emancipation?

Question

If i got emancipated would i be able to live with a friend or boyfriend.. Or would i have to live in a house by myself?

Answer 1

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A minor under the law is a person who is not yet a legal adult (reaching the legal age of majority). The primary criterion is usually a specific age, which may vary per jurisdiction and over time, but historically is has also varied by gender and even been determined by vaguer definitions, such as physical/sexual maturity. Furthermore, legal exceptions may be made in either sense, e.g. a court procedure may emancipate (i.e. declaring a legal adult) a minor before the normal age, or find certain people above the age limit unable (e.g. because of mental disability) to assume adulthood and therefore delay majority (in)definitely.

In many countries such as the UK, the US, Australia, some parts of Canada and New Zealand a minor is presently defined as a person under the age of 18. The terms infant and juvenile are also used, although some jurisdictions make a legal distinction between these terms. Minor status carries with it special restrictions, penalties and protections that do not apply to adults. The rights and status of minors in many western countries has been compared to the state of women and racial minorities before these groups achieved equal rights. All member states of the United Nations except the United States and Somalia have ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Examples of restrictions imposed on minors include statutory rape laws, prohibitions against the use of alcohol and cigarettes, compulsory school attendance, the need for adult co-signers on legal documents (e.g. contracts), driver's license requirements, separate punishment and trial (e.g. juvenile courts), child labor laws, curfew laws and prohibitions against voting.

Restrictions imposed on minors are typically justified by an assumption of diminished mental capacity. Some jurisdictions allow juvenile emancipation, whereby a minor who can demonstrate competency may take on some rights that are normally reserved for adults.

Not all age-based restrictions are necessarily tied to the same transitional age. The transition from minor to adult, however, is typically defined by the age at which one may independently enter into contracts.

At the end of the 20th century most countries outside of Asia allowed most or all age-based transitions to occur by the age of 18. The propriety of age-based restrictions and selection of a transition age for each remains open to debate due to continued questions about age-specific decision-making capabilities.


[edit] United States
In the United States as of 1995, minor was legally defined as a person under eighteen. However, not all minors were considered "juveniles" in terms of criminal responsibility.

In eleven states, including Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, South Carolina, and Texas, a "juvenile" is legally defined as a person under seventeen. In three states, including Connecticut, New York, and North Carolina, "juvenile" refers to a person under sixteen. [1]

Under this distinction, those considered juveniles are usually tried in juvenile court, and they may be afforded other special protections. For example, a parent or guardian must be present during police questioning, and their names are may be kept confidential when they are accused of a crime.

The US Department of Defense took the position that they would not consider the "enemy combatants" they held in extrajudicial detention in the Guantanamo Bay detainment camps to be minors unless they were less than sixteen years old. In the event they only separated three of the more than a dozen detainees who were under 16 from the adult prison population. And all the several dozen detainees who were between sixteen and eighteen years of age were detained with the adult prison population. Now those under 18 are kept separate in line with the age of majority and world expectations.

Answer 2

Emancipation laws vary from location to location. In the case of the United States, they vary from state to state. In general emancipation grants the emancipated minor most of the rights and responsibilities of adulthood, including the ability to determine his or her living situation.

Unless emancipation arises automatically from a situation such as marriage or military service with parental consent (some states), emancipation will generally require the approval of the court. Although the requirements vary from state to state, in general a minor seeking emancipation must demonstrate not only that he or she is financially independent (managing his or her financial affairs with income from a legal source) but also that emancipation is in his or her best interests. In determining the best interests, the court will look at the circumstances surrounding the request for emancipation and the reasons that the minor wishes to be emancipated, server could set are made impulsively or for less than compelling reasons are not likely to be granted.

Finally, certain rights may not be granted to a minor who is emancipated. In California, for instance, an emancipated minor is not freed from the obligation to go to school, is not allowed to drink, or vote, is not exempted from the child labor laws or the requirement of a work permit, and is still not permitted to have sex (unless having sex with his or her legal spouse).

Returning to your original question, although you would be permitted to live with a friend or boyfriend, emancipation might still not allow you to legally have sex with him, and the court might not grant the emancipation if the primary motivation is to move in with your boyfriend.

Keep in mind that this is only general information, and that the answer to your question will depend upon where you live.

Answer 3

It means you are free to do what you want. You would have the same rights as an adult.