Can your mom can force you to go home?

[Unregistered]

I'm 14, almost 15. In utah. Me and my mom alway fight and she gets pissed at me over nothing. When she gets mad at me she threatens to hit me and ship me off to live with my dad. I want to know if she can force me leave my friends house if I told her I didn't want to leave. Of could she have the police make

[ccsmod10]

RE: can your mom can force you to go home?

Hello,

Thank you for reaching out to us during this difficult time. It sounds very scary to have someone threaten to hit you. Nobody deserves to feel unsafe or unwanted in their own home. It sounds like you are thinking of running away to a friend’s house. Although we are not legal experts, we can hopefully explain what we know about the runaway laws.

Technically, it is not against the law to run away. In most places it’s considered a status offence. However, anyone that you’re caught staying with could possibly be charged with ‘harboring a runaway’. Have you talked to your friend about taking this risk? Since you are still technically considered a minor, your guardians are legally responsible for you until you turn 18.

Sometimes there are other alternatives such as looking into emancipation or arranging to live separately from your parents. Here at the National Runaway Safeline we have a large database of resources available to you. Although we do not tell you what you should or shouldn’t do, we can help you explore options and offer any resources that may be helpful in your situation.
We can be contacted at any time at 1-800-RUNAWAY(786-2929) or by live chat at www.1800runaway.org from 4:30pm-11:30pm Central Standard Time. We hope to hear from you soon and wish you the best of luck!

-NRS