Q: Can I sue my dad and step-mom for emotional abuse even though I'm 18?
My dad met my step-mom when I was 9 years old. We moved into a house with her, and her two kids. From then, until now (I'm 18), I have endured severe emotional abuse. My step-mother would bully me about my personality, weight, friends, dreams, and everything else. My dad acknowledged what she did was wrong, but never stopped her. I went to a guidance counselor in 8th grade, and told her everything. She contacted my father and voiced her concerns. My dad agreed with her on the phone, and comforted me, but everything got worse. Then, in 10th grade I was forced to live with a friend because we lost our house, and I wasn't welcomed into the new home that the rest of my family was going to live in. This happened again two years later. Now, my father and I live separately from my step-mother, but I still endure emotional neglect from my dad. He refuses to purchase food for the house, help me get to work, or even transport me to school. Could I sue them for the emotional abuse I've endured?
A:
Such cases are extremely difficult and the law doesn't impose a duty of good parenting outside of family law requirements.
Get counseling to deal with the fallout and how to frame things so you can be relatively open (but not manipulated) by family members but the law never could make people be nice and does not handle these situations well. Puyt your energies to gaining independence--doing well is the best revenge.
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