Law Commons^™

How Children In Cults May Use Emancipation Laws To Free Themselves, Robin A. Boyle

Faculty Publications

The author examines how children who are born into cults or brought into them at a young age can use state emancipation laws to gain independence when they are in their mid-teens, so long as they can demonstrate criteria that their states have established. Commonly, states require a showing that the minor has achieved some level of economic self-sufficiency and can live emotionally and physically independently from his or her parents. There are some difficulties for cultic children in demonstrating these criteria, but the obstacles are not insurmountable.