you may have, you can call us 24/7 at 1-800-RUNAWAY. Best of luck in working through all this successfully.
NRS