The concept of [tag]child emancipation[/tag] has come back to haunt parents who thought their future was legally sorted through divorce and property settlement judgements. Years later, they may suddenly be confronted with a claim for child maintenance for a child in full employment, just because the child is also studying part time.
So, do you know at what point you or your child are emancipated? According to the Superior Court of New Jersey, “When a child moves beyond the sphere of influence and responsibility exercised by a parent and obtains an independent status on his or her own, generally he or she will be deemed emancipated.”
As sues which may come up in post-judgement divorce cases may include:
- the parents’ obligation to pay for graduate school
- the parents’ obligation to continue child support and college education for a period of more than four years,
- whether child support continues if a child takes a leave of absence or other break from school before resuming his/her studies and
- whether child support continues if the child is ill (physically or emotionally), and therefore cannot attend college.
“Dealing with these issues at the time a Property Settlement Agreement is entered may save an inordinate amount of time and money in the future,.” she says. You can read her child emancipation report, complete with case studies on the blog.
This and other considerations about children involved in property settlements are also covered in books such as Child Custody: 25 Custody Strategies and Children And Divorce .
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[...] And the child? Whatever happened to the child, to child emancipation? [...]