Location: Texas USA
I 17M need legal advice on how to get not only myself but my younger sister out of my incestuous house hold.
Background:
I live with my mother, father, eldest brother, twin brother, and younger sister.
I can’t remember when my sexual abuse first started but I know it was atleast from ages 5-10. My twin brother was also a victim of this. I was sexually abused by my mother and older brother. As far as I know my little sister wasn’t a victim of any abuse (I recently asked). The abuse stopped fully when I was in middle school. I have reason to believe that my older brother was also a victim of csa from my mother.
I wasn’t worried about being assaulted again until recently my older brother attempted to initiate something sexual, this was the first time since I was ten. Nothing happened but he tried to intimidate me and grabbed me. I’m shorter and underweight so if he wanted to force something he could have.
I go to school and have a part time job that brings in roughly 20/hr however I don’t have many hours so I only bring in 8400 a year, I have a car (it’s under my fathers name) but I’m under a permit. I have 23k saved in a bank account however it’s under my father’s name. I trust that he’d give it because he did the same with my older brother and followed through. My twin brother who i plan to move out with has 28k in his bank account and makes roughly 17/hr at his part time job.
My younger sister is about to turn 8, and I’m worried about leaving her when I move out. CPS has never been involved neither has law enforcement. However I have records of childhood therapy from when I was lashing out and dealing with aggression issues.
My questions:
How do I begin the process of emancipation in Texas?
Is there anyway to get out of my house without reporting that I was raped? I have proof of the abuse but I wanna make that my last choice unless it’s absolutely necessary.
Can I include my sister in the emancipation process, or is there any legal way to get her out of the home too? My family isn’t physically abusive and is finically well off so idk what cps can do.
Comments
If you want out you are going to have to tell them why as hard as it is. First, you cannot trust that when you do your money will be untouched. Go to the bank and talk to them about opening an account solely in your name and transferring the money to it. If your twin is setup the same way he should do the same. Next please meet with law enforcement. You and your siblings are victims and it needs to stop. Cps isn’t the enemy. Your younger sister will be removed with you and you will likely have to fight for catering for her vs foster care. None of us can really give you legal advice as most of us are not attorneys. What I can give is advice based on personal experience. My parents fostered many teenagers who were victims of abuse. If you are truly worried your sister is being abused then you need to say something to law enforcement: your parents made their choices. You shouldn’t worry about what’s going to happen to them.
I honestly dont know what to tell you. You could only emancipate yourself, not others. cps would probably removed the minor children and place them in foster homes.
Everyone knows what to do if this is really happening, but no one wants to believe it is really happening. So you need proof – any recording app catching them talking about or doing something like that. The more proof you get before coming forward the better. There might also be medical tests for it. You could alert someone right away and work towards convincing them, but a lot of stupid people might try to confront them or let on that you are trying to get them caught without proof. This would cause them to start hiding it more, making them harder to catch. This is also a strategy if you wanted them to just stop doing it rather than getting them in prison, but otherwise you need to record them some how. If you did move out, you could stay in close contact with your sister so she had someone to collaborate her story if they ever tried it with her. I doubt they will give you custody of your sister even if they got arrested.
Holy shit, man. That’s a lot, and you definitely need to get out. IANAL, but these people are and it seems like a good place to get started for information specific to your state. A lot of attorneys will offer a free initial consultation, which would give you more of an idea of how your specific situation should be handled.
You might also look for local DV organizations that may be able to assist with legal questions.
In the meantime, document the hell out of EVERYTHING. Get independent evidence as often as possible (video, texts, voice recordings). Put together a bug out bag in case you have to bail out quickly. Put a lock on the inside of your door.