Full question:
My step-son no longer wishes to live with us. His mother, who has primary custody does not want him living with her either. He is three and a half months from his 18th birthday. He wants to live on his own. How can his father and I protect ourselves legally?
- Category: Minors
- Subcategory: Emancipation of Minor
- Date:
- State: Tennessee
Answer:
First, I want to give you some general information law regarding emancipation of minors, both generally and then specifically in Tennessee.
Minors Emancipation Law & Legal Definition.
Emancipation is when a minor has achieved independence from his or her parents, such as by getting married or by becoming fully self-supporting before reaching age 18. It may be possible for a child to petition a court for emancipation in order to free the minor child from the control of parents and allow the minor to live on his/her own or under the control of others. Emancipation usually applies to adolescents who leave the parents' household by agreement or demand. Emancipation may cease to make a parent liable for the acts of a child, including debts, negligence or criminal acts. Sometimes the emancipation of a child ends the obligation of a divorced parent to pay child support.
Minors Law Law & Legal Definition.
A minor is a person who does not have the legal rights of an adult. A minor is usually defined as someone who has not yet reached the age of majority. In most states, a person reaches majority and acquires all of the rights and responsibilities of an adult when he or she turns 18. Until a minor reaches the legal age of adulthood, he or she may not be responsible for his/her own actions (including the capacity to enter into a contract which is enforceable by the other party), for damages for negligence or intentional wrongs without a parent being liable, nor for punishment as an adult for a crime. The national legal age for drinking or buying alcoholic beverages is 21. Marriage with or without parental consent, driving, prosecution for crimes, the right to choose an abortion and liability for damages vary from state to state.
A contract, otherwise valid, entered into by a minor, cannot be disaffirmed because of the minor's minority if the contract is to pay the reasonable value of necessaries. The meaning of the term "necessaries" depends on the facts of the individual case. It depends on many things, including the particular circumstances of the minor, the actual need, and the use to which the purchased article is to be put. However, the common-law classification of necessaries as including food, lodging, clothing, medicine, medical attention, and education is generally recognized to the extent such items are suited to the minor's social position and situation in life, even though such items are not absolutely needed.
Now, what about Tennessee law? Eighteen-year-olds - Legal responsibility - Tennessee:
Alcoholic-beverage restrictions apply to persons under twenty-one (21) years of age.
(a) Notwithstanding any laws to the contrary, any person who is eighteen (18) years of age or older shall have the same rights, duties, and responsibilities as a person who is twenty-one (21) years of age, except as provided in subsection (b) relative to the rights to purchase, possess, transport, and consume alcoholic beverages, wine, or beer as those terms are defined in title 57. Title 1, Chap. 3, §1-3-113
Emancipation law varies among the states; some states have no emancipation law; Tennesse has no explicit emancipation law, but courts accept petitions from parents for removal of minority status from a juvenile. You would need to modify the form in order to tell the court about why your son should be relieved of minority in your and his current situation.
In the worst case event, you may wish or choose to simply await the passage of time, as your (step-)son will be 18 in three months. In any event, you can limit your legal liability for any potential bad acts of your son by: (1) denying him use of your car(s); (2) denying him use of - and safeguarding - your credit or debit card(s); (3) telling him that in 3-months time, he can live on his own and asking him in the meantime to live by your rules; (4) working with him to make the transition liveable for all of you.
Please see the information at the following links:
http://www.jlc.org/factsheets/emancipationus/
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.
