Full question:
We know a 17 year old boy who has been locked out of his home by his mother. We have known this boy for about two years. He is a pleasant, polite person. His mother and father are separated. The mother has serious emotional issues and the father has serious anger issues. He has hit his son on several occasions. The mother does not want her son to live with her and the son does not want to live with his father for obvious reasons. The boy is living with another family right now. It's been about six weeks. He did call his mother recently to apologize and ask if he could return home and she refused. Is this illegal? What are the rights of the child and of the family with whom he is living?
- Category: Minors
- Subcategory: Emancipation of Minor
- Date:
- State: Ohio
Answer:
In Ohio, there is no emancipation law for minors, which means a minor cannot legally live independently without parental consent until they are eighteen. Parents have custody and care responsibilities for their children until a court decides otherwise. A minor can only leave their parent's custody temporarily by joining the military or getting married, but custody reverts to the parents if those situations end.
However, a parent can grant temporary guardianship or power of attorney to another adult. For example, Ohio law allows a grandparent to take care of a child through a power of attorney, which can give them rights related to the child's care and education (Ohio Rev. Code § 3109.52). This arrangement does not affect the parent's rights in future custody matters.
In this case, the boy is living with another family, which may provide him some stability. However, without legal emancipation or a formal guardianship arrangement, his mother retains legal custody, and the family he is living with may not have the legal authority to make decisions on his behalf.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.