In the Matter of M.G., a minor child

Re: Emancipation of Minors/Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001), Roswell (1999), Gossip Girl (2007), New Amsterdam (2018)

What is legal emancipation?  Can anyone under the age of 18 be legally emancipated?  Is it as easy to be emancipated as they show on TV?

TV Episodes:

Degrassi: The Next Generation, S.3 Ep.21: “Our House” (aired 2004); S.7, Ep.24: “We Built This City” (aired 2008).

New Amsterdam, S.4, Ep.14: “…Unto the Breach” (aired 2022).

Gossip Girl, S.2, Ep.11: “The Magnificent Archibalds” (aired 2008).

Roswell, S.1 Ep.15: “Independence Day” (aired 2000).

Sources:

Children’s Law Reform Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.12, s. 65 (2021).

Ontario Works Act, 1997, S.O. 1997, c. 25, Sched. A (2021).

A.C. v. V.A., 2012 ONCJ 7 (CanLII).

O.G. v. R.G., 2017 ONCJ 153 (CanLII).

NewYouth, “I’m Under 18, How Can I Apply For Ontario Works (Welfare)?” https://newyouth.ca/en/resources/daily-life/personal-finance/im-under-18-how-can-i-apply-ontario-works-welfare (2019).

Emancipation of Minors Act, NM Stat. 32A-21-1 to 32A-21-7 (New Mexico Statutes (2023 Ed.)).

“Petition for Emancipation Instructions” Children’s Court Self Help Forms, https://seconddistrictcourt.nmcourts.gov/home/courts/childrens-court/childrens-court-self-help-forms/ (PDF, rev. 8/5/15).

Department of Social Services Regulations (18 NYCRR) § 349.5.

“Emancipation in New York,” Legal Assistance of Western New York, Inc. https://www.lawny.org/node/9/emancipation-new-york (2023). 

Written, Researched, and Recorded by Céleste Young, 2023-2025.
Music: Out On My Skateboard - Mini Vandals

Waitisthatlegal@gmail.com

Transcript

            Oh no, your life is over!  You’re in high school, you have a band, great friends who have gotten over your questionable behavior in earlier seasons, and you have a girlfriend you are convinced is the one (because you don’t know she is moving to Kenya next season).  Now your mom tells you she is moving to Saskatchewan and you can’t move in with your dad and his new family.  What is an angst-ridden teenager to do?  Well, you’re a student at Degrassi High so the obvious answer is to emancipate yourself from your parents.  This is a concept that appeared quite often in Degrassi: The Next Generation, although only 2 characters were discussed in the show as seeking emancipation, most characters just found some other adult to live with or had parents that paid for them to live alone.  It almost always shows up as topic in at least one episode of any TV show with teens.  Sometimes the kid wanting emancipation is in an abusive home and wants to get out, other times they just don’t want to move away with their family.  Regardless of the motivation, the child usually prevails in separating themselves legally from their guardians.  But how common is emancipation for minors?  How often is it actually granted?  And what is the real life result of legally separating a minor from their parents or guardians?

            Emancipation of a minor is a legal process where a minor child petitions the Court to be legally separated from their parents or legal guardian.  The result is a minor who has all the legal rights of an adult.  There are a few different ways that a minor may become emancipated.  Express emancipation is when the minor and the legal guardian agree to separate and the legal guardian signs away parental rights.  Implied emancipation is where other circumstances have caused the minor’s legal status to change, usually through marriage, joining the military, or becoming a teenaged parent.  Court-ordered emancipation is when the minor petitions the Court to be legally emancipated and the Court facilitates the split and grants the minor their new legal status.  Unlike express and court-ordered emancipation, implied emancipation may not grant complete legal separation for the minor.  Particularly in the case of teenage pregnancy, the minor will gain the legal right to make medical decisions about their pregnancy, but their parents or guardian is still the legal guardian of the teen mother.

            And then there are the jurisdictions that do not actually recognize the concept of emancipation, at least as it appears in popular culture.  New York is one of these states; New Courts do not accept petitions to become emancipated, but they may still recognize the emancipated status of a minor in regards to a separate cause of action.  Usually the issue comes up in child support cases when a non-custodial parent no longer wants to pay child support to the other parent because the kid has removed themselves from the parent’s control.  In those cases, the Court may find that the minor child is actually living separate and independent of their parents and is an emancipated minor, so there is no longer an obligation to pay child support.  New York law requires parents, guardians, or custodians of minors to financially support children until the age of 21, unless the child becomes emancipated.  In New York, a child is emancipated if they are 16 or older, lives separately and permanently from their parents, is not financially supported by their parents, and is earning their main source of income through employment.  The State’s Regulations of the Department of Social Services defines an emancipated minor as: [quote] “a person over 16 years of age who has completed his compulsory education, who is living separate and apart from his family and is not in receipt of or in need of foster care.” [end quote]  Also parents of children under the age of 21 are no longer required to support a child who is married or enlisted in the military.  Just like in other jurisdictions, an emancipated minor is completely cut off financially from their parents, but in New York if the Court decides the child left home for a legitimate reason, usually abuse, the parent/parents may have to pay child support to that child until they reach the age of 21.

            So, that 8 year old kid that shows up randomly for one episode in Season 4 of the medical drama, New Amsterdam, would not be eligible for child support and emancipation from his parents regardless of what Google and his two sharks of lawyers have to say.  In that episode, a kid shows up for mental health evaluation on the advice of his legal counsel.  He explains that his lawyers are going to file a motion for emancipation along with an action asking for child-support.  The kid never really gives his reasons for wanting to separate from his parents, except the vague throwaway about them wanting him to skip some grades and be in the same class as 12 year olds.  He describes himself as smart enough to make his own decisions.  When Dr. Fromme asks if he’s being abused, or if he feels unsafe at home, he replies no.  He even says he would still live near his parents and they would do his laundry and cook his meals for him, after all he is eight and not crazy.  The situation is not resolved, Dr. Fromme never speaks to the parents, and we never see this kid again.  My guess is we never hear from him again because the whole thing gets dropped.  Regardless of what the lawyers may have promised this kid, there is no way any court in New York, let alone the country, is going to grant this kid emancipation of any kind.  He is eight years old, still lives at home, does not have a job, and his parents are making reasonable requests of their smart, 8 year old son.  Unfortunately, other than voicing his concerns and maybe having Dr. Fromme help him express to his parents that he does not want to skip several grades in school, his parents have the complete authority and legal right to make decisions about their child’s education.

            Another show based in New York, Gossip Girl, had a story arc involving a 14/15 year old Jenny Humphrey considering becoming emancipated in order to start her fashion line.  She even goes to some social services or legal aid office where the woman tells her there needs to be proof of parental neglect and she gives Jenny a packet of papers to sign that would authorize the state to investigate Jenny’s parents.  In the end Jenny decides not to go through with signing the papers.  Not that signing the papers would have mattered, because as we’ve already learned New York does not do petitions for emancipation.  The packet of papers shown briefly is a real props department masterpiece because none of it is real.  The cover sheet is labelled “Emancipation of Minor” and includes forms titled “Petition of Declaration of Emancipation of Minor” and “Notice of Hearing”.  Jenny cannot become emancipated in the State of New York because she is not 16 years old, she is only in 10th grade and nowhere near completing high school, and despite spending time crashing with various friends she is not living independently, nor has she made it clear that she wants to live separate from her family.  Even by the episodes standard that there needs to be proof of parental neglect she would likely fail because her dad is not perfect, but he provides a really nice home, he pays her tuition to a top tier private school, and is trying to make reasonable parenting decision based on Jenny’s increasingly worrisome behavior.  A lot of characters in Gossip Girl would qualify for neglectful parents, but the Humphreys are not one of them.

            Moving on from the absurd New York emancipation claims, the beloved Canadian TV show Degrassi: The Next Generation presents some more reasonable examples of emancipation that are grounded in real laws.  In Season 3 of the show, Sean ends up joining the Student Welfare program when his older brother moves to Alberta for a job.  Sean’s parents live outside of Toronto and are abusive and unfit parents, because of this he lives with his older brother who is his legal guardian.  When his brother gets a job offer to work in the oil sands in Alberta it is assumed Sean is coming with him.  Sean is upset for the usual teenage reasons, but also because exams are starting and he does not want to lose another year of school.  He already repeated 7th grade, he does not want to have to repeat 9th grade, too.  His shop teacher notices that Sean is angry and acting out and when he asks Sean about it Sean confides that he doesn’t want to go.  The shop teacher tells Sean about Student Welfare and agrees to be Sean’s trustee.  I’ll admit, this one went over my head completely back when the show aired (I was in middle school after all), but even as an adult I did not know this was real.

            It is a real program though.  Ontario Works is a social assistance program available for residents of the province of Ontario (which is where Toronto and the show are based).  It provides financial assistance for food, housing, and other basic necessities while offering programs to help with employment.  Residents of Ontario under the age of 18 can apply for Ontario Works if they are enrolled or are willing to enroll in an approved school or job training program.  It is meant for kids who get kicked out of their homes or are in abusive homes and for kids whose parents cannot or will not support them financially.  The minor does have to apply for Ontario Works and there is an interview requirement with a social worker.  The program also does not pay out directly to the minor; the money is paid to an adult trustee.

            In Sean’s case, he is enrolled in school and the shop teacher agrees to be his trustee because he understands Sean’s situation and wants to help him be the first in his family to graduate.  Technically, Sean’s parents are abusive and not financially supporting him, but Sean’s brother has taken on Sean’s guardianship.  I do not think that detail would matter, his brother is moving to Alberta and Sean has a valid reason for wanting to stay in Toronto.  The bigger issue might be that Sean has a juvenile record and it is probably something that would come up in the interview.  It is also unclear whether the program would pay enough for Sean to continue living in the 2 bedroom house his brother was renting.  His brother does mention the rent is paid to the end of the month, but after that I imagine that Sean would need to find a small apartment to rent instead.  Ontario Works is an assistance program that just offers financial help, it does not confer any legal rights on to the minor, the way true emancipation would.  This is especially clear in the way Sean does not get the money directly from the province, but instead through his shop teacher who has to sign off on his grades.  The shop teacher also keeps an eye out for Sean’s welfare by making sure he is serious about school and staying out of trouble, which Sean almost screws up by allowing his house to be a party pad for his new friends.  In Sean’s case his older brother is likely still his legal guardian, despite living 3 provinces away and not financially supporting his brother.

            The topic of emancipation is actually brought up by the character, Peter, at the end of the 7th season.  Peter’s mom tells him she is taking a leave of absence from being Degrassi’s principal in order to take care of her sick mother who lives in Saskatchewan.  She expects Peter to come with her, which causes Peter to exasperatedly state: “But grandma lives in Regina!”  Which is funny to me because my grandma also lived in Regina, which is admittedly not Toronto, but still has its own charm.  Peter tries to get his dad to take him in, but he says he is trying to make a life for his pregnant fiancée and himself, and that with a baby on the way they don’t have room.  Peter then remembers a Simpson’s episode where Bart gets emancipated from his parents and he asks his friend and bandmate’s father, who is a lawyer, for advice.  All we hear before the scene ends is Mr. Van Zant explaining to Peter that there are 3 ways to go about emancipation.  By the next season, and school year, Peter is living on his own in a condo he says his dad pays for.  Nothing more is explained.

            Unlike Sean’s reasons for wanting to stay at Degrassi, Peter’s reasons are much more trivial.  Peter wants to stay primarily because of his girlfriend, but also for his band.  Peter has a loving and stable relationship with his mom and no academic reason to stay in Toronto.  His mother absolutely does not want to leave Peter on his own or with his father because of Peter’s past behavior.  Earlier in the season Peter is arrested for illegal street racing after he is given an expensive car by his dad.  A pedestrian dies as a result of the races.  Peter is sentenced with house arrest (he can still go to school, but has a curfew) and community service.  His driver’s license is also suspended, and he is caught driving with a suspended license and given more community service time.  By the time his mom moves away, Peter seems to have completed his punishment, but he still has a juvenile record and I imagine is on probation of some sort.  Peter’s parents are also in agreement about his going to Saskatchewan, which is incredible because they are hostile divorced parents otherwise.

            If the show had taken place in most places in the U.S., Peter would have no chance of staying in Toronto because his mother has primary custody of him and his dad has agreed to let Peter go to Saskatchewan with her.  With his record and without a compelling reason to stay, no judge would agree to grant him separation from his parents.  However, Peter is in Canada and Ontario, specifically, whose laws are a lot different.  Like New York, Ontario does not recognize the legal concept of emancipation or the act of petitioning the Court to be emancipated.  Instead, under Ontario’s Children’s Law Reform Act (or CLRA) minors that are at least 16 years old can withdraw from parental control.  This usually just takes the form of the 16 plus year old moving out of the parent’s house and acting independently.  No court order necessary for the most part.  Peter does not actually need to divorce his parents or file for emancipation; he is at least 16, we know this because he had a driver’s license, so all he needs to do is move out and start acting like an adult.  He can also refuse to move to Saskatchewan and make other arrangements for himself.  Doing this would be a voluntary withdrawal from his parent’s control, which severs both the familial bonds and the financial obligations of his parents.

            Sometimes, though, a child does not have a choice when it comes to withdrawing from their parents; they might be kicked out or be suffering abuse.  In such cases, the Ontario Courts have concluded that a child who involuntarily withdraws from a parent’s control is entitled to child support from that parent.  The Court determines whether a parent owes child support to an independent child using the following test, laid out in the Ontario Court of Justice case, O.G. v. R.G.: 1) the burden of establishing that the withdrawal was involuntary is on the child, the presumption is that they have voluntarily chosen to leave; 2) despite the presumption, the Court should proceed with caution before making a finding on the facts; 3) the standard used to determine involuntariness looks to eviction and unbearable conditions; 4) this standard is based on what is unbearable for the specific child on a case by case basis; 5) withdrawal is considered voluntary if a child leaves because they refuse to follow reasonable parenting limits; 6) the child’s decision to leave must be complete and final, severing the family bonds and starting a life of their own; 7) they must withdraw from both parents; 8) the court may look at the parent and child’s behavior before and after the withdrawal, the quality of their communications, and whether the parent has attempted to repair the relationship after the withdrawal.

            It is unclear what actually happened with Mr. Van Zant and what Peter was counselled to do, but in reality a kid in Peter’s situation would likely have a couple of options.  First, he could go to Saskatchewan with his mom, this is the path of least resistance and probably in Peter’s best interests.  Second, he could move out, get a job and an apartment, and become completely separate from both of his parents; alternatively, he could move out and apply for the Ontario Works program like Sean which would help him pay for an apartment, food, and clothes, so long as he is enrolled at Degrassi.  Third, he refuses to move to Saskatchewan and instead demands that his dad steps up, by letting him live with his dad and his new family, or by supporting Peter in another way.  The third option seems to be the option that was chosen, and obviously Peter’s dad refused to let Peter live with him.  The question here is whether Peter’s dad is paying for the condo voluntarily or if he has been forced to pay for it by the Court.  So, just as a thought exercise, for fun, let’s go through the voluntariness test to determine if Peter’s dad would owe Peter child support.  To get child support the burden would be on Peter to prove that his withdrawal from his father’s support was involuntary because it was actually an eviction or due to unbearable conditions.  In Peter’s case, way back in his first season on the show we learn that when he is at his dad’s house he stays in a room that also doubles as the storage room.  It’s actually more storage than having any room for him, and this is reflected by Peter telling Emma, “This is the room where my dad keeps all the stuff he doesn’t want, including me.”  After his arrest, it seems that he doesn’t spend much time at his dad’s house at all and when he tells his dad his mom is moving; his dad basically tells him there is no room for him in his new life.  His dad’s flat refusal to allow him to live in his house is essentially an eviction, but the treatment of Peter before that refusal is unbearable to Peter.  Peter acts out mainly because of his parent’s constant fighting over Peter’s mistakes and his dad’s disinterest in his son does not help.  After Peter moves out he actually does pretty well for himself and seems a lot less miserable.  Where the test gets tricky is that Peter has technically withdrawn from both parents, but he hasn’t totally severed ties and started his own independent life.  He only moved out of his mom’s house because he refused to go to Saskatchewan with her, and her demand that he go with her was completely reasonable as the custodial parent.  Both parents regularly check-in with Peter, his mom because she misses and worries about him, his dad because he wants Peter to babysit his half-sister.  In the Ontario Court of Justice case I referenced before, the dad had full custody of his daughter when the mother moved to Florida.  The father and daughter did not get along and the daughter finally moved out of his house to live with family friends while she applied for college in Florida.  She was suing her dad to force him to pay his financial obligations to her in the form of tuition.  The Court agreed with the daughter that her withdrawal from her father was involuntary.  Peter’s situation is a little different because with him it is the custodial parent that moves away and his dad was not forcing him to stay.  The relationship between the children and their dads are pretty similar with neither child having much interaction with their dad after moving out.  Unlike O’s situation where she was forced away from her mother, Peter chose not to go with his mother.  I think the situations are probably similar enough to illustrate that Peter was forced to separate from his dad involuntarily and his father is still financially obligated to support him despite him being emancipated.  Whether it is because he acknowledges he still has parental responsibilities or because it is court ordered is not discussed, but, either way, his dad is supporting him by paying for Peter’s condo.  Within the nebulous ether between seasons we, as legally-minded viewers, can imply that Peter and his parents worked this all out in accordance with Ontario’s laws.

            Moving back to the States now…The only show I came across that seemed to handle the issue of emancipation in the stereotypical way that it is usually depicted, but did so according to the actual law was the TV show Roswell, which first aired in 1999.  Leave it to a show about teenaged aliens to get emancipated minors correct.  In Season 1 of Roswell, one of the three aliens, Michael, gets emancipated from his foster father.  This happens after his friends discover that his foster father is physically abusive and after trying to persuade him to stay with any of them he finally asks Max and Isabel’s dad for help.  Mr. Evans is an attorney and has apparently done this sort of case before; he is immediately responsive and willing to help Michael become emancipated.  Then they show a scene with Michael and Mr. Evans sitting with a Judge who grants Michael’s petition.

            New Mexico, the state where Roswell is based, is a jurisdiction that does recognize petitions of emancipation for minors.  The State’s Emancipation of Minors Act defines an emancipated minor as someone over the age of 16 who is married, is on active duty with the U.S. Military, or has received a declaration of emancipation.  In order to qualify for  declaration of emancipation the minor must be at least 16 years old, willingly living separately from their parents or guardian, managing their own finances, and the court finds emancipation is in the minor’s best interests.  The effect of being declared emancipated is that the minor is considered an adult for the purposes of: making medical decisions; entering into contracts; terminating the control and support of their parents; establishing their own residence; buying and selling real property; assuming the legal liability attached to their own actions, particularly torts; and enrollment in school.  Or as the Judge puts it in Roswell, Michael is now “responsible for all your financial, educational, and medical decisions.”  

            The process for becoming emancipated in New Mexico is actually pretty simple, and the Courts website even provides a packet of forms with instructions for minors that are not represented by an attorney.  [Hmm…a packet of forms, sounds familiar…]  Basically, the procedure is: the minor petitions the children’s court in their district.  The petition must be verified and notarized and include paycheck stubs, receipts of rent payment, proof of enrollment in school or verification of employment, and bills that show the minor is capable of taking care of themselves.  Then the parents or guardian are notified of the action and given a summons to the hearing.  At the hearing the Judge hears the evidence presented both for and against emancipation, then makes a ruling based on whether the minor meets the statutory requirements and whether granting the petition would be in the best interests of the minor.  Once the Petition for Emancipation is granted, the District Court Judge gives the final approval on the Declaration of Emancipation.  At this point the minor is now legally emancipated.

            In Michael Guerin’s case, the process would be fairly easy.  Michael is at least 16, because all the teens in the group are able to drive and must be old enough to have their driver’s licenses.  Michael is in foster care, which means he is actually a ward of the State, with his foster father serving as a temporary guardian.  As far as the State knows, Michael was abandoned as a child in the desert by his real parents and their legal rights would have been terminated due to that abandonment.  Before and during this episode, Michael is still living in the foster dad’s trailer and does not have a job.  After the episode he is working part time as a cook at the Crashdown Café and later as night security at a local lab facility.  He also has his own apartment he pays for.  My guess is Mr. Evans told him to get a job and move into his own apartment or at least crash on a friends couch if no one will rent to him until he is emancipated.  Michael is only required to make all reasonable attempts to provide notice to his foster father.  He would not have been able to provide the notice though, because by that point he is officially a missing person, but is actually dead.  The State would also be notified of Michael’s intent to emancipate himself from the foster care system and theoretically they could argue that Michael should remain as a ward of the State and be placed with a new foster parent, but this would be unlikely because the emancipation would remove their responsibility to care for him.  In the end we see that the Judge grants the Declaration of Emancipation for Michael, which allows him to live on his own and make his own decisions about his life.  After all the previous examples it was nice to see a show get the emancipation process correct and to actually see it play out.  Of course it helps that New Mexico’s process is essentially in line with the emancipation trope used by most TV shows.

            I found it quite funny that in a couple of these shows there were references to other fictional scenarios of emancipated minors.  In Gossip Girl, Jenny’s friend Eric responds to the social worker/lawyer that Jenny’s idea of research was to make him watch “Irreconcilable Differences” 15 times.  This is pretty hilarious because Irreconcilable Differences stars a young Drew Barrymore who wants to live with her nanny and not her parents.  It is likely that movie is where the idea of “divorcing your parents” came from.  A better example for Jenny would have been Drew Barrymore herself, who was emancipated from her parents at age 14.  The other character that does this is Peter on Degrassi.  He tells Mr. Van Zant that he knows all about emancipation from that episode of the Simpsons where Bart gets emancipated from his parents and moves into a house next door to Tony Hawk.  Again Roswell, the show about aliens, provides the most grounded response to the topic with Isabel suggesting to Michael that her dad might be able to help because he had a client in a similar situation.  No one on the show brings up a fictional example and Michael doesn’t even ask Mr. Evans to help him get emancipated.  He asks if there is a way he could live on his own.  This is kind of awesome, I cannot imagine the amount of times lawyers in New York or Ontario get asked by teenagers if they can file for emancipation, to which their response is probably: “Are you still living with your parents?  Do you have a job?”  And if they say yes, “Congratulations, you are emancipated.  Is there something else I can help you with?”  I’m sure it is also prefaced with some reference to a TV show or movie, too.  But this will only work if that minor is in New Mexico and asks to be emancipated, “like the foster kid from that 90s show about aliens in Roswell.”  “The X-Files?”  “No.  The teen one, Roswell.”  Mostly I was really impressed by how Roswell and Degrassi handled the topic and how closely Michael and Sean’s experiences on their respective shows followed the New Mexico and Ontario statutes.  Even Peter’s situation on Degrassi could be realistic because it happens off screen and between seasons of the show.  So way to go Degrassi, it really goes there.

Thank You for Listening.  This show is researched, written, and recorded by me, Céleste Young.  None of the legal advice or opinions expressed in this episode are intended as specific or individualized legal advice.  Please like, subscribe, rate, or review this podcast if you enjoyed it.  If you have any questions or comments, please e-mail them to Waitisthatlegal@gmail.com.  You can find the Podcast on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Don’t rely on TV Shows and popular culture for legal advice; it is just as likely to be completely wrong as it is to be grounded in some truth.