So You Want To Become Emancipated? - Public Counsel
So You Want ToBecome Emancipated?2013
EmancipationWHAT IS EMANCIPATION?Emancipation is a way you legally separate from your parents or guardian, before you turn 18 years old. Some people call this a “divorce” between you andyour parents or guardian, and like divorce, emancipation may improve or strainthe personal relationship you have with your parents, guardian or other family.Once you become emancipated, you free yourself from the custody and control ofyour parents or guardian. You also give up the right to have your parents or yourguardian support you financially. At the same time, you gain the right to controlmost BUT NOT ALL aspects of your life.How Will My Life Change If I Become Emancipated?Emancipation changes your relationship with your parents or guardian, and yourrelationship with public agencies Specifically; You will lose your right to have your parents or guardian financiallysupport you for your basic living expenses and health care.Note: Becoming an emancipated minor does not automaticallymake you eligible for public benefits. You may be held legally and financially responsible for any injuriesyou cause to others. You will gain the right to handle your own affairs. For example,you will be able to: Live where you choose Sign binding contracts (such as mobile phone plans) Keep and spend your own earnings Get a work permit without your parent’s consent Sue someone in your own name Consent to all of your own medical, dental and psychiatric care Stay out as late as you want Sign up for school or college-1-
What Will Not Change IfI Become Emancipated?Certain laws always apply to you as a minor, even after you become emancipated: You Must Go To School. Education laws require you to stay in schooluntil you graduate from high school or turn eighteen. You Cannot Work As Many Hours As You Want. You still have tofollow all child labor laws and work permit rules. You Are NOT EXEMPT from Statutory Rape Laws. If you havesex, you or your partner could get in trouble with the law, especially ifthere is a big age difference (unless you are married to your partner) orthe relationship is abusive. You Cannot Drink Alcohol Legally. Even if emancipated, you maynot legally drink alcohol until you turn twenty-one. You Cannot Vote. Emancipation does not lower the voting age. Youstill must be eighteen to vote.Some Legal Rights You May NotRealize You Already HaveYOU DON’T NEED TO BE EMANCIPATEDTO GET SOME KINDS OF HEALTH CARE!Even if you are living with your parents and are not emancipated, you can getsome kinds of health care for free without anyone informing your parents. Thishealth care program is called “Medi-Cal Minor Consent Services.” It covers-2-
family planning, birth control, abortion, and pregnancy care, as well as treatmentfor drug or alcohol problems, mental health problems, sexually transmitteddiseases, rape and sexual assault. You can apply for Medi-Cal Minor ConsentServices at health clinics, family planning clinics, or county welfare offices.So, if you are thinking about emancipation just to get health care, you may wantto see if you can get the care you need without having to be emancipated.Do I Qualify for Emancipation?There are three ways you may become emancipated:1.If You Are Married. Note that because you are under eighteen youmust get the written consent of your parents or guardian and a courtorder if you get married before you turn eighteen.2.By Enlisting In The Armed Services. Note that your parents and the armedforces must give you permission to enlist if you are under eighteen.3.By Going To Court And Having The Judge Declare You Emancipated(“Judicial Declaration”). To use this method for emancipation, youmust first satisfy the following six requirements:a.You must be at least 14 years of age at the time you begin toseek legal emancipation.b.You must NOT be living with your parents or legal guardian.The court wants to be sure you have made a living arrangementwhere you plan to stay indefinitely. In other words, they want tosee more than a temporary address. Saying you are “staying witha friend” is not enough.c.Your parents or legal guardian must have consented oracquiesced to your living away from them. Parental consent isgenerally required for a teen to become emancipated. This can beshown in two ways. One way is to get your parents to sign aconsent and attach it to the Petition for Emancipation. If yourparents sign this form, it may be easier for you to becomeemancipated. If your parents won’t sign this form, you maybeable to show the court that your parents have “acquiesced.” Ifyou are living away from home and your parents know all aboutthis but they are not strongly objecting or trying to bring you backhome to live, a judge MAY interpret their lack of action as“acquiescence” or agreement to your living arrangement.-3-
d.You must manage your own financial affairs. The court needsto be sure you have income earned only by you and that you makethe decisions on how that income is spent. You will need to showevidence that you pay your own bills, especially for such necessarythings as housing, food and clothing. It is best if you can show thatyou actually use your money for the things you need. Even if youcould argue that you trade housework for room and board, it is betterif you can arrange to receive money for the work you do and thenuse that money to pay rent. While there is no set amount of moneyyou must earn, the judge will examine your finances closely to makecertain you make enough money to pay for expenses. Some judgesmay deny your request to be emancipated if your only source ofincome is welfare (CalWORKs).e.Your source of income must be legal. This means you must notearn your living from criminal activities.f.The emancipation must be in your best interest. This requirementallows the judge a great deal of freedom in deciding whether todeclare you emancipated. Even if you meet the other five requirements,a judge who feels it is not in your best interest to become emancipatedcan deny your petition. In court, your parents or anyone else mayobject to your emancipation and try to persuade the judge that it isnot in your best interest.Myths About EmancipationI heard that if a girl has a baby, she is automaticallyemancipated when she gives birth. Is this true?ABSOLUTELY NOT! Having a baby does not mean you are automaticallyemancipated. Any teen under 18 who has a baby must still legally live with herparents or guardian. Also, if you need cash aid, the law says you must live witha parent or relative, or in an adult-supervised program such as a group home.But this rule does not apply to Medi-Cal or Food Stamps and there are exceptions. For example, if you or your child’s health or safety would be at risk ifyou lived with a parent, or you have already lived apart from your parents for12 months. If you need cash aid and don’t live with a parent or relative, ask theCalWORKs eligibility worker to refer you to a MINOR PARENT SERVICEScaseworker to see if you qualify for one of the exceptions.-4-
My parents say they want me to be emancipated.Can they do that?NO. There are some parents who would like their child to be emancipatedbecause it means the parents are no longer legally responsible for providingfinancially for their child. However, emancipation is meant to be an improvementin your life, not a way for parents to get out of their responsibilities.Maybe, you aren’t really sure you want tomake such a big change in you life.SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT Be sure you can realistically support yourself without financial helpfrom your parents (including health insurance) as emancipation meansgiving up your rights to parental support. When considering emancipation, you should think about worst casescenarios such as job loss or illness that might prevent you fromworking or taking care of yourself. There is a way of undoing emancipation after it has been granted.However, you should think of emancipation as a permanent situationwhen you are deciding whether or not to file a petition.-5-
Here are some questions you should consider: Have you given up ontrying to make your relationship with your parents work? Are youwilling to risk having a complete break with them, that could bepermanent, and perhaps upset other family members as well? Keep this in mind: All teenagers become “emancipated”on their18th birthday without filing a petition or going through this process. So take your time in making this decision.If you will be 18 in six months or less, there isn’t time to complete thecourt process which takes four to six months.Steps for EmancipationIf you decide emancipation is the right option for you, you must go through somespecific court procedures. If you (1) meet all the requirements outlined aboveand (2) have lived in Los Angeles County for at least 6 months, you can file foremancipation at the Juvenile Division of the Superior Court of Los Angeles. Theemancipation forms and procedures are fairly simple and you can than prepare onyour own. You do not need a lawyer, but if you are having a hard time, you cancall Public Counsel at (213) 385-2977 ext. 500 to ask for help.This section of the brochure will walk you through some of the necessarysteps for filing an emancipation petition. The court materials will alsoprovide explanations for you to follow.1.Obtain the necessary forms. Emancipation forms are free atthe Children’s Court Clerk’s Office at 201 Centre Plaza Drive,nd2 Floor, Monterey Park, Los Angeles, California 91754; telephone(323) 526-6600. You can also download the forms for free cip/emanforms.htm.2.Complete the forms. The court packet will contain the formsyou need, along with detailed instructions on how to completethem. Be prepared to explain why you want to be emancipated.You must complete the following forms:(See the Appendix for a complete set of forms)-6-
Petition for Declaration of Emancipation of Minor, OrderPrescribing Notice, Declaration of Emancipation, and OrderDenying Petition (MC-300) (See Appendix B) Emancipation of Minor – Income and Expense Declaration(MC – 306) (See Appendix C) Notice of Hearing—Emancipation of Minor (MC – 305)(See Appendix D) Declaration of Emancipation of Minor After Hearing (MC – 310)(See Appendix E) When you file these forms, you will be charged a 395.00 filingfee. If you are unable to pay this fee, you can apply for awaiver of court fees and costs. If you need to do this, completeboth the “Application for Waiver of Court Fees and Costs”and the “Order on Application for Waiver of Court Fees andCosts.” (See Appendix F) Caution! You should realize that applying for a fee waivermay influence your chances of becoming emancipated. Somejudges might feel you aren’t really able to manage yourfinancial affairs if you can’t pay the court fees, while otherjudges may see the same situation as a worthwhile plan youmade to use your money for daily necessities. A possiblecompromise is for you to apply to waive only a part of thefees and pay the rest yourself. You can call the Children’sRights Project at Public Counsel for help.3.Emancipation Checklist. (See appendix A) In addition to the Courtforms, you will need to provide the Court with the documents in theemancipation checklist, which is also in the appendix of this booklet.These forms include your birth certificate, social security card,workpermit, and last report card from school. If some of the documents onthe Emancipation Checklist, like a “headshot” or a “trust accountstatement” are not things that you have, you will just want to write thatyou do not have these things. Please note, these documents must befiled with the Court as part of the Petition for Emancipation.4.Consent to Emancipation. If your parents are agreeing to youremancipation, they need to sign a consent form in front of a professionalcalled a notary public. We have provided a sample consent form inappendix D for your use. Once this form is signed in front of the notarypublic, you will want to attach it to the Petition for Declaration of-7-
Emancipation of Minor (See appendix B) and file it with the othercourt forms.You may find a notary public in the ways listed below:1)To locate a Notary Public in your area, you may go online towww.thenotarylist.com or www.123notary.com. You can also dial(888) 838-1458. By providing your zip code, you will receive alist of notaries in your area.2) You may check with your local Court House to see if they havea notary public on site.3) You may also visit any UPS store near you or log onwww.theupsstore.com and ask if that particular office providesnotary services.By law for any notarization conducted, the notary public may only charge 10.00 per signature. So, if the document you need notarized requires you tosign two times, you will be charged 20.00. If you only need to sign once, thenyou will be charged 10.00. Now if you request that the notary come to yourhome to perform the notarization, then the notary has a right to charge mileage fees.5.File these forms with the Court. Take the completed forms to file atthe Clerk’s Office of the Children’s Court, Juvenile Court Services, at201 Centre Plaza Drive, Monterey Park, Room 280 on the secondfloor. Unless you are applying for a waiver of court costs and fees,you must pay the 395.00 filing fee by check, cash or money order.The current judge handling emancipation cases is Judge John Henningbut you will want to contact the Clerk at the Judge Hennings’ Courtroom:(323) 526-6421 to make sure this will be the judge handling your case.6.Hearing on the Order Prescribing Notice. (See Appendix B) Afterthe clerk has filed your petition (the form you fill out and sign for hecourt), the petition goes to the court for review. The court will then decidewhether to have a hearing. If the court decides not to have a hearingyou will be notified by mail. If there is to be a hearing, the court willdecide who must be officially notified that you filed a Petition forEmancipation so they can appear at the court hearing on your Petitionand state their opinions as to whether or not you should be emancipated.Your parent(s) or legal guardian will have a right to receive officialnotice of the proceedings, as will the Department of Children and FamilyServices or the Probation Department if they are supervising you.-8-
BEFORE YOU FILE YOUR PETITION WITH THE CLERK, your parent(s) or legal guardians may give up (waive) their rights to be given notice ofthe proceedings by signing certain forms. If your parents give up their right tobe notified, and if the court also is satisfied that it is in your best interest to beemancipated, the court can declare you emancipated. So, you can see thatgetting the waiver signed can really speed up the emancipation process.If you did not get waivers of notification signed, the court will set another hearingdate in about four to six weeks. This gives you time to notify people through the mailand to plan on appearing at the hearing if they want their opinions heard in court.7.Hearing on Emancipation. You must appear at the time and place setby the court for the emancipation hearing. Be on time.The judge will probably ask you to testify (talk in Court). He may askyou why you think you are doing well enough to be in charge of yourown life and may even ask you to explain some recent decisions youhave made. There is no need to worry about these questions as thejudge is just trying to make sure that the emancipation is really in yourbest interest. All you need to do is answer the questions honestly.The judge may also ask your parents to speak in Court. Be sure youare prepared to respond to any issues your parents may have with youbeing emancipated.Bring an additional copy of all of the documents that you filed with thecourt, which should include proof that you are in school, proof of yourearnings or income, like pay stubs, and a list of your expenses.You can also bring other witnesses, like a landlord, employer, orteacher, and any other responsible adults to testify in your favor.If you are under the supervision of the juvenile court, your probationofficer or social worker will submit a report and recommendation tothe court. After hearing the evidence, the judge will either grant ordeny your Petition for Emancipation.8.After the hearing. Once the hearing has taken place and your petitionhas been approved or denied, both you and your parents will have anopportunity to challenge the decision. If the petition is approved, you may obtain a certified copy of theDeclaration of Emancipation at the Clerk’s Office on the second floorfor 25.00 plus the cost of the copy. You may then take the certifiedcopy of the Declaration of Emancipation to the Department of MotorVehicles (DMV) where you can get a new I.D. card to show you are-9-
emancipated. You must complete an emancipated minor’s applicationto California Department of Motor Vehicles (Form MC-315). You willbe able to present this I.D. card to future landlords and employers orothers to prove that you are an emancipated minor. If the emancipation petition is denied: The law gives you the right tofile a different petition (an official written request) for what is called awrit of mandate. This means a different judge must be allowed toreview the decision and may overturn it. Your parents also have the right to petition for a writ of mandate if theemancipation was approved. If they oppose approval of your petition,their application for a writ of mandate will also result in your petition’sreview by a new judge with, possibly, a new decision. However, theycan only petition for this review if they did appear at the court hearingand did state they were against your emancipation.The Bottom Line!As you can see, emancipation is a fairly complicated process. There are lotsof things to think about and requirements to fulfill before a court decisioncan be made. It is a natural and common experience if you are consideringemancipation, to have mixed feelings about it and to go back and forth manytimes while trying to decide whether to bring up the subject with your familyand whether to start the emancipation process.AssistanceIf you have any questions about the emancipation process in Los Angeles or wouldlike assistance, you can call the Children’s Rights Project at Public Counsel,213/385-2977 ext. 500 or 800/870-8090 ext. 500.For emancipation forms and instructions visit the California courts self-help center at: www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/family/emancip. See the Appendix for a complete set of forms.Additional Resources Teen Line: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (800) TLC-TEEN(800) 852-8336 Youth crisis line (24 hours): . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (800) 843-5200 211 LA County: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dial 211For shelter and counseling information.-10-
Appendix AEMANCIPATION CHECKLISTDocuments needed from applicant:1.Photo identification2.Birth certificate3.Social security card4.Last report card from school5.6.Work permitLast pay stub or letter from employer verifying your salary,working hours and employment status (full of part time)7.Cecking and/or saving account statement8.Trust account statement9.Medical provisions (medical insurance card)10.Death certificate of a deceased parent11.Headshot (minor in the entertainment industry)12.Entertainment contract (Minor in the entertainment industry)13. Letter from the minor stating why he/she wants to be emancipated14. Letter from parent(s), address from both parents, legal guardian(s),or person(s) entitled to your legal custody willing to provide somesupport After The emancipation is granted15. Notarized signature from parent(s), legal guardian(s), or personentitled to you legal custody if they are consenting to youremancipation. (You man notarize the “Notice of Hearing” formor notarize a sep
Caution! You should realize that applying for a fee waiver may influence your chances of becoming emancipated. Some judges might feel you aren’t really able to manage your financial affairs if you can’t pay the court fees, while other judges may see the same situation as a worthwhile plan you
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