Are you tired of the situation you have at home and want to emancipate yourself? Do you really know what it means to be an emancipated minor? Thinking about how to leave home and live at home is something we have all thought about when we were young.
However, there are situations in which the Civil Code allows a minor under 16 years of age to have greater capacity to act, but be careful, not everything that glitters is gold.
Have you been left wanting? Well then, keep reading because we have compressed all the essential information so that in less than 10 minutes you can leave with what you need to apply it in your life.
Concept of Emancipation
Let’s start with the basics: what is emancipation in civil law? Emancipation is a legal process through which a minor gains the ability to act as an adult in certain legal respects. In other words, despite still being a minor, an emancipated person can make important decisions and enter into contracts independently.
Let’s take a look at a real example to understand this better. Imagine José, a 16-year-old young man who has a stable job as a waiter and wants to buy a motorcycle. However, due to his age, his parents do not allow him to do so. José can resort to the emancipation process, and if a judge grants it, he will obtain the legal capacity to buy the motorcycle he so desires.
Causes of Emancipation
Emancipation can be achieved in three ways:
- Age of Majority: Upon reaching the age of 18, a minor is automatically emancipated, acquiring full legal capacity, this being the typical case for all of us.
- Consent of Parents or Guardians: If the parents of a minor consent, they can request their emancipation. If José obtains the consent of his parents, he will be able to emancipate himself and live at his expense.
- Judicial Grant: If parents do not grant emancipation or there are special circumstances, such as parental authority not being exercised properly, a minor can request emancipation through a judicial process. This involves a judge ruling whether the minor should be emancipated. Causes that may lead to a judicial concession include:
- That the person who exercises parental authority marries or lives with a new partner.
- That parental authority is not exercised due to serious circumstances, such as family conflicts.
- Existence of a prior report from the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Limitations for the Emancipated Minor
Although an emancipated minor has some legal independence, he or she still faces limitations:
- Not Being Conservator or Guardian of Another Person: An emancipated minor cannot assume the role of conservator or guardian of another person, which means that they cannot legally care for a minor; If José, for example, becomes emancipated and wants to be the guardian of his little brother Juan, he is not yet mature and capable enough to take care of someone else.
- Accept an Inheritance without Inventory Benefit: If an emancipated minor receives an inheritance, he must accept it in its entirety or repudiate it, without the option of accepting it with inventory benefit, so for example José cannot request personal loans to buy a Mercedes S class nor emancipated.
- Encumber Assets without Authorization: You cannot encumber assets, such as property, without the authorization of the competent authority, nor request loans, that is; If José wants to mortgage his apartment, the bank can reasonably refuse.
- Purchase and Sale of Luxury Goods: The purchase, sale or rental of luxury goods requires authorization. For example, a Rolex or a Roll Royce falls into this type of property, with which he cannot bring a civil action.
However, article 247 of the Civil Code offers a way to circumvent some of these limitations. An emancipated minor can carry out the actions mentioned above if he obtains the authorization of his parents or, failing that, of a judicial defender.
Now, let’s imagine that José, within his powers, incurs a debt of €5,000, is there any option to get rid of it? Well, there is a solution, so if you want to know how José got rid of that debt, see our article on the concept of debt relief.
Special Emancipation Cases:
Marriage
When an emancipated minor marries an adult over 18 years of age, both spouses can make decisions about real estate, business establishments, valuables, and more, with only their mutual consent. However, if both spouses are minors, they will need the permission of the judicial defender to carry out these actions.
Practical Example: the wedding between María and Juan
To better understand how emancipation works in the context of marriage, let’s consider the following example:
Imagine María, a 17-year-old girl who is in love with Juan, who is 19 years old and is already considered an adult from a legal point of view. Maria wants to marry Juan, but due to her age, she would normally need the consent of her parents to make important legal decisions, such as getting married or purchasing property.
However, Mary is emancipated. This means that she, although she is still a minor, has the legal capacity to make important decisions for herself in certain matters. In this case, María and Juan can decide to get married without having to obtain the consent of María’s parents, since they are both over 16 years of age and, therefore, meet the requirements to marry without parental authorization.
Thus, emancipation allows Mary, despite being a minor, to exercise her right to marry without the need to obtain the consent of her parents. This illustrates how emancipation can be applied in specific situations, such as marriage, to allow minors to make important legal decisions for themselves.
Emancipation in Fact
De facto emancipation is a special case governed by article 243 of the Civil Code. It involves the independent life of a person between 16 and 18 years old. For example, if Joseph decides to live independently of his parents and works, he may be considered de facto emancipated. However, his parents can revoke this consent if they consider that José has lost his trust.
Conclusion
In summary, emancipation in Civil Law is a legal process that grants minors certain capacity to act as adults. We have explored the various causes that can lead to emancipation, whether due to age of majority, parental concession or court decision. We have also highlighted the limitations that emancipated people still face in certain financial matters.
Through practical examples, we have illustrated how emancipation can be applied in everyday situations. Now, you have a solid and clear understanding of what this legal process entails and how it affects minors.