Emancipation with Rights to Your Earnings

[EmptyDictionary]

My question involves emancipation laws for the State of: Utah.

A friend of mine is looking into being emancipated, but all of the money he makes from working his parents take. Considering he earned it, doesn't that make it rightfully his and if he was to be emancipated they would have to return it all to him? I remember reading something about it somewhere on the internet, but I don't remember where... If you can help, that'd be great, thanks.

[cbg]

How old is your friend and why does he think he is a candidate for emancipation?

[EmptyDictionary]

He is sixteen years of age.
He's been abused and neglected by his parents, so I'm helping him do something about it.
This is what he's chosen.

[seniorjudge]

When you work full time and support yourself 100%, then you are emancipated.

[EmptyDictionary]

He's in school. When he isn't in school, he's working, he pays for his own food, his own clothes, his cell phone bill, he's even trying to save money to get a car, but his parents take all his money from him. He only gets to keep so much of it to pay for everything. And he keeps asking me if/when he gets emancipated if he would get that money back from his parents, because he did earn it, so it is rightfully his, is it not?

[cbg]

Not as long as he is under 18.

[EmptyDictionary]

How is that fair though? He worked his butt off for it, he earned it. So why wouldn't he have rights to it? His parents shouldn't.

[EmptyDictionary]

How is that fair though? He worked his butt off for it, he earned it. So why wouldn't he have rights to it? His parents shouldn't.

I talked to my parents about it and they said he could argue that in court. The money is rightfully his.

[EmptyDictionary]

Not as long as he is under 18.

So what if he does get emancipated? Then isn't he technically an adult? Wouldn't he be able to get his money then?

[cbg]

Okay, let me spell it out for you in the easiest possible terms so that you are able to understand it.

1.) He does not have the right to ANYTHING except a roof over his head, nourishment, weather appropriate clothing and an appropriate eduction unless his parents say he does. This includes money that he may have earned outside of school, and this condition lasts until his 18th birthday.

2.) It may or may not be fair, but no one ever told you life was fair.

3.) His chances of being emancipated are less than 1%. Emancipations are not handed out like candy mints. Judges LOOK for reasons to deny emancipation petitions. Of the several thousand kids who have written to this board looking for emancipation, ONE of them succeeded, and he had a much better reason than, my parents aren't letting me have my money to do what I want to do with it.

4.) In the exceedingly unlikely event that he is emancipated, and I REALLY wouldn't hold my breath waiting for that to happen, then any money he earns IN FUTURE will technically belong to him (though he will pay out just about every cent of it in rent, food, clothing, utilities, transportation, insurance, medical care, school fees and supplies, and all the other incidentals of life, and good luck having enough for all of that while still going to school and keeping his grades up). However, nothing from prior to the emancipation will have to be handed back to him.

5.) If he is being abused, the answer is to call CPS. They may or may not take him out of the home. Foster care is an option. So is counselling for his parents. So is having another relative appointed his guardian. Emancipation is not an option. It is not his choice how the situation gets resolved.