Legal Question in Family Law in Texas
Legal Age - Emancipation
I have been searching for an answer to the legal age that a minor may leave home. No one seems to want to answer this question.
Police officers tell teens that they have every legal right to move out at the age of 17. I understand that as a parent, I am legally responsible for that child until the age of 18. How can these two be in such conflict?
At what age may a minor leave home (and under what circumstances)? What are the parent's rights? Can staying home be enforced? How? If a minor may leave before the legal age of 18, what recourse does a parent have to ensure not being held accountable for the childs' actions?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Legal Age - Emancipation
A minor can leave home anytime they get ready. They're called runaways. If the minor can support themselves through whatever means, they are called emancipated minors and we, as parents, are no longer responsible for them.
You can report a child as a runaway and the police will arrest and they will be sentenced to juvenile detention until age 17 at which time the police will not waste further time on them. The confusing part is that the age of majority is 18 but that is not the determining factor in when a child can leave home or the age at which we are no longer responsible for them.
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