not in all places and all things. here in ny the age of consent is 17 for getting married, 21 for drinking alcohol. a 13 yr old can decide which divorced parent they want to live with but at 16 can apply to be an emancipated minor so they can live with a boyfriend /girlfriend or other friend. consenting to contracts is 18 and consenting to sex is 17.

each location has their own rules and things teens can and cant consent to. but as a general law and rule in the USA where minors (people under 18) are concerned the rule is unless otherwise stated by the court parents are liable for their children until they are 18 some places in the usa that law says 21.

I just had a runaway aged 16 I had to return home because here she has to be an emancipated minor or under the guardianship of someone over the age of 18. since there was no abuse at home going on that would enable me to remove her from the home, she had to go back. I am going to keep in touch with this family because I know shes capable of being on her own and her family is on hard times right now.

the age of consent isnt always the same within the same state either. in some situations they go case by case. I have a 20 yr old client who is not capable of consenting to contracts and personal issues like sex, health issues. the court has set his age of consent at 25.

some places have recently changed their rules for consenting to contracts, health issues and sex higher because their towns, cities and states have a high teen pregnancy rate and teens in the past few years have been making pregnancy contracts with their friends and the courts are now trying to remedy this situation.