What Is Emancipation?
Emancipation is a way for minors to be treated as legal adults before they turn 18. When you are emancipated, you are free to act on your own. You cannot be liberated unless you are 16 or older.
What Rights Will I Get From Emancipation?
If you are emancipated, you can do some things without your parent’s permission, like:
Get medical care
Apply for a license to operate equipment or perform a service
Keep your earnings
Enter into contracts and incur debt; and
Live where you want to
Important: If you are emancipated, your parents no longer have to support you.
Emancipation also comes with many limits. Even if you are emancipated:
You must go to school or work towards your GED;
You have to follow many of the child labor laws and work permit rules;
You cannot vote until you turn 18; and
You cannot drink alcohol until you turn 21
Note: If you have a legal guardian, all of the information in this section about “parents” applies to the legal guardian and your case, too.
If you are emancipated, you will be solely responsible for any contracts you enter.
Emancipation does not qualify you as an independent student to apply for federal student aid for school. But your liberation may help prove that you need more assistance.
How Do I Get Emancipated?
Formal emancipation is called “Limited Emancipation.” A judge must order that you are emancipated. To become emancipated formally, you have to prove all of these things:
You are at least 16 years old
You want to live on your own
You are responsible enough to live on your own and understand your rights as an adult.
You can afford to live on your own
Emancipation would be best for you
You have graduated or will graduate or get a GED or have a compelling reason not to be in school.
Also, the court may assign your counseling. You must check in with the court on a regular schedule. This is to let the court know your emancipation is going well. If you do not check in when you’re supposed to, the court can take away your emancipation status.
Do I Need My Parents’ Consent To Get Emancipated?
No. But they can tell the judge why they think it would not be in your best interest to be emancipated if they want.
Can My Parents Emancipate Me Against My Will?
No. Emancipation is meant to be a positive step for a minor. Parents can not use it to get out of their parental responsibilities.
Is Emancipation Permanent?
Usually, yes. But the court can take it away if you’re not careful. You will lose your adult status if:
You break the law
You violate any of the rules of your emancipation
You can no longer support yourself
Or, the court finds any reason that living on your own is against your best interests.
Do I Have Other Choices?
Yes. If you don’t want to live with your parents you can:
Get counseling or mediation with your parents to help make things better
Go to live with another adult (like an aunt, uncle, grandparent, or family friend)
Get help from public or private agencies
Agree with your parents to live somewhere else
Parental Rights
Voluntary Termination Of Parental Rights
Law allows sign over parental rights to a family member voluntarily or involuntarily. The voluntary termination of parental rights may seem like a straightforward process since the parent is not disputing the termination of privileges.
However, courts are not routinely granted voluntary terminations since they are viewed with suspicion if the ending will make it more likely that a child will be forced on public assistance with the loss of one parent’s income.
Involuntary Termination Of Parental Rights
The involuntary termination of parental rights occurs when one parent seeks to terminate the rights of another parent.
If one parent has abandoned a child, the other parent may move to terminate rights. Abandonment occurs when a parent leaves a child with another party and has not communicated with the child for at least six months, or when a court places a child with another party and has not shared with the child for at least three months.
Most courts will consider termination more favourably if it is done in conjunction with a stepparent adoption to ensure that the child continues to have two legal parents on whom to rely for support.
When both parents are willing to agree to the termination, and another individual is ready to adopt as a stepparent, courts may allow for a more efficient simultaneous termination and adoption process.
The legal process of the sign over parental rights to a family member is not like icing on the cake. There’s more to it. Click here to read more.
Conclusion
A custodial parent may also apply for continued support past the age of 19 for exceptional circumstances. In each such application, it would be up to the court to decide what constitutes special circumstances.
Once a child is legally emancipated, future support payments will end. But be aware that this doesn't automatically negate the obligation to pay any child support arrears (unpaid child support payments that have accrued over time).
Understanding what an emancipated minor is is a tough job to do. To get a clear understanding of the same, click here.
