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- Title
PARENT AND CHILD - EMANCIPATION: THE EMANCIPATION OF MINOR CHILDREN: FREEDOM OF NORTH DAKOTA YOUTH.
- Authors
Studer, Michael C.
- Abstract
Emancipation is the act of freeing a child from their parent's control thereby allowing the child to be independent and take on the full responsibilities of an adult. In North Dakota, a minor may be emancipated in one of two ways: (1) by reaching the age of majority (18 years-old), or (2) by obtaining parental consent to enter into a marriage before the age of majority. Currently, all fifty states and the District of Columbia have an established law setting forth circumstances in which minors are emancipated. Thirty-one states have an established court process allowing minors themselves to petition for emancipation before the age of majority. North Dakota is not one of them. North Dakota remains in the minority of states that does not have any established statutory scheme nor common law principles allowing a minor child to petition for emancipation from her parents before reaching the age of majority. With the growing trend of child autonomy, minors seek ways to start their adult lives early without interference from their parents. States that allow emancipation grant it in a variety of situations. These states permit it to avoid labor laws, make their own money, and enter into their own binding contracts. On the surface, these benefits may seem attractive to opportunistic teenagers and completely terrify concerned parents. But many of the benefits of emancipation assist more than those looking to move out of mom and dad's basement prematurely. Emancipation can help self-sufficient children escape abusive homes and severe neglect to begin providing for themselves in a healthy environment without the need of the state foster care system. The United States remains inconsistent when it comes to granting emancipation to minors; thus, this area of law has yielded drastic disparities as to when and how emancipation is granted. This note will discuss the advantages for enacting an emancipation statute in the State of North Dakota and examine why allowing minors to petition a court to be emancipated can benefit the children of our state.
- Subjects
NORTH Dakota; EMANCIPATION of minors; PARENTAL consent (Marriage); PARENTS; TEENAGERS
- Publication
North Dakota Law Review, 2021, Vol 96, Issue 2, p263
- ISSN
0029-2745
- Publication type
Article