Legal Help - Legal Advice - What is emancipation and how does it work?

Emancipation refers to the termination of parent’s duty to support a child, right to custody, control, services, and earnings of the child. If emancipated, a child will be freed from the control of the parent. Emancipation is determined by law and the emancipation laws vary from state to state; however, whether emancipation has taken place in a particular situation is determined by the facts. One way of determining if a child has been emancipated is whether the child has taken action to place himself or herself beyond the control of the parent. There are certain actions a minor may take that will cause them to be immediately emancipated from their parents (i.e. joining the armed forces, getting married, and reaching actual age of majority).

If emancipation has been achieved, the minor gains all rights, privileges, and duties of adulthood before reaching the “age of majority”. The parents of the minor are no longer responsible for the child and have no claims to the minor’s earnings. The court will determine the minor’s best interest and the level of maturity, and decide whether the minor is able to support himself/herself.

Emancipation does not give minors status as an adult; it just gives them the ability to care for themselves. Therefore, the minor may not be able to participate in activities which may require the minor to be of a certain age determined by law. For instance, an emancipated minor will not be able to purchase alcohol and tobacco. However, some of the activities minors will be able to partake in are entering into contracts, becoming a party to a lawsuit, buying or selling real estate, writing a valid will, inheriting property, enrolling in school, getting married, and agreeing to various types of medical treatment.

Emancipation procedure may different from state to state; however, there are some criteria that are common among the states. These are as follow: “the minors’ ability to support themselves financially, either currently or in the future; the minors are currently living apart from their parents or have made adequate arrangements for future housing; the minors can adequately make decisions for themselves; the minors are attending school or have already received a diploma; and the minors exhibit sufficient maturity to function as adults.” More so, a minor just running away will not emancipate the child away from the parent’s control.

When dealing with the issues of a child running a way, parents may choose what actions they would like to take. They may request a court order for the child to be returned to their custody, which law enforcement will participate in picking the child up and returning him/her to the parent’s home. Next, the parent may decide they cannot continue to carry out their parental obligations and they can request to be “relieved.” This will terminate the parent’s obligations and the child will be place under the supervisions of the court. Finally, if it is found that the child cannot be corrected, improved, or reformed, the minor can be placed in a juvenile detention center.

What is emancipation and how does it work?

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