Can You Get Emancipated After You Turn 18

[14makillion]

My question involves a marriage in the state of: Indiana

I am 18 years old and I am a senior in High School. I currently do not live with my parents, who are divorced. I stay from place to place weather it be my grandparents or friends. However, my address on my license is my mom's address. I am receiving no support from my parents and I am getting ready to fill out the FAFSA for college aid. If emancipated, I would get more aid. I feel that I am already emancipated but not sure how to legally do it. Also, how will this effect my health insurance? Do I have to have my own place? I currently have a job and I am paying my loan off for my truck and Insurance.

[Mr. Knowitall]

You're already an adult. You're emancipated by virtue of your age. If you want to try to get more financial aid, talk to the financial aid office of your college about your options.

[cbg]

At 18 you are already emancipated by virtue of age. Court-ordered emancipations are NEVER granted to allow you to get more FAFSA aid. And I mean as in NEVER. That would defeat the entire purpose. So no, but-what-ifs, please.

As far as your health insurance goes, that's between you and your parents. As of 2010, the law expressly permits your parents to continue to cover you, regardless of student status, until you reach the age of 26. While they are not required to cover you (which is why I say it's between you and them) the insurance carrier CANNOT refuse to cover you if your parents want to cover you, as long as you are otherwise eligible and under age 26. So you'll need to discuss it with them.

[flyingron]

Even if you could get an emancipation order at 18 (or older), it still wouldn't make any difference to FAFSA. The law is specific in FAFSA, you must be an emancipated MINOR. The fact that your parents won't contribute to your education (or other living expense) is NOT eligibility for financial aid by itself unfortunately. In fact, lots of kids graduate high school and end up paying their own way through school. I didn't live at home at all once I graduated HS. The word is "get a job" and "study hard." Financial aid isn't a right (at least under the current scheme, but I did read a recent study that said if we just abolished the current federal fin/aid system and gave the money directly to the universities, there'd be enough money in the budget to cover everybody's tuition).

As stated, emancipation (in the legal, not FAFSA sense) has nothing to do with proving you're financially independent. It's recognition that an independent living minor needs relief from the "disability" of entering into contracts that is necessary for his continued independence. It's perhaps one of the most misunderstood concepts of young people The only definition of the word emancipation is from their 8th grade US history study of the civil war.

[Disagreeable]

Go to one of your schools financial aide counselors and give her the facts of your situation. She/He will determine your status.

[llworking]

Even if you could get an emancipation order at 18 (or older), it still wouldn't make any difference to FAFSA. The law is specific in FAFSA, you must be an emancipated MINOR. The fact that your parents won't contribute to your education (or other living expense) is NOT eligibility for financial aid by itself unfortunately. In fact, lots of kids graduate high school and end up paying their own way through school. I didn't live at home at all once I graduated HS. The word is "get a job" and "study hard." Financial aid isn't a right (at least under the current scheme, but I did read a recent study that said if we just abolished the current federal fin/aid system and gave the money directly to the universities, there'd be enough money in the budget to cover everybody's tuition).

As stated, emancipation (in the legal, not FAFSA sense) has nothing to do with proving you're financially independent. It's recognition that an independent living minor needs relief from the "disability" of entering into contracts that is necessary for his continued independence. It's perhaps one of the most misunderstood concepts of young people The only definition of the word emancipation is from their 8th grade US history study of the civil war.

Part of the problem is that the word "emancipation" is used in so many different contexts. There is emancipation when you become a legal adult, there is emancipation for child support purposes which means something slightly different in Indiana. There is emancipation for the purposes of FAFSA which means something different. There is even emancipation for some tax issues which means something different again. Its no wonder they get confused.

[flyingron]

There is no "emancipation" when you become 18. You just cease to be under the disabilities that require recognition of emancipation for minors to get out of.

FAFSA does not use the term EMANCIPATION when talking about aid qualification to specifically avoid this confusion. They call the person an "independent student." There are a dozen or so things that qualify you as an independent student (turning 24, getting married, getting into a graduate program, being active duty military, etc....). Having been an emancipated minor is just one of them.

Every day someone says "my parents won't support me in college" so I need to convince FAFSA to give me independent status. The problem is that absent one of those specific things that the law says merits that status, you won't get it. As stated, nothing a judge can do to an 18 year old will change the FAFSA eligibility. The financial aid officer can't waive his wand and change anything either (despite some other posters wishful thinking). In fact, the school has NO INPUT into the FAFSA process. It is between the student, the parent that FAFSA determines is the custodial one (again their OWN rules not any other legal definition) if the student isn't independent, and the DOE.

[Mr. Knowitall]

There is no "emancipation" when you become 18. You just cease to be under the disabilities that require recognition of emancipation for minors to get out of.

There's no judicial emancipation, but in all but a couple of states there is an emancipation by virtue of reaching the age of majority.

[MGSMan]

The problem the OP has is this, If a person is emancipated BEFORE they turn 18 they qualify for significantly more financial aid. Lets take two students, student A who was emancipated at 17 and who parents won't contribute a dime to their education, and student B who was never emancipated before 18, but whose parents will won't make any contributions.

The only difference is student A was emancipated at 17, but for aid they will qualify for significantly more aid, and may be able to get grants covering all of their education cost. Student B may find financial aid much more difficult to obtain. To me if you are smart you will get emancipated before you turn 18, to get more financial aid.

[LawResearcherMissy]

To me if you are smart you will get emancipated before you turn 18, to get more financial aid.

"Smart" doesn't come into play when it comes to emancipation of minors.

It's not even available in every state, and where it is available, the requirements are strict and very few minors meet the strictures.

You might not want to talk about emancipation if you're not actually familiar with what it entails.