However, emancipation does not grant all the rights that normally accompany adulthood. If a 17-year-old is legally emancipated, he or she still does not have the right to vote until the age of 18. Note: Since state laws are constantly changing, it`s important to confirm the accuracy of the laws you`re looking for by doing your own legal research or contacting an attorney. In South Carolina, a 17-year-old can accept or reject medical procedures. These include medications, surgery, diagnostic procedures, and various forms of therapy. The parents of the 17-year-old must not override the young person`s decisions regarding their own medical care. These rights extend to the end of life: a 17-year-old can make a legally binding living will to resuscitate or donate body parts. This information has been created to give you general information about the law. It is not legal advice on a particular issue. If you have any questions about the law, you should consult a lawyer. If you don`t know a lawyer, you can call the South Carolina Bar Lawyer Referral Service weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

The number is 799-7100 in Richland or Lexington counties and 1-800-868-2284 in other parts of the state. Emancipation When a person is of age, we speak of “emancipation”. In general, emancipation is the time when parents are no longer legally responsible for their children and children are no longer legally accountable to their parents. It is when parents no longer need to provide a person with food, clothing, medical care and education. The age of majority in SC is 18. Although young workers have the same legal rights as adult workers, they are subject to certain restrictions that are not imposed on adults. In South Carolina, teens as young as 14 can be legally employed and, unlike teens in other states, they don`t need underage labor certificates to work legally. Are you concerned about how statutory pension laws affect you? If you need help with an emancipation application or a request to stop child support because of your child`s emancipation, talk to a family law attorney in South Carolina. An experienced lawyer can help you with these procedures and help you clarify age-related issues.

There are things that children and teens simply cannot do. It`s not the rules that parents enforce, like no ice cream before dinner or going to bed at 9 p.m. on a school night, but also the laws that the state of South Carolina enforces. For example, we know that no one under the age of 21 can go to the bar and order a margarita. But what other age-related restrictions apply in South Carolina? Are there ways around them? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. A change in South Carolina`s laws took place without fanfare; However, this change in the law results in a significant change in the rights of young people in the state. Seventeen year-olds in South Carolina and those who care about them would do well to be aware of this important change and what the change in the law will mean for teens. On the one hand, the change increases by one year the point at which a teen no longer needs to be arrested for leaving the custody and control of their parents or guardians without permission.

If a minor “who has deliberately left his or her home without the permission of his or her parents or legal guardian” is considered a minor, he or she may be tried as a “runaway child” and face legal problems as a result of such a legal decision. [6] Seventeen year-olds in South Carolina have the right to apply for emancipation in court. Emancipation is the legal process of granting a young person some of the rights and freedom of action that normally accompany reaching the age of majority, including: In cases of runaway where the parents do not consent to leave the child`s home, the child would not be considered an emancipated minor according to our jurisprudence. Parents are therefore still legally responsible for their seventeen-year-old runaway in some cases. The following table explains the main statutory laws on the age of minors in South Carolina. Definition – A person under the age of 18 who has intentionally left home without parental or guardian permission. In the testimony of the South Carolina Attorney General`s Office prior to the 2016 amendment, there was no clear indication that a seventeen-year-old runaway had committed a status offense, an act “considered illegal solely because of the age of the perpetrator.” [8] Instead, the South Carolina Attorney General`s Office focused on “the legal right to detain a seventeen-year-old if the child`s well-being, life, or physical integrity is in danger.” [9] As you may know, there is some confusion about the responsibility of law enforcement, parents and government agencies for seventeen-year-olds. South Carolina law seeks to recognize that a seventeen-year-old is no longer a child, but is not yet a legal adult. Contracts In general, a child cannot enter into a contract or other legally binding agreement.

However, if a child enters into a contract while under the age of 18, they can make it legally binding by accepting the contract in writing (called ratification) when they reach the age of 18.