Sitting in her room, trying to fill out her FAFSA by herself, senior Lilly Marshall realizes her true social security number doesn’t match what is on her card. But Marshall is unable to go to her parents for help. She is on her own.

Last summer, Marshall moved in with her brother, Paul Angle, after moving her mother into Meadowlark Hills’ assisted living community when she showed signs of dementia. In February, Marshall turned 18 and became legally emancipated — allowing her to rely on herself while still in high school.

“I feel more like an adult. Even before I turned 18, I was just more of an adult, and when I turned 18, it was just an excuse to do more things like go find a job and all that,” Marshall said.

In Kansas, teenagers who apply for emancipation must give solid reasoning and prove they are able to financially fend for themselves. But for Marshall, her mother signed her parental rights away to Angle, and she became emancipated when she turned 18.

“When I was 17, I moved in with [my brother], and for a while nothing really happened until just recently after my birthday,” she said. “I got a bunch of letters from Social Security and then the government saying ‘hey, you’re now emancipated and you have to fill out these forms and turn them in back to us.’”

Despite being now legally responsible for herself, Marshall is still supported by her 39-year-old brother and his husband, and looks to her mother for guidance.

“My mother’s still here,” she said. “So, you know, I go visit her, and I talk to her about school and all that. She kind of tells me a little bit of the run-down of what I should do.”

Due to her legal status, Marshall sometimes finds it difficult to juggle her adult responsibilities with her school work.

“I’m not going to lie, it’s kind of stressful, especially when you’re just trying to figure out everything on your own and no one tells you what to do,” Marshall said. “It’s like someone gives you a board game but doesn’t give you the instructions on how to play it, so you basically kind of go with the flow and honestly, I just take it one step at a time, while also going around with like everything I need to fill out. Like, ‘oh, I need to fill out this college stuff, or I need to fill out this for job interviews, but then I still have school work, so I have to study for tests and all that I just kind of go with the flow. Whatever comes into the mail now, it’s no longer birthday cards; it’s like bills now and stuff about the government and you know. I guess it’s part of growing up.”

Beyond a responsibility shift, Marshall had to adjust to the new living arrangement when she moved in with her brother.

“[Our pets] don’t quite get along with each other, so I think it’s very interesting waking up at three in the morning to hearing cat fights or the dog chasing the cat around the house,” Marshall said. “It’s also been different because, before I moved in with my brother, I lived in a house and now it’s a trailer park, but it’s a nice trailer.”

Angle also had to adjust to a teenage girl living with him.

“I had to go from being a bachelor to having a teenager around that I had to make sure had food, had clothing, all that kind of basic stuff,” Angle said. “But overall, it’s been fun.”

Despite the major life changes this past year, and the stress that came with it, Marshall is still able to look on the bright side.

“I still live in the town of Manhattan,” she said. “I’m allowed to finish high school here. It hasn’t been that bad, and plus, my mom’s still in the area. She’s still in town, so I get to go see her. So, it’s not awful.”

Legal abilities for teens on their own

• Once emancipated, teens are able to enter legally binding contracts. This includes housing leases and property ownership.
• Parents also have no actual say in where you go to school like they would at the primary and secondary levels.
• Emancipated teens are treated like adults in the courtroom. In any criminal convictions, the teen will be tried as an adult. Teens are also able to sue and be sued when emancipated from their guardians.
• Many occupations require work permits. Emancipated teens can apply for these. Parents and guardians also have no legal right to an emancipated teenager’s financial records or assets.
• Even college students struggle with this, but as someone who is legally seen as an adult, emancipated teens have the right and responsibility to make their own health-related decisions. Anyone can sign a form allowing specific people access to their personal health records, but those specific people have no say in the legal adult’s medical plans.