We get a lot of questions about the emancipation of minors in Massachusetts. Typically, the questions come from either children chafing at their parents’ rules or from parents who want to stop paying child support. For the former, the best web source we’ve seen is Emancipation and the Legal Rights of Minors in Massachusetts from the Children's Law Center. It includes detailed information on emancipation and its alternatives, as well as the legal rights of minors to enter contracts, work in various occupations and more.
For parents, a helpful source is What Constitutes Emancipation to Release a Parent From a Child Support Obligation from the Separated Parenting Access and Resource Center. Not specific to Massachusetts, this is a great introduction to the issues affecting emancipation throughout the country, including the age of majority, marriage, entering the armed forces, having a child, abandoning the parent's home, and more. Keep in mind that Massachusetts may have different standards than the national norm in some of these areas.
We have much more information on child support and emancipation on our website. See Mass. Law About Emancipation, and Mass. Law About Child Support.
