arkansas laws

[ccsmod4]

Re: arkansas laws

You're welcome,

Take Care,
NRS

Re: arkansas laws

thanks! i'm going to try to call them today and get somemore info on everything. i really don't want to go for emancipat but if things get any worse very quickly i think i might consider it....so thank you very much for everything i really appreciate everything you guys said and found. thanks

[ccsmod1]

Re: arkansas laws

Thanks for posting again. It sounds like you’re really concerned about some of the things your mom is threatening to do. It’s great that you have friends that you can rely on to help you get on your feet. From what you wrote, your main concern is that your mom will some how make you stay with her past when you turn 18. In most states, you’re a legal adult when you turn 18. This means you can move out and your mom wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. In some areas, the laws say that a youth is a legal adult when they turn 18 or graduate high school, whichever is later. From the info we’ve found about Arkansas, it’s just 18 (but it’s important to remember we’re not legal experts and can’t say 100% for sure that this is the law). When your mom threatens to take you to court to make you stay, do you think she actually has a plan or know if she can do this? Usually the only way that someone doesn’t become their own legal adult at 18, is if in court it’s proven that they are mentally incapable of caring for themselves. This generally doesn’t mean you have to have a job, a place to stay, or even be self-supporting, unlike when trying to get emancipated as a minor. It’s usually just to determine whether you’re capable of doing so or not. From all you’ve said, it’s highly unlikely that your mom would be able to do this (the only exception would be if a youth is a minor until they graduate high school). The best ways to find out for sure what the laws are in Arkansas would be to call the local police or a legal aid hotline. The local police non-emergency number in Jonesboro is (870) 935-5553. They often know best since they’re the ones that would enforce whether you’d need to return home or not. There’s also a legal aid helpline, 1-800-952-9243 that may be able to better answer this question. If you find out that a youth is a minor until they graduate high school, you could look into emancipation more seriously. We found different information concerning whether Arkansas has emancipation or not. If there is emancipation, you would petition the local circuit court to do so. The 10th Division Circuit Court in Jonesboro can be contacted at (870) 933-4590. They would know for sure whether your county has emancipation and the requirements/process you'd need to take.

If you’re not comfortable calling any of these places on your own, we’d be happy to call for you. Most likely they’re all business hours though. If you were to ever call us during the day, we could conference a call with any of the above agencies (or others if needed) to try to get more information for you. Even if you don’t need help calling, keep us in mind if you want to talk more in depth about this or anything else. Someone is always here, day or night.

Re: arkansas laws

i live in Jonesboro, Akansas...i want and are planing on graduating high school and going to college...i don't know if i can find my own place but me and two other girls i am friends with have desided next year to rent an apartment to gether and split rent and utilites and other stuff for about year till we can all get out on our own feet with out help...but i just want to make sure my mom doen't try to make me a "hostage" past the time i turn 18..... i don't really have any way to know if there is a way she can do that or if she's just bowing smoke to get me to forget about it....

[ccsmod5]

Re: arkansas laws

Hello,

Thanks for coming to our website and sharing your story with us. We will try hard to work with you so you can get the information you need.

To answer your question right off the bat, you are a minor and because of that, your mother is responsible for you. If you actually leave home, your mother can file a report that you ran and that may involve a judge saying you have to stay home. Furthermore, anyone that you run to or stay with while you are a runaway, can get into legal trouble. So basically, it's very difficult to not get the court system involved if your mom chooses to go that route.

There are a few options that you yourself can look into if you are trying to do things the legal way (which it seems like you are doing that because you are asking such great questions concerning your rights). There is something called emancipation in most states. What that means is that you can file for emancipation and basically relieve your mom us "legal responsibilities" of you. You have to be able to prove to a judge/court that you have a place to stay, it's stable, you or they can provide for you, decent grades in school, etc. Essentially, you can sustain yourself emotionally, financially and physically. It's a lengthy process but it can be done.

If you want more information about that, let us know what city and state you are in but if you want to talk about the entire situation with more clarity, give us an anonymous call at 1800 RUNAWAY 24hrs a day. It might make things a little easier and simple for both of us.

Best of luck with everything.

-NRS

hi. i have never been on this site but i need some help finding out some information...i'm 17 and will be 18 in jan. i will be a junior in high school next year and i want to be able to move out...but my mother said she won't let me move out till i graduate in 2010 but with the way thing are at my house i don't think i can wait that long...i have been taking care of myself and younger brother since i was 7 or 8...see my mom is a nurse and when we moved back here she went to nurseing school and worked 2 jobs..so she could try to provide for us and lets just say back then she was very unstab..mentally.she has never had a stable relationship with a man and unfortunatly me and my brother have had to go threw some had stuff with her past husbands and boyfriends....she hads been with my stepdad since i was like 9 or 10...he can be one of the nicet guys sometimes but other times well he can be abusive he hasen't been phisically abusive since i was 15 but now he is very mentally abusive mostly toward me...and now my yournger brother is acting and treating me the same way he is...me and my mom talk about everything and she IS my best friend in the whole world but when it comes to her disitions that include chris or us her vition is serusly distorted...i have and can make my own disitions and yes i may mess up a little here and there but my mistakes for my self have been nothing compared to the ones she has made for me in the past... i have a job and about to get a car..i have been saving for a while and will save till i find a way out but she said that she will go to a judge and legaly, get the judge to make me stay with her till i graduate high school or mabe longer...i have no mental or phisical disabilitys or anything else wrong with me..so is this posible for her to be able to do this???