My best friend wants to move out and wants me to move in with him...

[Unregistered]

My friend has been arguing with his aunt and uncle for a year or two now. He hates it at his house and has been looking for a place to rent. His aunt and uncle are also moving and he wants to say here in Iowa with all of his friends. He wants me to move in with him when I am only 17 and he is only 16. I have been arguing with my sister every day and now it has gotten to the point where I am arguing with my parents too. We both have part time jobs and I have a dog and We have both reached our breaking points.
What issues would we run into? Is it legal and what legal issues would we run into? What would school be like?

[ccsmod8]

re: My best friend wants to move out and wants me to move in with him...

Thanks for contacting the National Runaway Safeline. From what you are sharing with us it sounds like you and your friend would like to live on your own as you are having problems with your families. It’s great that you both have jobs and that you are trying to think ahead about issues that you could run into. We are not legal experts, but in many places you would both be considered minors until you turn 18. That means that in order to live independently from your families, you would likely have to file and be approved for emancipation, or legal separation from your parents. According to our resources, there is no state-wide petition for emancipation, but you could always contact your local police department for better direction if you were interested in looking into it. Generally, it would require that you are of a certain age and able to support yourself financially.

Another thing you mentioned is concern for what school would be like. There is a federal act called the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. The act essentially allows youth the right to access education regardless of their housing situation. To learn more about the act, you can look through the document located at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/homeless/guidance.pdf. If you have additional questions or want to talk more about your situation, please call us at 1-800-RUNAWAY (24 hours a day) or chat with us from 4:30-11:30pm CST. We are completely confidential and anonymous and would be glad to help you in any way we can. Best of luck,

-NRS