I was under the impression that when you turn 18, you're legally an adult. Apparently that isn't always the case, according to the police . . . .

A friend of mine got into a fight with her parents (a pretty common occurance), and decided to move out. Moved in with a friend. She has a pretty well-paying job, and can support herself. However her parents are not letting her have any of her things until she "comes back", holding all of her clothes and possessions hostage (all of which she paid for herself, not to mention constantly loaning her parents money to help with their bills). When she asked the police to intervene they told her that she was still a minor, because despite being 18 she was still in high school. They said that she must wait until she graduates before she can get her things.


This sound crazy to anybody else? At 18 you're legally an adult . . . . you can get married, join the army, etc. How could still being a student change that?

5/1/2007 1:14:50 AM

i have a feeling the police don't know entirely what they are talking about...

but it wouldn't suprize me, after all, you have to be 21 to drink and 25 to rent a fucking car

5/1/2007 1:18:09 AM

Quote :

"i have a feeling the police don't know entirely what they are talking about..."

yeah that sounds fishy to me.

Quote :

"25 to rent a fucking car "

thats a standard company policy, not a law.

5/1/2007 1:20:24 AM

I had no problems renting a car when I was 20, heh.


I'm also of the opinion the police didn't know what they were talking about. The issue is in that case, how does this girl go about getting her stuff without waiting a month if they won't help her?

5/1/2007 1:31:49 AM

Enterprise will rent to people for business use as long as you're 21 so tell them you're traveling for work.

5/1/2007 1:35:26 AM

If the cops don't want to intervene they will just say its a "civil matter" and that she needs to pursue the matter in court. She will probably have to go to court to get access to her belongings.

Its kind of like if a couple that lives together starts arguing over their shit when one moves out......the cops don't stand there and decide who gets what, they give the person whose leaving access to get things they immediately need (clothing, cosmetics, etc) and then all other personal property has to be distributed by court order.

You cant really expect the police to go in her parents house and try to sort out what property, furniture, etc belongs to her and what her parents own.

5/1/2007 1:36:30 AM

^They're not even letting her have the things she immediately needs, like clothes. What bothers me is that the police say she's a minor, and has no legal recourse to get her things.

5/1/2007 1:45:57 AM

Well isn't she gonna be done with high school in like a week or two? What are the cops gonna say then?

5/1/2007 4:01:01 AM

curious but how does a female highschool student afford to live on her own and support her parents from time to time?

prostitution is still illegal right? but i guess pure gold is another option.

5/1/2007 4:10:54 AM

^ echoing his thoughts....

5/1/2007 4:28:23 AM

If she's moving in with a friend then she's NOT able to support herself.

5/1/2007 4:31:14 AM

18
in HS
well-paying job

hmmm....

call girl?

5/1/2007 4:55:35 AM

I'd also not be surprised at all if she really did work as a call girl or at a strip joint, hence why she fights with her parents all the time. They're probably trying to save her from destroying her own life.

5/1/2007 4:58:41 AM

haha oh shit.

i didn't even see you post a few above mine saying what i said.

i guess it only occured to you and me, but that's the first thing i thought of when i read the original post!

5/1/2007 5:06:26 AM

haha yeah...i mean it only makes sense. fight with parents + move out = "i'm 18, i can do what i want, i'm moving out!"

and what she's doing to cause a fight + makes enough money to support herself and her parents = stripper + side work.

[Edited on May 1, 2007 at 5:48 AM. Reason : a]

5/1/2007 5:47:56 AM

Big Mac and a happy ending.

5/1/2007 5:49:20 AM

If she is making money..why not buy new clothes.

5/1/2007 7:39:08 AM

1) You are legally an adult at age 18. It doesn't matter if you are in high school or what not. I believe the police were blowing her off.

2) She needs to go downtown to the police station, file a report of theft (basically what it's call when people don't return shit that is your property or allow you access).

3) an officer will escort her in and out of the house to claim her "necessities". Clothes, makeup, etc. Unfortunately if her parents fight her she may have to legally fight for the rest.

The most important thing is GO to the police station. Talk to the people who know all of your rights.

5/1/2007 8:44:49 AM

i like how everyone is giving advice on what she can do to rebel further against her parents without actually finding out the whole back story yay for family values!

5/1/2007 10:45:08 AM

shes 18 and her own family problems are her family's business

people are just answering the questions that were asked

5/1/2007 10:47:46 AM

well what is being asked is still part of the family problem so it should not have been asked in the first place.

5/1/2007 10:49:51 AM

just another example of america turning into a police state

5/1/2007 10:53:46 AM

well your argument doesnt matter because she is 18

5/1/2007 10:53:50 AM

Quote :

"If the cops don't want to intervene they will just say its a "civil matter" and that she needs to pursue the matter in court. She will probably have to go to court to get access to her belongings. Its kind of like if a couple that lives together starts arguing over their shit when one moves out......the cops don't stand there and decide who gets what, they give the person whose leaving access to get things they immediately need (clothing, cosmetics, etc) and then all other personal property has to be distributed by court order. You cant really expect the police to go in her parents house and try to sort out what property, furniture, etc belongs to her and what her parents own."

^^ WTF?

[Edited on May 1, 2007 at 11:03 AM. Reason : .]

5/1/2007 11:02:01 AM

since when are cosmetics a necessity? like, if the girl doesn't have her lipstick and blush, no more johns will hire her?

we know THAT'S not true.

5/1/2007 12:05:41 PM

if she's working as a stripper, clothes aren't really a necessity either. she can wait a month to get them.

5/1/2007 12:15:27 PM

we need pics of this girl to fully understand the situation.

5/1/2007 12:19:18 PM

Quote :

"well your argument doesnt matter because she is 18"

hence my argument that there are no family values in this country.

5/1/2007 12:54:37 PM

Quote :

"If the cops don't want to intervene they will just say its a "civil matter" and that she needs to pursue the matter in court"

it is a civil matter

Quote :

"Enterprise will rent to people for business use as long as you're 21 so tell them you're traveling for work"

enterprise will rent to people who are 21 regardless of why they're travelling

[Edited on May 1, 2007 at 4:54 PM. Reason : ...]

5/1/2007 4:53:21 PM

Why doesn't she just sneak into the house when her parents are at work?

5/1/2007 6:44:28 PM

If it's for work, they will rent to at 18.

5/1/2007 6:47:01 PM

if she is a call girl send me a PM

5/1/2007 7:08:34 PM

Quote :

"not to mention constantly loaning her parents money to help with their bills"

what kind of trailer trash are her parents. they can not afford their own fucking bills. unless my dad or something was really sick or something i would laugh if my parents called me looking for money to pay bills. they need to Get a Job

5/1/2007 8:05:34 PM

This is all a crock of shit, seriously.

When I tried to move out of my parents house (I had gotten into a big argument and wanted my shit to move in with a friend) I was 17 - I went to the cops because my parents told me that I couldn't get my things. The cops told me I could get anything that was mine, unless my parents could prove something was bought by them or in their name.

I ended up not moving, but I know for sure the minor thing is bullshit, she can get her personal belongings, but may not be able to get TVs or things like that if her parents bought it

5/1/2007 10:32:33 PM

I browsed for a few minutes on nc law and can't find anything specificly relating to 18 year olds in high school, but for some reason I think the cops are right. I can't say why I think that, but I've heard that before somewhere.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_majority scroll to Nevada, Ohio, Wisconsin, Tennessee as examples... I think this is true for NC too, not sure why it doesn't state it there, but I didn't see anything one way or another online.

5/1/2007 11:09:00 PM

Didn't your friend know that this was going to be an issue? Why the hell didn't she plan for this, and get her stuff before she moved out?

Now, she should just pretend to give in, come back, get her stuff and then leave. You can do all that shit with the police, but you can play to win or you plan to be all self-rightous, one or the other.

5/2/2007 1:09:54 AM

Quote :

" Albania - 14 Iran - 15 for males, 9 for females. "

14 and 9? wtf.

5/2/2007 10:26:29 AM

Quote :

"still in high school. "

5/2/2007 12:29:56 PM

She's 18, she's not a minor. She can vote, buy cigs, work in a strip club and drop out of school if she wants.

5/2/2007 12:40:16 PM

I never had the option of moving out to live with a friend when I was in HS. All of my older friends were off at college living in dorms, and all of my friends in my class lived at home and their parents sure as heck wouldn't let me move in with them. They would tell me to get my whiny butt back home.

I too am curious as to what line of work this chick is in...

5/2/2007 1:17:58 PM

Haha, she works at a restaurant (and no, not that kind of restaurant).

5/2/2007 4:29:25 PM