How long does emancipation take in california

Emancipated allows a youth to be freed from the custody and control of their parents and to have many of the rights and responsibilities of an adult. There are three ways a minor may become emancipated: 1. Get married with parental consent and permission from the court. Join the military. Go to court and have the judge declare you emancipated. No, emancipation is meant to be a positive step for a minor, not a way for parents to get out of their parental responsibilities.

If you would like to discuss all of your options, including emancipation, you can call Legal Services for Children. For more legal resources click HERE. After you have completed the forms and all necessary attachments and obtained your parents signatures if possible , take the original plus three copies and the attachments to the Probate Clerk's Office or you may submit by mail and must include a self-addressed stamped envelope for return of your conformed copies.

To ask for a fee waiver:. You may be ordered to go to court to answer questions about your ability to pay court fees and costs and to provide proof of eligibility. You will receive an Order on Court Fees Waiver form FW telling you if your request was granted approved or denied. The Order will explain how to proceed. Act quickly - you only have 10 days from the date the Order is mailed to you to comply with the order or exercise your options if your request was denied.

The court can collect fees and costs due to the court. If waived fees and costs are ordered paid to the trial court, the court can start collection proceedings. Emancipation is only one of several alternatives available to you if you feel you cannot live with your parents. You may want to consider other options such as:. The Court will notify the District Attorney's Office of the existence of the petition.

The District Attorney's Office will check to see if your parents are collecting support from you. If so, they will oppose the petition. If not, the judge will:. If the judge finds that all notice and consent requirements have been met or waived and that emancipation is not contrary to your best interests, the judge may grant your petition prior to your hearing date without an appearance.

You can check the probate notes to obtain more information regarding your case. The judge may, at the time of hearing, request that the parties undergo mediation through either Family Court Services prior to making a decision on the petition. At that time, your case will be continued to another date and you will be ordered to go set a mediation date at the Family Court Services from counter.

If the judge grants your petition for emancipation without a hearing, you will receive your copies of the filed documents via mail. You must submit the Declaration of Emancipation for signature.

If the judge grants your petition for emancipation after a hearing is held, you will receive your copies of the filed documents at that time. You may have to pay a fee to file your petition. If you cannot pay, you can fill out forms to ask for a fee waiver. This will not affect your emancipation. If you do not know where your parents or guardians live, tell the court when you last saw your parents and what you have done to find them.

If you do not want to tell your parents about the petition, tell the court ALL your reasons. You can ask the court for permission to not tell them. They can make sure you filled it out properly before you move ahead with your case. File the petition, other forms, and your statement After you fill out all your forms and your statement:.

Get a hearing date if needed In some counties, there is a court hearing for all emancipation requests. In other counties, a hearing is needed only if the parents do not agree consent to the emancipation or when it is not clear to the judge if you meet all the requirements for emancipation.

If the court schedules a court date for you, you will probably have your hearing within 30 days. If the clerk does NOT give you a court hearing when you file your papers, skip to step 7. Give notice only if you got a hearing date If you got a hearing date, you will probably have to give notice to your parents, guardian, or other people of the time and place of the court hearing.

This is very important. The judge may not give you emancipation if everyone does not get notice. If you have a court hearing scheduled, skip to step 8. If the judge accepts your petition without a hearing, you will get a Declaration of Emancipation Without Hearing see page 2 of Form EM You are emancipated! Upon being emancipated, in California, you are provided a host of new rights and responsibilities.

The following list is not exclusive. Speak to an attorney for a complete list of rights. In addition, if you break the law as a minor, you will most likely be required to appear in juvenile court instead of adult court. California law recognizes three key ways that you can be emancipated. First of all, you can be emancipated if you get married before your 18 th birthday. Second, you can be emancipated if you join the armed forces.

Third, you can be emancipated if you obtain a declaration of emancipation from a judge. This requires you to show the court that:.