emancipation procedures

[sam22]

Hello,
I am of legal age to file for emancipation, and am considering it to be a strong option. However, what information I can find on the procedures involved with filing for emancipation is rather vague because it varies from state to state. I'm from colorado and have tried emailing various court systems out here with no help. I'm actually trying to find someone who would be willing to answer specific questions but any information that anyone could give me will be helpful...The two most important things for right now are 1) what the requirements are and 2) what will be taking place after I fill out the forms. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
S.A.

 

[sam22]

any information on who i could contact in the colorado springs area would be helpful too...all that the courts know how to do is pass my emails around...im sure they end up in the trash somewhere. I think i should also add that my mother is both emotionally, mentally and sometimes physically abusive. I am capable of supporting myself financially and socially.

 

[Ambr]

65) "Independent living" means a form of placement out of the home arranged and supervised by the county department of social services wherein the child is established in a living situation designed to promote and lead to the child's emancipation. Independent living shall only follow some other form of placement out of the home.


this is form the state statutes, title 19, article 1.

like you i haven't located much through CO on emancipation. but according to this article, it is all supervised through the social services department.

Director: Mark Bell

Location:
105 E. Vermijo Ave.,
Suite 103
Colorado Springs, CO
80903-2208

Telephone:
(719) 520-7401

Fax:
(719) 520-7406

Hours:
8:00-5:00, weekdays
(except holidays)

E-mail HR:
hr@co.el-paso.co.us

 

[sam22]

Thank you very much....do you know whether or not I would have a say in where it is that I lived...and my mom is not suportive of this at all, so will that be a problem?

 

[Ambr]

check out this link on emancipation. again, it is in general. you have to be able to support yourself. have a home, a way to pay for bills, etc. it doesn't mean that they will let you move in with friends and party and have a good time.

yes, your mom can fight against it.

http://www.clasp.org/pubs/teens/emancipation.htm

 

[sam22]

thank you, I'll look at it. I understand what is required of me. I have been working off and on since I was 11, both volunteer work and paying jobs. at the time i am not employed but i have a couple jobs lined up. The confusing part of the situation is that I have a boyfriend. We've been together for a year and know that we are going to get married. If I do get out of the house I would be staying with him. He is 20. I'm afraid that might confuse the entire situation, because in most people's eyes i am wanting to "shack up" with my boyfriend. I am just ready to live my life for myself. I paid his rent when i was employed and he wasnt, and i still help him pay his bills and take care of most of the financial aspects. Thank you for your help.

 

[Ambr]

I am going to be honest with you i hope that you don't mind.

you have a 20 year old boyfriend who has his own place and yet he needs you to help with the expenses. you are just 16. you shouldn't have to help him with the expenses. what if you were not there? what would his life be like?

do you really want to jump into a live in relationship were you are living basically from paycheck to paycheck. it is a very difficult situation to be in.

i don't know if you are sexual active with him, but in most cases after moving in together pregnancy is usual a result within a matter of months. not saying that it will happen to you, but you have to think of all the aspects.

will you keep going to school or do you plan to quit school. you will b e going from being in school and having a social life to going to school and working after school to help with bills. why rush into it. i know that you probably hear this alot, but it really is true. i graduated at 17 and took off the minute that i could. i was living with my BF. he was going to college. i was working my butt off to help us live. i was working 4 jobs, 1 full time and 3 part time. i was living off of about 4 hours a sleep, hardly 2 in a row. all because i was in love. back then there was nothing that anyone could say to convince me that i was screwing up. i should be enjoying life and being with my friends, school - college - things that would make it easier to make a living when it came time.

if i knew then what i know now....

good luck with your decision. family life might not sound like fun and there may be problems, but you will definitely come to respect everything that mom and dad are doing for you later. believe it or not.

 

[sam22]

i'll start with the school issue...it's less complicated. I have been home schooled off and on my whole life and will be graduating in a few months. I don't intend to pursue this until i have a diploma in my hand.

as for my boyfriend, we have known each other for a long time but when we first got "romantically involved" he was living in Nebraska helping his dad move after a very hard divorce. Just this last june, we had saved up enough money to move him down here. i found a place and for awhile i was helping him to get on his feet. It was a very hard time for him because he was in a new place. however, now he has an "okay" job and we are working on finding him a CAD (computer aided drafting) job. we actually just had an offer yesterday. the past few months we have gotten out of the ruitine of living from month to month and i must say i hated it. It was well worth it though....definately a true test in our relationship. With this CAD job, he will have enough to pay bills, get all his "i wants" and still be saving at least 800 a month...it doesnt pay bad...plus I was offered a job by an ex co-worker in a bookstore for 8 an hour part time. there is also another job that pays 350 a week full time that i have an interest in. College is a shaky thing with me...it didnt do everyone as good as most people will say...the majority of people dont obtain jobs that they went to college for and (like my boyfriend) will be paying loans until their at least 30.

we love each other very much and would not compromise our relationship any more than it is by putting outselves in a situation where i could end up pregnant. He has helped me through the toughest times in my life and vice versa and is the only one who i trust or chose to share my life with.

like i said it is a very confusing situation....

 

[sam22]

oh and i don't have much of a social life. my mother recently forced me to quit the job i had, i am not able to leave the house and i have to listen to her tell me what a bad person i am. most of it is centered around me not going the route she "chose" for me. she wants me to become a psychologist...i have to laugh at that and think that at the rate we're going i will need a psychologist for years after i get away from her. i never really was capable of being around "people my age." the things that they talk about are superficial and shallow and it isnt often that i find someone who i can have a true conversation with.

 

[Ambr]

comparing you to my niece - you sound pretty mature for your age.

i am glad that you are going to finish school before going anywhere in this and i don't want to sound like a broken record about listening to mom and thinking everything through. i use to hate it when my parents did that....."when i was your age....." i use think i was going nuts everytime a talk started out like that.

parents have high hopes for the kids. psychologists, doctors, lawyers, president (although that one may be getting more thoughts lately - haha ). usually wanting more for their kids than they had. it's only natural.

i keep typing and hitting erase because i don't want to sound like i am giving you a lecture. (did the same thing to my niece, talk after talk)

i was majorly in love. head over hills. i waited til i graduated and then took off. living my dream with the man that i loved (oh yeah, did i mention we are divorced now ). i gave up a full ride to college because it was over 5 hours away and 4 years sounded like a life time to me. i could put it off and do it later. find a college closer to him. i helped support him. 6 years and 1 child later. i am trying to put myself through junior college. working full time, taking care of a child and trying to attend classes at night. the full ride is gone and i am trying to pay my way through. everyone is working overtime trying to locate the money to pay for it, not to mention sitters, and with work and studying - no sleep whatsoever. 4 years was hard to do. it can be done, don't get me wrong, i did it. but it wasn't the easiest road to have tried.

enough of the lecture. you sound as if you are really thinking about this and that is a start. good luck in your decisions.