Legal Question in Family Law in Illinois

The seventeen-year-old lacks the right of an adult.

The seventeen-year-old lacks the right of an adult. Please let me repeat: The seventeen-year-old lacks the right of an adult. Period.

A seventeen-year-old is NOT an emancipated minor until a court of competent jurisdiction formally and officially declares by judgment that the minor is emancipated. Until that happens, the seventeen-year-old lacks the right of an adult. Period.

He may file a petition for emancipation under the Emancipation of Mature Minors Act (750 ILCS 30/1, et seq.) but it is simply not enough for emancipation that a child leave home. More must be shown. It must be proven that �the minor is a mature minor who is of sound mind and has the capacity and maturity to manage his own affairs including his finances, and that the best interests of the minor and his family will be promoted by declaring the minor an emancipated minor.� Until a court declares him emancipated, the seventeen-year-old lacks the rights of an adult

Parents have rights over the seventeen year old and are entitled to the aid of laws designed to exercise their rights over their children. Parents of a minor child are entitled to the care, custody, and control of their children. If a parent chose, she could have the police take the child � even a seventeen year old -- into custody if he refuses to return home. The Juvenile Court Act refers to Minors Requiring Authoritative Intervention, i.e., �Those requiring authoritative intervention include any minor under 18 years of age (1) who is (a) absent from home without consent of parent, guardian or custodian� (705 ILCS 405/3-3). �A law enforcement officer may, without a warrant, take into limited custody a minor who the law enforcement officer reasonably determines is (i) absent from home without consent of the minor's parent, guardian or custodian� (705 ILCS 405/3-4). Once this is done (unless the minor will return home or the parent consent to alternative living arrangements) the court system and child protection system take over. Sometimes, a teenager finds themselves in foster care or a state-facility when they won�t go home.