I’m fifteen years old and I want to move out, get my own place and be emancipated. I can do that, can’t I?

No, you can’t!

A teenager who is not getting along with his or her parents cannot simply go to the court and get emancipated. Absent evidence of abuse or neglect which would allow the Department of Human Services to intervene and take custody of a person, a teenager who simply wants to get out from under his or her parents’ wings must go through certain hoops before becoming “emancipated.”

Before you can file a petition for emancipation with the District Court, you must be sixteen years of age or older.

At the emancipation hearing you must prove to the court that you are sufficiently mature to assume responsibility for your own care and that it is in your best interest to do so. You must show the court that you have made provisions for where you will be living, for your food, health care and education, vocational training or employment. Your parents will have a chance to be heard also.

You may ask the court to appoint a lawyer for you to assist you in the emancipation proceeding if you cannot afford a lawyer. Before you have a hearing, the court may require you and your parents to go to mediation to see if you can iron out your differences.

Emancipation is a very serious and unusual step, and a court will not grant a petition just because you are arguing with your parents. You can still live somewhere else, if your parents approve, but you should not be hasty about asking the court to sever your family ties completely. It’s difficult, and—

It’s the law!