Q: Is it legal in the state of NJ for my 17 year old daughter to just decide move out on her own without being emancipated?

A: My heart bleeds for you since this realistically is not a legal question but frustration expressed by a parent over a bad setting. My suggestion is that you calmly, calmly & calmly ask your daughter to consider attending a counseling session with you and a mental health person to discuss maturely steps moving forward to help her and her baby. If you make demands or threats, you will only push her away and cause her boyfriend to have more influence and control over her decision-making. Right now, whether you agree or not, she is in charge of her immediate future and you need to figure out how to guide her constructively so as not have her feel that you are telling her what to do. The more you tell her that her actions are immature, foolish, etc and that her boyfriend is not currently equipped to handle the financial responsibilities of a family, you will push her away. Please do not get me wrong - I agree with your concerns but arguing with her will accomplish nothing constructive and one of you may say something that may damage the relationship for years to come. You may hate the idea but now is when you need to help her and let her feel that she is making her own decisions. In counseling, my suggestion would be to talk about how you and the boys family can work together to help them with childcare, etc so that they can focus on developing employment skills and learn how to deal with the real responsibilities of raising a child. This is also where you and the boys family need to talk and try to work together to help them with this baby. Otherwise, you may find yourself excluded from the equation and you may miss out on an involvement with your grandchild's life.

A: Thank you for your question. A 16 year old child is still deemed unemancipated and accordingly remains the legal responsibility of a parent. If there are circumstances by which you are concerned about your child’s health and safety you can consider contacting a therapist to seek assistance. Additional information is necessary to better guide you from a legal standpoint so please schedule an appointment with an attorney so that he/she can provide additional services.