Virginia Law

An order that a minor is emancipated shall have the following effects:

1. The minor may consent to medical, dental, or psychiatric care, without parental consent, knowledge, or liability;

2. The minor may enter into a binding contract or execute a will;

3. The minor may sue and be sued in his own name;

4. The minor shall be entitled to his own earnings and shall be free of control by his parents or guardian;

5. The minor may establish his own residence;

6. The minor may buy and sell real property;

7. The minor may not thereafter be the subject of a petition under this chapter as abused, neglected, abandoned, in need of services, in need of supervision, or in violation of a juvenile curfew ordinance enacted by a local governing body;

8. The minor may enroll in any school or institution of higher education, without parental consent;

9. The minor may secure a driver's license under § 46.2-334 or § 46.2-335 without parental consent;

10. The parents of the minor shall no longer be the guardians of the minor;

11. The parents of a minor shall be relieved of any obligations respecting his school attendance under Article 1 (§ 22.1-254 et seq.) of Chapter 14 of Title 22.1;

12. The parents shall be relieved of all obligation to support the minor;

13. The minor shall be emancipated for the purposes of parental liability for his acts;

14. The minor may execute releases in his own name; and

15. The minor may not have a guardian ad litem appointed for him pursuant to any statute solely because he is under age 18.

The acts done when such order is or is purported to be in effect shall be valid notwithstanding any subsequent action terminating such order or a judicial determination that the order was void ab initio.

1986, c. 506; 1990, c. 568; 1993, c. 778; 2024, c. 737.