Hi Elizabeth, I checked on-line and one site says that, depending on the State, or the Country, a "minor child" can either be "under 18," "under 20," or "under 21." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_(law) But, it could be described differently in a Court, I suppose, if a Judge makes a decision that a person Age 16, for example, could be considered a legal adult. Betty (near Lowell, MA) FYI: ~1970 I know of a family in Brooklyn where the parents had been separated for a long time. And the single-mother died quite suddenly. She had 3 older children not living at home, and 3 teen-age children. There were 2 boys, 15 and 16, and a girl, 14. The "Court" / Judge decided that the 2 boys could remain living in their tenement apartment, but their younger sister could not live there with them. (No adult being present in the home.) For several reasons, the girl was going to become a Ward of the State at Age 14. No relative in NYC would take this "street kid" in, so a relative in MA decided to have her moved up here. The 2 boys in Brooklyn were supposed to finish high school, and their father was required to visit them every Saturday and pay the rent and check on them. (Fortunately, all 3 teens survived their teen-age years, and became adults without getting into too much trouble.)