Q: Can I get legally emancipated if both my parents are dead?
If both my parents die, I’d like to remain independent as I only have two years left till I leave for college. All the potential guardians my parents want are out of country and I don’t want that. Is there a way I could be responsible for myself and remain in the states via emancipation?
A: In theory, at age 15, a child who can prove that they can financially support themselves and manage on their own, can become emancipated. This is most common when there is substantial evidence of abuse or neglect at home, but appointment of a new guardian is the preference. However, an adult typically must file for emancipation on the minor's behalf. More than likely, a judge will not deem a minor at age 15 or even 16 or 17, still in high school, as emotionally or financially capable of living on their own, and will look to appoint a guardian. At age 15 and up, a judge will consider the preferences of the child for their guardian, but in the end it is up to the judge acting in the best interests of the minor, and giving due weight to the preferences of persons appointed in a will. Removing a child who has lived and grown up all their life in the United States and placing them with a foreign national, even a family member, against the US citizen minor's will, may not be granted, depending on the circumstances and age of the minor. It seems an unlikely scenario that you would lose both of your parents before you're 18, but chances of being granted emancipation, or being granted the right to select your guardian, increase the closer you are to 18.
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