The Question: Found on Answers.Yahoo.com
My girlfriend is in a bad home. Her parents do nothing but put her down, her father doesn’t work because he is on drugs and her mom makes minimum wage and all of the money is spent on drugs, cigarettes, and alcohol. The other kids are grown and pay the bills only cause their sister is still there, but none of the other kids will take her in. She is 17, I’m her boyfriend and I’m 19. I have a very stable and supportive job with a family who can help. Can she legally leave home and move in with me, and if she can what does she have to do? We live in Texas, please answer asap…
My response:
Dear Troubled boyfriend,
I don’t know much about the laws in Texas, however I do know that in most States the legal age to move out is 18. I read one of the replies stating that if you do get involved the family can try to pin point that you are 19 and if you are sleeping with their daughter they can try to press charges, this is true. You need to be careful, I’m not sure how dangerous or crazy they might react to you taking her from their home. The best advice I can give, is if your parents are willing to help, contact a lawyer, they might have to take her to child services and place her in a foster home, but maybe you can get a lawyer and a judge that will allow your parents to be the legal guardians, at least until she turns 18. When does she turn 18? You said her other brothers or sisters are grown and have moved out, I don’t understand how they can continue to help support her with money, but they aren’t willing to try and take her from that environment. I’m sorry you are caught in the middle of this, this isn’t something easy to go through, and I can’t imagine what your girlfriend is going through. Talk to a counselor (they have many free clinics that she can go to, if money is an issue) just look in your area, I’m not sure what part of Texas you are in, if not I would help you look for counselors in your area. She is going to need to talk to someone and try to resolve the problems that this is going to cause her psychologically, if not already caused by the abuse she has to consume every day. I know she might not want to go to a foster care program, but if no one in her family is willing to try and take custody of her, this might be the better choice, then her staying in that type of environment.
I hope this helps.
** I just found out that at age 17 you can petition for emancipation in the court, depending on Texas laws I’m not sure how this works, but you can find out. Here is a website in regards to this: www.youthrights.net**
Here are a few websites I found on the Laws in Texas regarding child abuse:
www.dfps.state.tx.us/child_protection
xo,
kristin nicole
Leave a Reply