Child support in Puerto Rico is controlled by the Ley de Sustento de Menores de 1986, and guess what, the statute is in Spanish. One of the main problems confronted by individuals seeking to defend against child support claims in Puerto Rico, is the lack of resources in the English language.The obvious question would be: Why? After all, assume works with the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement to track and collect delinquent supporters, and ASUME and court determinations are given full faith and credit abroad.
It simply does not make sense. At the very least, if people should be able to handle a type of legal matter pro se, by themselves, it should be child support matters. Although I would be the last one to recommend an individual owing child support to represent himself in court; the hash reality is that individuals paying child support usually lack the financial means to hire an attorney. The high mobility between Puerto Rico and the States causes a lot of children left in Puerto Rico by fathers that are residents of the continental United States. The lack of adequate resources mines the credibility of the system in the mind of the individuals who have no means to at least corroborate that, legally, what their obligations are. The system results in a Pyrrhic judgment for the mother who is mostly unable to collect, or otherwise garnish assets or revenues for her judgment.
The basics are pretty simple. An examiner gathers data through a personal information sheet that is given to the parties. The parties may also bring information, not contained in the data sheet, which illustrates other sources of revenue, or circumstances which limit the use of such revenue. Income is based, largely, on the amounts typically earned by the individual during a month. The adjusted income is then compared and cross referenced in a double matrix table to find, what would the basic child support payment amount be, being the opposing axles the amount of children and their ages. Once this adjusted income is calculated, the examiner receives evidence on housing, educational, and health expenses not covered by traditional insurance coverage, which every child must have pursuant to Puerto Rico law. Afterwards, the examiner distributes and divides these expenses into quotas which in turn cinch each particular expense down to the actual individual that each supporter maintains.
Along the way, each item is further analyzed pursuant to worksheets which are available on the Internet, but unfortunately have been published in Spanish. At least, published in such a matter that a simple search will uncover them. Child support is, essentially, straightforward, however; the attitude of the parties to the process, particularly attorneys representing mothers, often complicate the matter, yielding a substantial amount of manifestly unfair and burdensome orders.
Even the most extreme orders are subject to "full review" pursuant to the law, after two or three years, depending on whether the order was stipulated by the parties. Nonetheless, obtaining an order to lessen the burden has proven quite difficult in Puerto Rico, at least until before the decline of the economy, which has been recognized as a factor bearing on a determination to reduce child support payments.
However, it should be stressed that proceedings could complicate rapidly, and an attorney is always helpful, as proceedings are conducted exclusively in Spanish, even if both parties speak only English.
It simply does not make sense. At the very least, if people should be able to handle a type of legal matter pro se, by themselves, it should be child support matters. Although I would be the last one to recommend an individual owing child support to represent himself in court; the hash reality is that individuals paying child support usually lack the financial means to hire an attorney. The high mobility between Puerto Rico and the States causes a lot of children left in Puerto Rico by fathers that are residents of the continental United States. The lack of adequate resources mines the credibility of the system in the mind of the individuals who have no means to at least corroborate that, legally, what their obligations are. The system results in a Pyrrhic judgment for the mother who is mostly unable to collect, or otherwise garnish assets or revenues for her judgment.
The basics are pretty simple. An examiner gathers data through a personal information sheet that is given to the parties. The parties may also bring information, not contained in the data sheet, which illustrates other sources of revenue, or circumstances which limit the use of such revenue. Income is based, largely, on the amounts typically earned by the individual during a month. The adjusted income is then compared and cross referenced in a double matrix table to find, what would the basic child support payment amount be, being the opposing axles the amount of children and their ages. Once this adjusted income is calculated, the examiner receives evidence on housing, educational, and health expenses not covered by traditional insurance coverage, which every child must have pursuant to Puerto Rico law. Afterwards, the examiner distributes and divides these expenses into quotas which in turn cinch each particular expense down to the actual individual that each supporter maintains.
Along the way, each item is further analyzed pursuant to worksheets which are available on the Internet, but unfortunately have been published in Spanish. At least, published in such a matter that a simple search will uncover them. Child support is, essentially, straightforward, however; the attitude of the parties to the process, particularly attorneys representing mothers, often complicate the matter, yielding a substantial amount of manifestly unfair and burdensome orders.
Even the most extreme orders are subject to "full review" pursuant to the law, after two or three years, depending on whether the order was stipulated by the parties. Nonetheless, obtaining an order to lessen the burden has proven quite difficult in Puerto Rico, at least until before the decline of the economy, which has been recognized as a factor bearing on a determination to reduce child support payments.
However, it should be stressed that proceedings could complicate rapidly, and an attorney is always helpful, as proceedings are conducted exclusively in Spanish, even if both parties speak only English.
- Ave. Rio Hondo PMB 130
- Rio Hondo
- Bayamón, PR 00961-3113
- Cel. 787-647-6632,
- Fax: 775-366-7629,
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