My daughter is 16 and thinks she owns the world. She wants to be emancipated but said a lawyer told her she can still live with us and do what she wants. WTH? Tell me that’s not true?

Emancipation is a process by which your daughter asks the Court to deem her legally responsible for herself and to end the role of her parent(s) in her decision making. That means that she is responsible for her decisions, actions, schooling, etc. and her parents no longer have a right to make, or assist with, those decisions on her behalf. The decision for emancipation also means that the parents are no longer responsible for support, or the actions, of the child. This means that an emancipated person must be financially responsible for him/herself. If your daughter seeks, and is granted emancipation from you as (a)parent(s), which is a rarity in Massachusetts, she will be responsible to support herself financially, find a place to live, make schooling decisions, etc. If you want her to live with you, then you can condition her living there upon certain conditions, as you would any other person that lives in your home, and NOT as your child. Similar to any other house guest, she can follow those rules or find another place to live.