[JessicsCD]

In Utah, is it legal for a parent to kick their child out of the house while they are still in high school after they've turned 18 years of age? For the record, this child will have no place to go but the street. Is this considered abandonment?

[hheath541]

Once the child turns 18, they are legally an adult. At that point, the parents can legally stop providing for them, including kicking them out.

[AK lawyer]

And thus, the title of this thread "Parental Custody" is incorrect: the parent or parents no longer "have custody of" their child if he or she has become an adult.

By the way, no: even if the child were still a minor, "kicking out" would not be considered "abandonment" except in one or two states, Utah not being one of them. In almost all states, "abandonment" refers to the act of leaving a small child unsupervised.

[smoothy]

If they are ready to kick you out at 18 and you haven't graduated yet. I bet there are certainly behavioural issues at play here, possibly a long history of them.

You would be staying under their roof on their dime purely on their good graces. Meaning their house, their food, their utilities, their rules. YOU don't get to make any rules... you follow them until you are able to pay your own way though life and rent your own place out of your own paycheck.

Sorry, this is the real world. Welcome to it. It's a bit of a shock for most (and probibly all) teenagers when they have to face it.

[J_9]

Playing devil's advocate here.

If the child in question is still in high school wouldn't the parents still be responsible? Also, wouldn't there have to be an eviction?

[Fr_Chuck]

Legally,
They will have to evict, and do a formal eviction.

As a more common practice, a parent does often just kick a child out, if the child is 18, and there are reasons.

We did not hear, why. Is the child really going to school, or are they 18 and still only a freshman?
Or registered in school, but failing and never going?

[AK lawyer]

If the child in question is still in high school wouldn't the parents still be responsible?

No, not normally.

[ScottGem]

I'm curious are you the parent or the child?

But, as noted, at 18 the child is an adult and no longer the responsibility of the parent. However, they would be considered a resident of the home and a formal eviction would probably be required.

[teacherjenn4]

In high school, once the student turns 18, they can write their own absence notes and sign parent signature areas on forms. They are considered adults. I knew many students living with friends because their parents kicked them out.

[Alty]

Been there TJ. I went back to high school at 19 (graduated at 17) to upgrade in Math 30. I was working full time, and more than once my work schedule didn't mesh with school. My teacher demanded a note, so I wrote one, with a copy of my birth certificate.

I remember this so well. One of the other students saw my note and said "She totally wrote that herself! Her name is on the bottom! So why can she write a note to excuse her absence and I can't". The teachers reply "She's an adult. You aren't".

[teacherjenn4]

I was 18 for the last few months of high school. The only thing I couldn't do was sign report cards. Unfortunately, today's students can write a note for anything and tend to flunk out of school. They come back for their GED's later on once they regret their earlier decision.