A person must be emancipated before he/she can establish a domicile separate from the domicile of the parents.
Emancipation for tuition purposes takes place automatically when a person turns 22 years of age or gets married. Domicile must then be established for the period of 12 months before gaining in-state tuition.
The following conditions constitute evidence of emancipation, but no one criterion can be considered conclusive evidence of emancipation:
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Affidavit from parents (green sheet found on the back page of the petition) stating parental relinquishment of any claim or right to the care, custody, and earnings of the minor, as well as the duty to support the minor, with the documentation of the fact that the minor has not been claimed as a tax deduction on income tax returns. (If a minor claims emancipation as of August 1 of a given year, the minor may be claimed for that given year since the parents provided more than half of the support of the minor for that year.) Emancipation under these circumstances is the act of the parent and not of the child. If there is a duty to support the minor, for instance by a court order in a divorce degree, parental emancipation can not exist.
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Proof of the parents' failure to provide financial support coupled with proof that the minor can independently meet all of his/her own expenses including the cost of education.
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Entry into the military service.
A person who is unmarried and under 23 years of age who wishes to claim "emancipated minor" status must prove that he/she is completely self-supporting and financially independent from his/her parents. The petition form provides space for the minor to show all of his/her expenses and how those expenses are met.
A minor cannot receive loans or trusts from parents, relatives or friends nor can a minor receive a gift of money one day and claim to be emancipated the next day. Gifts or loans of any amount regardless of when the gift or loan was received which one depends upon for support are not allowed.
Loans co-signed by parents are scrutinized carefully to see that the primary legal obligation of the repayment rests squarely upon the minor and not upon the parents. Minors must provide documentation of any such loan agreements, financial aid grants, and so forth.
In other words, when the minor entirely meets all of his/her own expenses, then the minor achieves the status of "emancipated minor" and becomes legally capable of establishing a domicile in Colorado separate from the out-of-state parent domicile. The student must then establish a domicile in Colorado, as outlined earlier, and wait 12 months before qualifying for in-state tuition.
If a minor wishes to claim that he/she has a legal guardian in Colorado, such as a sister or brother, aunt or uncle, it will be necessary to produce a court order granting the guardianship of the minor. The court will have to certify that the appointment was not made to qualify the minor for residency status and that the parents do not provide substantial support to the minor. Parentally signed Power of Attorney does not qualify as legal guardianship.
Gifts of money or other gifts upon which a minor depends for support are considered to be continued parental support no matter what the date of receipt thereof.
The burden is placed solely upon the minor to prove emancipation to the satisfaction of the Tuition Classification Officer.
If a student whose parents are domiciled in another state wishes, for instance, to qualify for in-state tuition and turns 22 years of age after the 1st day of class for the term for which change is sought, the student must prove emancipated minor status as outlined above because the student was only 21 years old when the 12 month waiting period began.