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My sister's friend is worried that because she is 15, so she will not be considered legal guardian of her own child . HELP any advise is welcome....Her and the father want to marry, but she is worried about her rights because of her age.....Parents won't allow marriage until after baby is born. expecting Father is 18, and exp. mom is 15....does she become automatic self guardian since she is having a baby or is she only guardian of baby or she guardian of neither, and parents are guardian of all???
I'll wait for responses...THANKS!!
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Aspenhall, I wrote this so you can print it out and hand it to your sister (information travels better in print form, so noone can forget part of it):
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Your friend is the mother of the baby, and the guy is the father of the baby. That makes them the legal guardians of the baby. Your friends parents remain her legal guardians until she's 18.
Nobody, including the baby's grandparents, can do anything with the baby without the parents consent --no matter how old the parents are.
Check the "age of consent" in your state/county/town to find out how old your friend has to be in order to marry without her parents' consent, if that's something she wants to do.
Check the "emancipation" laws to find out how old your friend has to be and what she has to do in order to have a court declare her to be her own guardian, if she feels that is necessary.
Check the statutory rape laws in your state/county/town to learn if the guy can be prosecuted for rape for having sex with an underage girl or not.
Check the Medicaid rules in your state to learn what your friend needs to do to get medical coverage for herself and the baby--her parents' medical coverage won't cover either of those.
Now that you know all the "laws", here is information on how it actually works:
Your friend may be the mother and have legal custody of the child, but its still legal for her parents to make her follow their rules (especially if she still lives with them). If they don't believe she is taking proper care of the baby, they can turn her in to the police or to social services. If that happens, the baby may be placed in foster care and there may be an investigation. Your friends parents may apply for (and get) legal guardianship of the child at that point.
To avoid that, your friend needs to stay on her parents' good side. Married or single, your friend needs to stay in school. She'll need to arrange daycare for the child. She needs her own job as soon as she can legally get one (even if the guy provides for her, she'll need the experience so she can prove to the courts she's a fit mother if it comes to that). She needs parenting classes--the local social services office can help her get those (3 a.m. when baby is running a fever is when parents and guys tend to flake out and not be available. She'll need to know what to do without any help).
Your friend needs to remember that with the legal guardianship comes the responsibilities. Her parents are not required to let the baby stay in their house. They aren't required to provide food, either. Or diapers or clothes. They aren't required to be babysitters, or to give your friend parenting help or advice. If your friend and/or this guy choose to parent the baby, it will be their responsibility and theirs alone.
Good luck to you and your friend.
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