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Emancipated

You are an emancipated minor if:

• you are less than 22 years old and
• your parents have entirely surrendered the right to your care, custody, and earnings and
• they are no longer under any duty to support you and
• they have made no provision for your support. 

You must be emancipated before you can establish a domicile separate from the domicile of you parents. This means that your parents cannot provide financial support of any nature for any ordinary or necessary expense.  Parental support includes but is not limited to:

• gifts
• loans (including PLUS loans) that you depend on for financial support.  
• Trust funds or other assets established by your parents before the one-year domicile period are regarded as evidence of nonemancipation if the funds or assets were intended, or could reasonably have been expected, to provide support for the period you claim to be emancipated.

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Loans co-signed by parents are scrutinized carefully to see that the primary legal obligation of the repayment rests squarely upon the minor and not upon the parents.  Minors must provide documentation of any such loan agreements. 

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You may be covered under your parents’ health and automobile insurance if coverage does not require that you be a dependent and if you pay all costs, such as additional premiums and deductibles, associated with your coverage.

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Your parents may claim you as a dependent for tax purposes if emancipation commences after the beginning of that year.  For example, you would be judged emancipated as of August if your parents cease support at that time, even though they claim you as a dependent for that year.  They cannot claim you as a dependent for following years.

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If you are an emancipated minor granted resident status, you are subject to reclassification as non-resident if your parents resume support.

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If you wish to claim emancipated status, you must prove that you are completely self-supporting and financially independent from your parents.  The Tuition Classification Petition provides space for you to show all expenses and how those expenses have been met.  The burden is placed solely upon you to prove emancipation to the satisfaction of the Tuition Classification Officer.