Do Parents Have to Support a Minor Child Who Was Emancipated by Marriage

So the lawyer told you pretty much what I told you. Go figure.

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Quoting Roadangel

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I did call a lawyer now. Thought this was legal advice, so that's why I tried this first. Sorry if I stepped on toes. Like I said.. didn't realize this was just a advice column.. I needed legal advice! She IS emancipated and a divorce can take a long time here in Wisconsin cause there's a waiting period to begin with. Once she gets divorced she's still emancipated, but the lawyer didn't know if the court can at that point ask for child support (which I don't really care about that part I just don't want her back in the house) or reverse the emancipation if they feel she's not fit to be on her own. She said she would have to research that if I needed the answer for that in the future and then I would have to pay. but as for now I guess I don't have to worry about it. She will have to get a divorce from her husband first. And for those of you who judge me.. walk in my shoes first. You will humble tremendously. I used to be one of you..always thinking it's the parents' fault if a child turns out bad... giving advice to people who were (in my book) bad parents. Sometimes.. IT IS NOT the parents fault!! We've done everything in our power to raise a good productive child. Now we do everything in our power to protect the rest of the flock. We still support her, just not in our home!!

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You're misreading. There's a "cooling off" period between filing for divorce and having the final hearing. If it's not contested, it should take around 6 months start to finish. If it is contested it can be a year or longer.

Somewhat yes and I thank you for being the one actually giving me legal advice!!! The lawyer did say she IS still emancipated after divorce. She just doesn't know if the courts can ask me for support for her AFTER she gets a divorce. Right now I'm NOT responsible for her in any way. My issue was not financial support anyway. My issue was letting her back into my home.

Off topic: What she needs is some kind of mental facility where they can figure out what meds she needs to be on to lead a normal life, but that doesn't seem to exist in this state. :-( It's just like the prisoners here. Her birth-mom has been in and out of prison all of her life (last stint was 9 years, out for 6 months and now back in for 4 years). This woman has all kinds of mental issues, but instead of helping her with her mental issues, they just throw her into prison and let her back out, just for her to repeat the same things over and over again.

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6 months is long enough...when I got divorced years ago we were divorced in 2 months. Take the fact that her husband is nowhere to be found into consideration and you have an additional problem. Lots can happen in 6 months though!

BY DEFINITION if you are supporting her, she is not emancipated. That's what emancipation MEANS - that she is self-supporting.

Upon marriage parents were emancipated from the burden of supporting her. I would say the burden is now her spouses and her own.

I simply stated that if she has to come home to live..there are rules to be established. With your attitude on this forum, I really hope you can either get a Psych Hospital or just get stuck with this this brat,

I actually wasn't thinking that you were attacking me pandora - just Missy, but now it sounds like you do. That's ok though... my fault for thinking that a site with the title Expert Law actually means expert advice. So gullible am I... Can anyone tell me how I can delete a forum post? I would like to delete this whole thing cause it's no good for anyone else in the future either, so it might as well doesn't exist!

Read the terms of service. It's here for good.

I don't know if you'll end up having to support her or not, but I can tell you this; if you are supporting her, she is not emancipated. If she is (still) emancipated, you will not be supporting her. The concepts of a minor being supported by her parents, and emancipated, are at cross purposes. Only one can be true -not both. There is no such thing as an emancipated minor who is being supported by her parents.

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Quoting Roadangel

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The lawyer did say she IS still emancipated after divorce. She just doesn't know if the courts can ask me for support for her AFTER she gets a divorce.

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She remains emancipated for some purposes, but not for all purposes. There is nothing in the statute by which the courts can seek compensation from a parent for the cost of a juvenile's detention that would excuse the parent in the event of the juvenile's prior emancipation by marriage. If I were being asked to pay I would certainly try to convince a court that, despite the plain language of the statute, it's implicit that it doesn't apply to an emancipated minor, but I wouldn't be surprised if the court disagreed.

Similarly, with no statute to look at and with there appearing to be no case law on the issue, it's not clear whether the state would follow the model of some states (once emancipated, always emancipated) or others (once the trigger for emancipation ends, the child reverts to being under the authority of her parents), save for those circumstances in which the legislature has provided a context-specific answer (e.g., the parental notification law).

Also, in some states emancipation is limited in its scope, e.g., to letting minors enter into contracts or to own property in the capacity of an adult. Without a statute or case law to provide parameters, it's possible that a court could hold that emancipation by marriage in your state is subject to various limits or constraints, such that there is some level of continuing parental authority and responsibility even if the child is married, with the case becoming more compelling upon separation or divorce.

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Quoting Roadangel

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What she needs is some kind of mental facility where they can figure out what meds she needs to be on to lead a normal life, but that doesn't seem to exist in this state.

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I suspect that if you investigate you'll find that they exist, but that they're not free.

Public mental health programs across the nation were cut back in the 1970's-1980's, and many mentally ill persons now cycle through jails and prisons instead of state mental hospitals. At the same time, there were a lot of problems with the former approach, and some state mental health facilities were horrific.

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Quoting cbg

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BY DEFINITION if you are supporting her, she is not emancipated. That's what emancipation MEANS - that she is self-supporting.

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The definition of what it means to be emancipated varies by state, as does the question of what rights and what level of independence a minor can obtain through that process. The concept of emancipation by marriage largely flows from the common law, with the idea being that a young woman would be supported by her husband and thus no longer need the support of her parents. (I don't want to use gendered language, but historically that was the concept). Ohio revokes emancipation upon divorce. I am not aware of any statutes that deal with spousal abandonment, nor do I recall ever seeing that issue addressed in the case law, but that's in no small part because in most states and cases emancipation is not reversible by subsequent circumstances.

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Quoting Disagreeable

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Upon marriage parents were emancipated from the burden of supporting her. I would say the burden is now her spouses and her own.

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It's not an unreasonable argument to make, but again we have no statute or relevant case law to look at and the state has statutory authority for pursuing support from the parents if the minor remains in detention. The issue here is stated as being "Do I have to let her back into my home", not "Do I have to pay for her support", and it may turn out that the court agrees that the parents no longer have to let her into their home but can be billed according to their means for the time she spends in juvenile detention.

I agree Mr K. I looked various ways for something of substantive and could not find it either.