Can I move out at 17 without parent consent in Michigan?

I am 17 years old and am experiencing some problems with my mother that i don't know how to solve. I have had a job now for almost 3 months and have been giving each paycheck to my mother, because she doesn't have a job, with the promise that i will receive my money by the time our old house is sold. I had been planning on using that money for a car to get to and from school and work because my mother simply doesn't want to pick me up or drop me off. Our old house is now sold and she is telling me that she wont give me the money back until i am 18, because she needs it to fix her old car and for "family expenses." Do i have the right to demand it back or should i just put up with it?
- Max from Florida

[ccsmod6]

Hello and thank you for reaching out to the National Runaway Safeline. We’re sorry to hear that your living situation is so emotionally difficult. It makes sense that you want to leave an environment that is not good for your mental health.

While we are not legal experts, we do have a great deal of experience working with runaways. If you are reaching out from Michigan, it is our understanding that you can move out without your parents’ consent when you are 17, but this is only in Michigan as far as we know. Otherwise:

It is not illegal to run away. Your parent/guardian could file a runaway report on you but this would NOT mean that you would get arrested or charged with anything. It typically does mean that the police could return you home if they encountered you and that would be that. Some police can be more understanding about what is going on at your home. In our experience, police will oftentimes return the youth back to their guardian almost no matter what. Police typically do not actively search for a runaway youth. However, they will go where the parent/guardian directs them if they know where you are staying. Additionally, police can sometimes be more lenient about runaway situations the closer you are to 18. You can attempt to calmly, respectfully, and persistently deny them consent to touch you or take you anywhere, and they may give up on trying to return you home. They also may not, in which case you should comply with what they tell you to do for your safety.

If you want to talk more about what is going on and what options you might have, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 1-800-786-2929 or chat us at 1800runaway.org.

Take care,
NRS

Can I move in with my bf being 17 without parents consent ??? Bc I feel like hell in my house i cry most of the time , I don’t have anyone tot all here besides my bf !!?

[ccsmod15]

Hi there,
Thank you for writing to us here at National Runaway Safeline (NRS). We understand it takes great courage to reach out, and we appreciate you sharing a little bit about what’s going on. We want you to know that we are here as support to help you through this challenging time. We can best help by phone or chat as NRS is unable to respond more than twice by email or bulletin for assistance. If you would like to talk more in detail and share more about how we can help specifically, please call or chat soon.
Our contact information is 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929); www.1800runaway.org (click on the chat button).
If you are at risk of any danger or feeling unsafe, we encourage you to reach out to 911 or seek emergency assistance immediately.
We hope to hear from you soon.
Be safe,
NRS

Age of majority act
chapter 722
children 722.1
states that any child 17 and under legally cannot move out without parental consent. Some places either don’t enforce it or don’t know the law but if a parent or lawyer brings it up they will abide by it

[ccsmod6]

Hello and thank you for reaching out to the National Runaway Safeline. While we are not legal experts we do have a great deal of experience working with runaways. It is our understanding that, in Michigan, you can move out at 17 and the police will not return you back home. You may want to reach out or have an adult reach out to the police for you in order to verify that information, but as far as we know you can leave.

If you want to talk more about what’s going on or ask any more questions, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 1-800-786-2929 or chat us at 1800runaway.org.

Take care,
NRS

I'm 17 and I live in Michigan. I want to leave and live with my friend. Her parents are good with it. I know they won't get in trouble if I leave could I convince the police not to take me back. And can my parents request to take me back? Cause I'll be 17 so why would they take me back when I'll be 18 in 1 year?

[ccsmod15]

Hi there,

Thank you so much for reaching out to us. Leaving home can be a big decision, and asking for help can take a lot of courage. It seems like you may be interested in leaving home when you turn 17, and we are happy to explore this option further with you. We are by no means legal experts, but it does seem like the age of majority in Michigan may be 17. This means you could potentially leave your aunt's house without her permission when you turn 17. One way to be sure that this is allowed in the state of Michigan is to contact your local, non-emergency police line. If you need support with this you can call us at 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929) or live chat with us through our website https://www.1800runaway.org/. We would be happy to call with you or for you. We are open 24/7 and we are completely confidential. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us at any time. We are hoping to hear from you soon.

Best of luck,
NRS

In the state of Michigan, at 17 you can legally move out. I know from experience. My friend was sick of her home and moved in with one of her friends. Her parents called the cops and they didn't pick her up or anything because she was 17

Wait so when I turn 17 and I want to leave I could bc I live in Michigan and ik my aunt would call the police and give them and old drug test would that change anything if they saw a old test if I’ve been clean and so has my boyfriend.

[ccsmod1]

Hey there,

Thanks so much for reaching out and sharing a little bit about what’s been going on, we know that it takes a lot of courage. It must be really hard to have family living so far away from one another. We aren't legal experts but, generally speaking, if you do opt to leave your home your mom can file a runaway report, which is essentially a missing person report. Running away is a status offense; this means that it isn’t illegal, but it’s something you can’t do while still a minor. If a runaway report is filed and you are located by the authorities you will most likely be returned home.

It is doubtful that your father and your grandmother would face legal issues if they were to take you in but if your parents have a custody agreement it could greatly affect that. It may be beneficial to speak with your dad directly about your desire to live with him. Sometimes custody transfers will need to go through the family court system and it may be beneficial to speak with a legal advocate. If you need help locating a legal aid group near you you can check out https://www.lawhelp.org/find-help/.

If you’d like to go over what’s going on in depth, or if you’d like to explore other options that you may have available to you, please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-800-RUNAWAY. You can also chat us by clicking on the “CHAT” button on top of our homepage. We’re open 24/7 and here to listen and support you in any way we can.

We'd love to hear from you about your experience using our crisis forum. Your feedback plays an important role in helping us improve our services to support youth and families. Please click the link below to fill out our survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/we_care_what_you_think

Stay safe,
NRS

I will be turning 17 in December and I want to move out now and go stay with my Dad and his mother, I don't want them to get into any trouble. I live in Michigan and they live in Texas, can my mom call the police on them if I leave.

[ccsmod1]

Hey there,

We aren’t legal experts here at NRS, but generally speaking, if you do opt to leave your home your parents (or guardians) can file a runaway report, which is essentially a missing person report. Running away is a status offense; this means that it isn’t illegal, but it’s something you can’t do while still a minor. If a runaway report is filed and you are located by the authorities you will most likely be returned home.

If you’d like to go over what’s going on in depth, or if you’d like to explore other options that you may have available to you, please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-800-RUNAWAY. You can also chat us by clicking on the “CHAT” button on top of our homepage. We’re open 24/7 and here to listen and support you in any way we can.

We'd love to hear from you about your experience using our crisis forum. Your feedback plays an important role in helping us improve our services to support youth and families. Please click the link below to fill out our survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/we_care_what_you_think

Stay safe,
NRS

Can I move out of my house at 17?

[ccsmod7]

Hi there, thanks for reaching out today. Sounds like things at home are really stressful and you are wanting to move in with your boyfriend. That cannot be easy to deal with.

We are not legal experts, and considering your age plus the fact that you have graduated, it is hard to say how police would respond if your parents tried to report you as a runaway to local police. Legally, the can report you as a runaway whenever you leave home without permission before you turn 18. However, it is up to how your local police respond. Police can treat 17 year old runaway situations differently than younger youth, but you still risk being returned home if found by police. To know what could happen, you might reach out to your local police department and ask if they would take a report for you and return you home. You might also have your boyfriend's parents reach out to police to ask since they are worried about your wellbeing and could advocate for you. We are always here at 1-800-RUNAWAY if you would like us to be on the line with you and police.

Please do not hesitate to call or chat us if you would like to talk more. 1-800-RUNAWAY; www.1800runaway.org.

We look forward to hearing from you,

NRS

i’m 17 years old. with the coronavirus and everything that’s going on right now i’ve been pretty stressed and feeling really down. this was supposed to be my graduation year. this is not how i pictured it. i’m done with school now and wanting to move in with my boyfriend. my parents are not happy about it and threaten to call the police , is there anything i can do ? my boyfriends parents want me to live with them because they like me a lot and i feel like i’d be happier there.