Tuition Classification
Definitions
Domicile -- "A person's true, fixed, and permanent home. It is the place where one lives and intends to remain and expects to return when one leaves without intending to establish a new domicile elsewhere." Domvicile inclufdes physical presence, and intent, and must be established for 12 months prior to the first day of classes.
Emancipated Minor -- An emancipated minor is defined by the tuition classification statute as:
- Under the age of 22 years of age
- Parents have entirely surrendered the right to your care, custody, and earnings;
- Parents no longer are under any duty to support you, together with proof that you can independently meet all your expenses, including the cost of education;
- Parents, relatives, or friends have made no provision for your support.
- Parents no longer claim you as a dependent for the purposes of income taxation
The 12-month waiting period for establishing domicile begins only after the date of emancipation has been established by appropriate do until emancipation is established and has remained in place for the full 12 months, and will remain in place until the student is considered
"Qualified Student." If you are an emancipated minor granted in-state tuition status, you are subject to reclassification as an out-of-state resident if your parents, relatives, or friends provide support at any time for any reasons.
Note: Receipt of gifts, loans or trust proceeds from an inter vivos trust by a minor regardless of the date of receipt thereof which the minor depends upon for financial support, whether the gifts, loans, or trust from which proceeds are paid is made by the parents, any other relative or a friend of the minor, or residing in your parents' home during semester breaks, OR Any factor peculiar to the minor which tends to establish that he/she lacks independence and is dependent upon his/her parent would be evidence of a Nonemancipated minor.
Legal Guardian -- If the petitioner is your court-appointed legal guardian, enclose: (1) a copy of the court decree or letters of guardianship, as appropriate; (2) a statement from the court affirming that your parents, if living, do not provide substantial support to you as a minor child; and (3) a statement from the court certifying that the primary purpose of such appointment is not to qualify you as a Colorado resident for tuition purposes.
Nonemancipated Minors -- If you are under the age of 22 and depend on your parents for financial support, you are a nonemancipated minor. Nonemancipated minors must qualify for in-state tuition through their parents or court-appointed legal guardians. As such, you qualify for in-state tuition if either of your parents, regardless of custody, has been domiciled in Colorado for 12 consecutive months preceding the first day of classes for a given semester, even though you may reside elsewhere. The parent-child or guardian-child relationship must also have been in effect for one year.