Legal Question in Family Law in Tennessee

Re: 13 year old child emancipation

YOUR QUESTION:

My 13 year old niece has lived with my family ( 2parents, 6 kids) for over one year here in Oregon. Her mother, my older sister (un-married, no other kids), lives in Tennessee. My sister adopted this girl from the state two and a half years ago. They are not a good match. My niece does not want to return to her mother, but would like to become emancipated from her and continue to live with us. Can she?

ANSWER:

Can she become emancipated at age 13? No. At least not under Oregon law.

Can she continue to live with your family here in Oregon? Yes, without any problems so long as her mother says it�s OK. But if mother demands that the child be returned to mother (I am assuming that mother is the child�s legal custodial parent), it would take a court order to defeat the demand for the child�s return. The general rule here in Oregon is that in a custody dispute between a parent and a non-parent (such mother vs. aunt, for example), an otherwise fit parent will not be deprived of the �natural right of parental custody� unless there are �compelling reasons� for doing so. The mere fact that the child does not want to live with mother and that she is welcome to continue living in the home of the relatives, or even the conclusion that �it�s not in the best interests of the child� or �the child does not want to live with mother� would generally not be sufficient to defeat the mother�s claim for custody.

LDG