The Rights of Teen Parents

No, having a baby does not emancipate you. Emancipation means that you become responsible for yourself in certain situations and your parents give up control and custody. It does not mean you have all the rights of an adult. The rules about emancipation are confusing. If you live in Minnesota and want more information about it, call the Youth Law Project at Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid at (877) 696-6529 or email them at youthlawproject@mylegalaid.org. 

See our fact sheet Emancipation.

Even if you are under 18 and live at home, your mother does not “own” your baby. You have the right to make the decisions about your child’s life. You have legal and physical custody of your baby. You are responsible for caring for the baby. This can only change if a court gives custody to someone else. 

If the parents are not married when the baby is born, the mother gets to decide the name on the birth certificate.

Custody means control over the child. “Sole custody” means that one parent has control. “Joint custody” means that the two parents share control. If the parents aren’t married, then the mother automatically has custody of the child unless a court decides something different. If the issue of custody goes to court, the court will decide physical custody (where the child lives) and legal custody (who makes decisions for the child). For example, a court may order that the baby live with the mother, but that the parents share the right to make decisions. A court can decide custody in a divorce, a paternity case, an order for protection (OFP) case, or in a separate case.

If the mother has custody, parenting time means the father’s right to spend time with the child. The courts now call visitation, “parenting time.” Once paternity is set, the father can ask the court to set parenting time. A court can deny visits, or place conditions on them, depending on what will be best for the child. If the father has parenting time rights, the mother must let him see the child, unless there is danger to the child. Either parent can go to court to change parenting time. See our fact sheet, Parenting Time (Visitation) and Parenting Plans. 

Child support is paid by the parent who does not have custody of the child. It is paid to the parent who does have custody. It can be paid by the father or the mother. Support is based on the ability of the parent to pay and the needs of the child. If the parent is too young, in school, or has no income, the court does not order child support payments. But it can still order a parent to look for a job, get training or take other steps to help pay support in the future.