# Kid actors emancipated from parents. Why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 3, 2002, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-actors-emancipated-from-parents-why/126841 "2002-09-03T18:26:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2002, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-actors-emancipated-from-parents-why/126841/1 "2002-09-03T18:26:55Z")
Well - I’ve come across this thing att IMDB a number of times: _She was legally emancipated from her parents because of strict laws on the hours that a minor is allowed to work._ I understand all the words, but I have no clue what so ever to what they imply. So being 14 and having no legal guardian let you work long and weird hours? From my - European - POV it would seem to be smarter to have the guardian monitoring everything. There is surely some legal beagle here who can enlighten me! ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2002, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-actors-emancipated-from-parents-why/126841/2 "2002-09-03T18:46:36Z")
How about, being able to make more money in two weeks than most people make in a year? ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2002, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-actors-emancipated-from-parents-why/126841/3 "2002-09-03T21:14:43Z")
Well, duh!? That doesn’t have anything to do with the law ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2002, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-actors-emancipated-from-parents-why/126841/4 "2002-09-03T21:34:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Gaspode \* > \*\*Well, duh!? > > That doesn’t have anything to do with the law \*\* It does when the parents are stealing money that they are supposed to be acting as trustee for. This is why Mucaly Caulkin was emancipated from his parents. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2002, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-actors-emancipated-from-parents-why/126841/5 "2002-09-03T21:37:48Z")
From [Legal Services for Children](http://www.lsc-sf.org/problems/emancipation.html), a California group: > [@](#): > > What are the new rights that I get if I become emancipated? > > ``` > * Sign binding contracts. > * Bring a law suit. > * Keep your own earnings. > * Get a work permit without parental consent. > * Stay out as late as you want. > > ``` > > What things won’t change when I get emancipated? > > ``` > * You must go to school until you graduate or turn eighteen. > * You cannot work as many hours as you want ? child labor laws and work permit rules must be followed. > > ``` This indicates some reasons why a young actor might want to be emancipated. New York law is not so easily summarized, but it appears that emancipation may make a significant difference in working hours, especially if school has been completed. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2002, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-actors-emancipated-from-parents-why/126841/6 "2002-09-03T22:03:40Z")
It’s to help studios cover their asses, and nothing about it benefits the young actor. Underage actors can steer filmmakers into lots of legal trouble. Stage Mothers are infamously difficult to deal with, and with few exceptions, one kid actor is easily replaced with another. To keep bothersome parents out of the decision-making process, most studios won’t even consider casting a young teenaged actor unless he/she has been “emancipated” from the parents. A tiny percentage of showbiz kids grow up to be employable adult actors. For the rest of them, there’s an organization called “A Minor Concern” to give the kids a fighting chance at not picking fights with transvestite hookers and OD-ing in front of the Viper Lounge. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2002, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-actors-emancipated-from-parents-why/126841/7 "2002-09-03T22:41:12Z")
Whoops! The organization is called “A Minor Consideration.” Here’s their url: [http://www.minorcon.org/](http://www.minorcon.org/) ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2002, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-actors-emancipated-from-parents-why/126841/8 "2002-09-03T23:51:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Gaspode \* > From my - European - POV it would seem to be smarter to have the guardian monitoring everything. Yes, you would think that - but there have been too many instances of child actors whose parents spent their earnings and left the kids penniless at 18 or 21. Also, sometimes uneducated as well. Thus, legal restrictions on hours worked by minors, mandated minimal schooling for child actors, and legal protections so the money the children earn will be there for them and not used to enrich someone else (even a relative) ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2002, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kid-actors-emancipated-from-parents-why/126841/9 "2002-09-04T01:20:07Z")
Wasn’t Minor Concern founded by Paul Peterson, of the Donna Reed Show? Of course, there was the famous Edward Furlong, who fought to be mancipated so he could date a woman sixteen years his senior.