Citation

Cataldo MA. Fam. Court Rev. 2014; 52(3): 592-609.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/fcre.12109

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Emancipation is the process by which a minor becomes free from the custody and control of the minor's parents. There are twenty-eight U.S. states with emancipation statutes that set forth the procedure for obtaining emancipation status. Current emancipation statutes terminate the parents' obligation to support the minor. Thus, parents of emancipated minors are no longer required to provide financial assistance, health care or housing to the minor. Although minors must show that they have an independent and legitimate source of income when they first petition for emancipation status, the increased financial burden and limited options of support available to minors leave them vulnerable to becoming impoverished. Minors who seek emancipation due to domestic violence, child abuse, neglect, and abandonment are especially vulnerable to becoming impoverished and homeless due to financial insecurity, lack of affordable housing, and mental illness resulting from traumatic experiences in violent households. This Note proposes an amendment to state emancipation statutes authorizing the court to exercise its discretion in granting continued parental support to minors who are seeking emancipation due to maltreatment. Assistance should be calculated based on the state's guidelines for child support payments, but parents should not be responsible for debts incurred by the minor after emancipation is granted. Assistance should continue only until the minor reaches the age of majority. A grant of postemancipation financial assistance will further the state's interest in protecting the welfare of children by ensuring that minors have sustenance, housing, health care, and the opportunity to complete their education. Key Points for the Family Court Community

* Currently twenty-eight states have statutes that set forth the procedure in which a minor can petition for emancipation status. * Nearly half of states with emancipation statutes terminate the parent's obligation to provide financial support to the minor. * Without support from their parents and limited options for work and housing, judicially emancipated minors are vulnerable to impoverishment. * Minors who seek emancipation status because they were abused, neglected or abandoned by their parents should not be forced to incur all expenses that result from leaving the household.

Language: en