Legal Concerns

[Unregistered]

Alright. I'm 17, and will be graduated from school in the summer. I have a job, and a lot of money saved up. If I left to live on my own, could my mom do anything about it? I live in Texas, and am considered an adult where I live. I have money to support me and I'm getting a car soon in my name. If anything, I'll stay with a relative until I turn 18, which is in a few months. I can't say I love my mom. Too many things have happened. I just want to know, even though I'm considered a legal adult where I live, could my mom do anything?

[ccsmod2]

Thank you for contacting the National Runaway Switchboard during this difficult and confusing time. It sounds like you are trying to make some very important decisions right now and we are glad that you have reached out to us. Unfortunately, we aren’t legally trained here so we wouldn’t be able to tell you what your rights are but we can provide you with some resources that may be able to.

It sounds like you are graduating from high school soon and have saved up enough money to take care of yourself after that. It’s great that you are going to be graduating soon. We are sorry to hear that you and your mom don’t have a very good relationship; it seems that a lot has gone on between the two of you. Would you like to talk more about that?

It sounds as if you may be considered an adult in TX but again, we can’t give you any specific legal advice or answers. Generally speaking, a parent is responsible for their child until they turn 18 years old. This means that your mom may have the option of filing a runaway report if you were to leave before then. Also, if you were to go to stay with someone, they may get in trouble as well; your mom may have the option of charging them with harboring a runaway or contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Again, we can’t say for sure what would happen. What we can do is provide you with some legal aid resources that are located in your area and they may be better able to provide you with answers. If you would like to give us a call and talk more about what is going on, we are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929). We also have a chat service that is available from 4:30 PM-11:30 PM (CST), 7 days a week that can be found through our website (http://www.1800runaway.org).

We look forward to hearing from you and wish you the best of luck.

~NRS