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Age_of_majority


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The age of majority is the threshold of adulthood as it is conceptualized in law. It is the chronological moment when children legally assume majority control over their persons and their actions and decisions, thereby terminating the legal control and legal responsibilities of their parents over and for them.

In practical terms, there are certain specific actions which a person who attains the age of majority is permitted to take, which they could not do before. These may include entering into a binding contract, voting, buying and/or consuming alcoholic beverages, driving motor vehicles on public roads, and marrying without obtaining consent of others. The ages at which these various rights or powers may be exercised vary as between the various rights and as between different jurisdictions. For example, the ages at which a person may obtain a license to drive a car or consume alcoholic beverages vary considerably between and also within jurisdictions.

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Explanation

There are some things in life (such as death) over which no person has any lawful control, so one assumes "majority control" over one’s life at the age in question, instead of "full" control (hence, age of majority instead of, e.g., "age of full control"). The period preceding the age of majority is the period of minority, during which the child has minority control over his or her person and actions, while the parents hold majority control and have power to overrule most of the child’s decisions and desires, and can sometimes reverse the child\'s actions.

Age of majority is frequently confused with similar concept, the age of license, which also pertains to the threshold of adulthood but in a much broader and more abstract way. As a legal term of art, "license" means "permission", and it can implicate a legally enforceable right or privilege. Thus, an age of license is an age at which one has legal permission from government to do something. The age of majority, on the other hand, is legal recognition that one has grown into an adult. One does not need legal permission to grow up; it just happens.

For example, in any jurisdiction, the age at which an individual is allowed to exercise the franchise (vote), leave school without taking a diploma, enter into legally binding contracts (other than for necessaries, to which no age of license applies), operate a motor vehicle, purchase and consume alcoholic beverages, and so on – these are all ages of license, at which the law permits an individual to perform certain acts and exercise certain rights, with or without any restrictions.

Age of majority pertains solely to the acquisition of control over one’s person, decisions and actions, and the correlative termination of the legal authority and responsibility of the parents (or guardian(s), in lieu of parents) over the child’s persons and affairs generally.

Many ages of license are correlated to the age of majority, but they are nonetheless legally distinct concepts. One need not have attained the age of majority to have permission to exercise certain rights and responsibilities. Some ages of license are actually higher than the age of majority. For example, the age of license to purchase alcoholic beverages is 21 in all U.S. states. For most other purposes, the age of majority in the U.S. is 18, except for 4 states with the age of 19 and two states (Mississippi and New York) with the age of 21 and two American Samoa and Puerto Rico that retain 14 as the age of majority. Also, the age of majority in the Republic of Ireland is 18, but one must be over 21 years of age to stand for election.

A child who is legally emancipated by a court of competent jurisdiction automatically attains to his or her majority upon the signing of the court order. This is distinct from the legal process by which a child might be taken into foster care and/or made a ward of the court. Foster care and court wardship do not confer majority upon the child so separated from his or her parents (or guardians). Only emancipation confers the status of majority before a person has actually reached the age of majority.

Almost all jurisdictions automatically confer emancipation (and with it, the status of majority) upon otherwise minor individuals who are married. Some do likewise for minors who are on active duty in the armed forces.Statutory and Judicial Emancipation of Minors in the United States, 2001-2002 analysis by law students of Northeastern University

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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia


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