Legal Question in Family Law in Pennsylvania

Re: 18 year old

A child is considered emancipated at least for child support purposes when the child turns 18 or graduates high school which ever occurs last.

{John}

Re: 18 year old

You asked about straightening out an immature child that's about to legally be an adult.

My colleague is correct that in PA emancipation is generally at age 18. As I'm certain you are aware, your son's actions are pretty ill-advised considering the world he is about to enter. We all must do things we don't want to do.

The law requires parents to provide shelter, clothing and sustenance for minor children and they also must ensure that the child attends school. But there is no law that states the child must be kept in a manner to which s/he is accustomed.

In other words, you don't have to kick the child out to teach him a lesson. Start now. Provide secure shelter, basic clothing, and sustenance but nothing more. That means you can serve him meals that merely provide the minimum daily required nutrition (no more free access to the pantry or refrigerator). Nor do you need to give him access to the room he considers to be "his" or those belongings he considers to be his. After all, he is a child and doesn't actually own anything (nor do those things become his merely because he turns 18, they belong to the parents). You can even limit access to his clothing (let mom dictate what he wears for a few days).

And yes, when a child turns 18 a parent can kick his butt out onto the street. What is he going to do, sue you? He doesn't have any money to do so. But, I also think that the parent should be open to letting the child back home when he comes crawling back with an apology.

Millions of parents, including my own, have gone through similar events. For the most part both parties survive.

Regards,

Roger