Can I legally runaway to my dad's?

[Guest]

1I do not get along with my mother or oldest sister at all, its to the point where we have knocked each other out over dishes and my mother and I yell and scream and argue over EVERYTHING and she has stopped me from doing the things I want to do. I tried legally to move in with my dad through a custody battle 2 years ago and I'm now 17 and I want to runaway and live with my dad, but my mom would call the cops in a heartbeat and she would know where I would go. Can the cops take me back home if I run away unassisted to my dad's or get him in trouble if he keeps me there? Please I need to know indefinetley.

[ccsmod0]

Re: Can I legally runaway to my dad's?

Thank you for contacting us. It sounds like your home with your mom has became unsafe and abusive for you. We hope that you are doing ok through all this. Running away is a status offense, which means that the police have record of it if a runaway report was made. It is not illegal to runaway. Have you considered talking to someone about what is happening at your mom's home? You could contact your local police department and/or the department of social services. This would be a way to keep yourself safe and the person that you stay with out doing something illegal. Also if your mom has filed a runaway report and you go to stay with someone; your mom could charge that person with harboring a runaway. We are a 24/7 confidential crisis line if you would like to contact us to assist with any questions/concerns that you might have. You can call us free from any phone at 1-800-RUNAWAY (1-800-786-2929).

[Unregistered]

help!

Thank you for contacting us. It sounds like your home with your mom has became unsafe and abusive for you. We hope that you are doing ok through all this. Running away is a status offense, which means that the police have record of it if a runaway report was made. It is not illegal to runaway. Have you considered talking to someone about what is happening at your mom's home? You could contact your local police department and/or the department of social services. This would be a way to keep yourself safe and the person that you stay with out doing something illegal. Also if your mom has filed a runaway report and you go to stay with someone; your mom could charge that person with harboring a runaway. We are a 24/7 confidential crisis line if you would like to contact us to assist with any questions/concerns that you might have. You can call us free from any phone at 1-800-RUNAWAY (1-800-786-2929).

My mom is a horrible mother, always critisizes me, puts me down, and puts my brothers before me always. I feel trapped, i can't live here anymore. My mom and dad are split up but not divorced, my mom doesn't have full custody of me so if i just refused to come back to my mom's house and stayed at my dad's house, would she be able to do anything about it? Like could me or my dad get in any legal trouble? Please reply, i can not take this anymore.

[ccsmod8]

re: Help!

Hello and thanks for following up with us. It seems like things continue to be really hard for you at home and that you really feel like you need to get out. It must be so difficult to live in that environment and we hope that you have someone that you feel supports you. As we mentioned before we are not legal experts but generally speaking, if you were to leave without your mom’s permission, she could file a runaway report on you and your dad could be at risk for harboring a runaway. If you are looking for more concrete answers, you can always contact your local police department through the non-emergency line for laws in your area. You can also call us at 1-800-RUNAWAY 24 hours a day or chat with us from 4:30-11:30pm CST about other options that you might have. Best of luck,

-NRS

[Unregistered]

what to do...

my parents always are criticizing me: telling me that i'm dumb or that i won't live up to their standards. I know i'm adopted and have met my birth mother(open adoption all legal), she lives really far away though. But my dad(wasn't part of the open adoption) only lives a few hours away(i looked him up online). if i ran away could i legally go to his house and ask him if he wants me? i'm only 15 so i'm not sure.

[ccsmod10]

RE: what to do?

Hello there,
Thanks for reaching out to us today. We are sorry to hear you are in this difficult position. It sounds like you are wanting to go to your biological dad’s house. Have you talked to him about this plan? Would your adopted mom be willing to sign over guardianship to him if he does want you to stay with him? Sometimes it can be helpful to talk thing over with a trusted friend. Do you have any teachers or counselors you feel comfortable reaching out to? Just to let you know, we are not legal experts. Technically it’s not against the law for you to run away from home. In most places it’s considered a ‘status offence’. However, anyone you would be caught staying with could possibly be charged with ‘harboring a runaway’. Do you think your biological dad would be willing to take this risk for you?
Here at the National Runaway Safeline, we cannot tell you what you should or shouldn’t do. We can however help you explore options and go over what to do next. . There is always someone available at our 24 hour hotline 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929). We also have an online live chat available from 4:30p to 11:30p CST at www.1800runaway.org. We are always here to provide support, discuss safe options and find resources. All of our services are confidential and anonymous. Feel free to contact us anytime. Take care.

- NRS

[Unregistered]

i need help and fast

if i dont like living with my mom because i think i get treated unfair and i dont think its fairr she treats the other kids fairly but i want to move in with my dad but then again he lives with another women so i dont want to live their so where do i go how can i go and how can i explain this to my parents but i dont know when wehre how and wwhy i feel like this HELP IS NEEDED NOW?

[ccsmod8]

RE: i need help and fast

Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to reach out and write to us on our bulletin board here at the National Runaway Safeline. From what you have told us about your situation it sounds like you have been going through a very difficult time right now. It must be pretty frustrating to have these feelings and not really know what to do with them. You stated that you feel your mother treats you unfairly. What do you mean when you say that?

From reading what you had to say, it sounds like you might be struggling to really understand these feelings that you are having and even trouble expressing these feelings to others. What do you thinking about giving us a call here and talk about what has been going on? Perhaps talking to us first might help you formulate some of those feelings that you have been having so that you might be able to talk to your parents about how this has been affect you. If you don’t feel comfortable with doing that on your own, one of the services that we can offer you here is a conference call between your mother, yourself, and us so that we can help mediate between the two of you. Would that be something that you feel comfortable with doing?

[Unregistered]

help me please

if I have a court issue and I am suppose to be going back and forth between mom and dad could I run away from my dads he is an evil man and neither do I like him or my brother is it illegal if I have a court assignment

[ccsmod10]

RE: help me please

Hello there,

Thank you for reaching out to us. It sounds like you feel that the custody arrangement isn’t currently working and you want to leave your dad’s house. Just to let you know, we are not legal experts. We cannot know what would happen if you left your father’s house with regards to the court system. What we do know, is that it’s not against the law for you to run away from home. In most places it’s considered a ‘status offence’. However, anyone you would be caught staying with could possibly be charged with ‘harboring a runaway’. Do you have someone willing to take this risk for you? Does your mom know about what is going on with your father?

You do have the right to feel safe and wanted in your own home. If there is abuse or neglect in the home, you can always report it to child protective services or the police. Here at the National Runaway Safeline, we cannot tell you what you should or should not do. We can however help you explore options or come up with a solid plan for what to do next. We wish you the best of luck and hope to hear from you soon.

[Unregistered15]

Religious issues

My parents divorced a few years ago because my dad developed a drug addiction and became physically abusive to my mom. Since then he has changed his life around, completed rehab, stabilized his nursing license, and has a steady job. He no longer abuses any drugs and has never abused me. My mom married a man in a very strict and well know religion. My dad is not apart of this religion and my mom constantly tells me I don't need to be around him or any of my other family because we don't share the same faith. I personally don't believe in her religion but she didn't give me a choice. I don't have a normal teenage life, I'm not allowed to associate or become friends with other children outside of the religion and I'm practically stuck. My dad doesn't want to go through the process of getting a lawyer and going to court because he wants my mom to keep letting me visit him. She lets me visit once a month or whenever she feels like it. Can I leave and live with him? I don't know who has custody of me and when I ask she says she has full custody but my dad disagrees. How do I find out? What happened if I just leave and live with my dad? Oh I'm 15

[ccsmod11]

RE: Religious Issues

Hi,

Thank you for reaching out to us here at the National Runaway Safeline. I’m glad you decided to reach out to us and hope we can provide you with some assistance. We are not legal experts here, but there is no law against running away. If you were to leave home then your parents would be able to file a runaway report with the police. Running away is not a criminal offense, it is a status offense. This means that it is no illegal, you just cannot do it because of your age (being a minor). If you are found, then you will most likely be brought back home with no charges on you. Keep in mind though, that anyone who allows a minor to stay in their home without consent from their legal guardian can face charges of harboring a runaway and the severity of that varies by state.

It sounds like your dad has made a lot of positive changes and that you two have a healthy relationship. It’s great that you have him to talk to. It must be hard not being allowed to meet new friends and feel stuck. I’m wondering if there are any other adults, that you are comfortable with, that you can talk to or visit? Are you attending school? Perhaps a school counselor or teacher could provide you with some support during the day.

As I mentioned, we are not legal experts, but the law regarding custody/guardianship of youth does vary state by state. If that is something you want to know more about we can provide you with some resources in your area. Please feel free to contact us on our hotline or chat at any time for that information.

[Unregistered]

My parents divorced a few years ago because my dad developed a drug addiction and became physically abusive to my mom. Since then he has changed his life around, completed rehab, stabilized his nursing license, and has a steady job. He no longer abuses any drugs and has never abused me. My mom married a man in a very strict and well know religion. My dad is not apart of this religion and my mom constantly tells me I don't need to be around him or any of my other family because we don't share the same faith. I personally don't believe in her religion but she didn't give me a choice. I don't have a normal teenage life, I'm not allowed to associate or become friends with other children outside of the religion and I'm practically stuck. My dad doesn't want to go through the process of getting a lawyer and going to court because he wants my mom to keep letting me visit him. She lets me visit once a month or whenever she feels like it. Can I leave and live with him? I don't know who has custody of me and when I ask she says she has full custody but my dad disagrees. How do I find out? What happened if I just leave and live with my dad? Oh I'm 15

I am going through the same kind of thing my mom is very religious and my dad is not I also don't really believe in my moms religion I have been living with my mom for the past 8 years and now that I'm a teenager I feel like I connect more with my dad who I only see twice a year he teaches me more I have more freedom more responsibility. My mom says my dad singed some paper that said that she gets all the time and she decides visits. But my dad says that he did no such thing my mom would only let me live with my dad if her church told her to (Which would never happen). The courts take running away very seriously for example my uncle was divorced and wanted to see his kids so he pulled a few strings so if he didn't get to see the kids the mom would go to jail the kids said if they had to see the dad they would run away and the courts didn't let my uncle see his kids if you left to live with your dad the courts would take that seriously and assume you would be in a better place living with your dad.

[ccsmod12]

Re:

Thanks so much for reaching out and sharing your story. It sounds like you are going through a similar situation of a previous poster and not sure what to do. You mentioned that you currently live with your mom but as you get older you feel you connect more with your dad and would like to live with him. It’s understandable this is a frustrating situation and feeling a bit torn between your parents. It sounds like mom may have full custody of you and dad has visitation? It’s always tricky when you are thinking of leaving home when you are underage, but custody issues obviously make it even more difficult. It sounds like you have spoken with your dad about this. It could be helpful for your dad to reach out to some kind of legal resource to figure out what the situation is with the custody and see if he might be able to get primary physical custody of you.

This is a tough situation and one that doesn’t necessarily have an easy solution. But we are glad that you reached out and know that we are here to listen and help. Our services our confidential and you can always contact us through our 24 hour hotline 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929) or our live chat available from 4:30p to 11:30p CST. Take care and be safe.

[Cristina]

I feel sad...

So my dad is mad at me idk why but he doesn't say "hi" or "Hello" to me when he comes from work so yesterday I was at my aunt's house and she said come on eat a quesadilla and I said okay so my father said "let's go you're not a little kid anymore" but I didn't know what meant but then my cousin said "didn't your mother said that she can pick you up instead of your dad..." Then I told the exact thing to my dad and in front of her he told me straight up "At home you are going to see what happens to you" My cousin heard that and she was like "Oops..." So then I went to my aunt's bathroom to let some tears go but my aunt saw a little tear on me so after crying in the bathroom she asked me if I was alright and I reply no but crying but overall I get physical abuse with my dad's hands cause he slaps my butt not that hard but pls help and I wanna run away for good pls is it a good idea???