This is actually for my girlfriend, who is 17 years old and enrolled at a public university. She is set to move in August. She is an early graduate, so she will not turn 18 until March 2018. She is in a slight unique situation with her parents. She is very independent with paying for her college. She payed half of her tuition with scholarships and the other half she took out loans from the federal government and private. Her parents didn’t even cosign with her for her private loans (Her grandfather decided to consign with her).
Her mother is pretty controlling with her private life. She is always tracking her phone, keeps her from going over to people’s houses, stops her from getting a drivers license, etc. Her mother is also a little toxic because she is always insulting her on her weight and bringing her down. Recently her mother has been completely unreasonable. She keeps taking her phone for unknown reasons. She literally won’t even tell her why. She just takes her phone and doesn’t say a word. Just today she left her at work because she was late getting out of work then took her phone when she got home.
My question is can her parents stop her from going to college even though she has already paid? I have a bad feeling that they are going to try to stop her. Is there any legal way to help her out. Even they do let her go I’m also afraid that they will stop her phone and health insurance. Phone isn’t a big deal because my parents are willing to put her on our plan but health insurance could possibly kill her because she was born with a heart murmur. If something happened then she would be in serious dept or even worse. I really need some kind of advice to give her or some option for her. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you.
She is 17 and therefore her parents are still in charge. They get to set the terms for her housing, education, phone use.
She could try to become emancipated, but she’d need grounds and it is very difficult to achieve. Taking her phone or not letting her go to college aren’t going to be enough. Her parents are housing and clothing her. They must provide insurance until she’s 18 but at that point could drop her from their plan.
I did find out that in our state at the age of 17 you can move out of your house without parental consent. Her parents could still drop her from their insurance plans. I should probably make it clear that this is not a case where she is trying to run away with her boyfriend. I am actually not even going to her college. I am studying at a community college. I really just want her to be able to pursue her dreams. Thank you for your quick response.
Sorry this is happening. It sounds like the mom is nutty and afraid of the control she’s losing when her daughter goes away. Encourage your friend to comply and do everything by the book until August. If time comes for her to go to school and they won’t let her go enlist help from the co signer grandparent. They will not allow the money to be wasted.
I’ve lived my whole life with a heart murmur and it doesn’t require medication. Does she require treatment? Some colleges offer their own medical insurance if the student isn’t covered by the parent. Anyway, I can’t imagine a loving parent would drop her child from insurance over spite. It sounds like an empty threat.
Thank you for your kind words and advice. She does not require treatment as of right now. She has not actually threatened to drop her from their insurance but I am just preparing for everything that could possibly happen. Her mom has definitely has threatened to drop her phone plan but as I stated that is not a huge deal. I did find out that her parents cannot stop her from going to college because of state law.
We both have been trying to go by the wishes of her parents. she has not even done anything remotely shady. I have not looked into insurance through the college but I will probably. Thank you again for everything.
Daughter should seek legal advice from student legal services. If she tries, she’ll get emancipated.
Being born with a heart murmur isn’t necessarily in any way a threat to her health. She should have it evaluated to check its status…but honestly LOTS of people have harmless heart murmurs. Low cost health insurance is probably available to her through the college.
The parents are digging their own grave. Even if they did manage to sabotage her first year out of the nest…when she is 18 she’ll run so far from them they’ll be lucky if they see her again before she’s 30.
I wouldn’t give them any ideas by mentioning the health insurance. A lot of plans have either “family” or “individual”. If they have a family plan, they would not save any money by dropping the D from the plan. It’s July. Best to lay low for the time being.
Thank you Mary and sylvan for your replies. I think her heart murmur should be fine. I did check on insurance through the college and they do help students find affordable plans.
I do agree that they are digging their own grave but she has unfortunately always been this “unwanted child”. I have no idea why because she did well in school (graduated with a 4.7 gpa weighted). She has made mistakes in the past because of experiences in her childhood but she is on a good path now and is ready to try to make it on her own.
Because of State Law her parents cannot legally drag her back home from college. This is because a law states that a 17 year old has to be tried as an adult. This backfired because an adult cannot be tried with being a runaway.
I have not mentioned the health insurance to her parents and do not plan on it. I am just preparing for anything and everything that could happen.
Really? It is extremely difficult to terminate parental rights. One thing that’s required is that the child has to be able to support herself. This child is not supporting herself as she lives with the parents, has their insurance and their phone plan.
I don’t think the reasoning about a runaway being charged as an adult will work either.
Here is one lawyer’s comment on emancipation in SC:
This person is not living apart from her family and cannot support herself. The parents aren’t going to consent.