Moving out at 17 l

[Guest]

Hello,

I live in California and I am 17 right now. My mom is very emotionally abusive. I wanted to ask, if my dad consents me moving out of my house, is it possible that the police won’t do anything about me moving out if my mom reports it?

Or, if I move out at 17 and 6 months, will the police do anything if my dad consents?

Or, if the police will want to bring me back, can i tell them i want to apply for emancipation and stay away from my mom?

Also, would emancipation even be considered since it takes a few months to get through the court cases… Thank you for your time to respond to this.

[ccsmod15]

Hi there,
Thank you for writing to us here at National Runaway Safeline (NRS). We understand it takes great courage to reach out, and we appreciate you sharing a little bit about what’s going on. It seems there is a lot that you are faced with right now and you’re feeling like leaving is one of your only options. It seems you want to know some information on runaway laws.
While we are not experts on the law, 18 is generally the age that an individual may leave home without parent permission. If you are under 18 and leave home, your parent/guardian may file you as a runaway and you may be returned home. Since you’re in a split guardianship situation having permission from one parent is usually enough to protect those you stay with from harboring a runaway charge, however it is not enough to prevent police from returning you home. In legal terms your dad might be OK with you being gone, but if your mom isn’t then you would default to staying at her place if dad doesn’t want you or can’t care for you. For more specifics on the law, the local non-emergency police or legal aid may better answer legal questions. Emancipation could be an option, but yes it often takes 3-6 months to go through anyway.
We are here as support to help through this challenging time. We can best help by phone or chat as NRS is unable to respond more than twice by email to assist you. If you would like to talk more in detail please call or chat soon.
Our contact information is 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929); www.1800runaway.org (click on the chat button).
If you are at risk of any danger or feeling unsafe, we encourage you to reach out to 911 or seek emergency assistance immediately.
Be safe,
NRS