Legal Question in Family Law in California
Well let's see. I'm 19.5 years old right now, about 2 years ago when I was 17, I was going through a period of depression because my parents are extremely controlling. So I had suicidal thoughts and decided to admit myself to the hospital, so I took the bus to the hospital and they put me in the ER, then they determined that it would be best if I went to a mental hospital for 3 days, after which I was released. My suicidal thoughts went after after therapy and medication. Now fast forward 2 years, I'm doing great as far as depression goes, it's vanished. My parents are threatening to use my previous admittance to a hospital as grounds in order to make me legally dependent on them. They are saying that if I don't follow their orders, they will go to court and tell the judge I have a history of being a threat to myself so I should not be allowed to be an adult. That's complete bullshit as I'm doing great now, I'm in college getting my chemistry degree, I have a good group of friends, etc... Now the thing is I'm poor as a college student, if my parents take me to court and I can't afford a good lawyer, what are my chances of winning the case? Do they have a strong case?
2 Answers from Attorneys
My fields of law do not include family law, but how can your parents make you 'dependent" on them? They can not force you to live at their home, they can not take any money you earn, decide what college courses you take, etc.
Once you turn 18, you are an adult. In order to get control over your decisions and affairs, they would have to have you conserved. This means a third party, known as a conservator, is appointed to supervise and make decisions for you. There are different types of conservatorships, such as conservatorships of the estate, and conservatorships of the person. What you fear is known as a conservatorship of the person. A conservatorship of a person (called the conservatee) is proper where that person is unable to properly provide for his or her personal needs for physical health, food, clothing, or shelter. (Prob. Code, �1801(a).)
Usually, the court refers a court paid investigator, and the proposed conservatee can request the appointment of an attorney, at county expense. The trend in Conservatorships for Developmentally Disabled adults is for the court to give the conservatee as much autonomy as possible, away from the influence of the parents. You don't sound developmentally disabled.
Your parents do not sound like they have a case at all, let alone a strong case. I don't know enough of your life to make a definite answer on that, however. For example, Britney Spears is very talented, but was under conservatorship in Los Angeles for awhile.
If you are smart enough to be taking college chemistry, you are smart enough to do some preliminary research on the subject. You may want to visit your local County Law Library. I know that CEB (Continuing Education of the Bar) and Nolo Press have some pretty good books on conservatorships.
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