I'm 16 And Want To Move Out.

[Unregistered]

I live in Washington and I want to move out and possibly move in with my boyfriend. I'm 16, and i attempted to commit suicide about a month ago, due to my parents being strict, they never let me out, I'm always home and I want to move out, my boyfriend has a car, hes 17, he works and I would move in with him. I want to know what I could do so that his mom could become my legal guardian or what the legal age is to become a legal adult. Or if there's an alternative such as me and him getting married, we've discussed this and we don't to get in trouble, I simply do just want to move out. My parents have told me that if I move out they won't accept me back in. Which is a dead ringer for 'we don't care'. But is there anyway I could move out and be 16?

[ccsmod13]

Re: I'm 16 And Want To Move Out

Hello,

Thank you for reaching out to the National Runaway Safeline and sharing with us some of what has been going on. We are so sorry to hear that home is not where you want to be. It sounds like you home life has been hard for you in the past. We are glad that you have your boyfriend to turn to during these times. We are here to help and support you in what ways we can.

You mentioned that you are wanting to get out of the home and are curious about ways to go about it. We are not legal experts, but we can speak in general terms. To start off with, running away is not a criminal offense, it is a status offense. This means that you cannot leave your house without parental permission because you are still a minor (generally under the age of 18 ). If you did decide to leave then your parents would have the option of filing a runaway report with the police. If you are found, then you would most likely be brought back home. Whoever you are found with, such as your boyfriends house, could be charged with harboring a runaway by your parents or the police.

You mentioned that you have attempted to commit suicide recently. We are so sorry to hear that you feel your home life is the cause of this. It must be hard for you to be in that environment. As mentioned before, we think that it is awesome that you can find support in your boyfriend and his family. When you are feeling like you need someone to talk to you can always call the National Suicide Hotline at 1800.273.TALK. They can be another good support to have during times when you are feeling like you cant take your family anymore.

In terms of having his mom become your legal guardian, again we are not legal experts but we can speak in general terms. Generally, in order to have someone other than your parents be your legal guardians you have a couple options. One option is for your parents to give up their legal rights to your boyfriend’s mom, or the other way is to have a judge give someone legal guardianship over you. In order to get more information on this we recommend contact a legal aid resource and discussing with them what your option are. You mentioned that you are in Washington State, here are a couple in your state. If these are not in your area you can always ask them to put you in contact with legal aid that is in your area:

Washington State Department of Social & Health Services (Spokane) 509.363.3500 & 1800.562.5624 (Hotline)

Columbia Legal Services-Sylaw (Seattle) 800.542.0794 (hotline)

Those are some places that might be able to help or put you in the right direction of people that can. If you would like to talk further about your situation, please do not hesitate to call us. We're here 24/7 to support you in any way that we can.

Good luck and stay safe,
NRS