P.R. Laws tit. 8, § 510
(a) When the services authorized in this chapter are requested, or rendered at the initiative of the Administrator, the Administrator shall issue an expedited administrative procedure for the determination of filiation to establish child support; establish, modify or review the support order, or to demand compliance with child support payments from the legally responsible person. The aforementioned in no manner limits the rights of those persons entitled to support payments for themselves or on behalf of those they represent by means of the corresponding remedies or judicial action, pursuant to the provisions set forth in the Civil Code, the Rules of Civil Procedure, and in other applicable laws or regulations. The term “expedited administrative procedure” used in this section means that as of the date on which the request is filed, until its final resolution, the cases shall be solved within the term set forth by the federal laws and regulations.
(b) The administrative procedure shall be carried out as follows:
(1) When the Administrator, or his/her authorized representative, receives a request for services, or generates a request for services of his/her own accord, he/she shall immediately proceed to review same, study the pertinent legal dispositions therein, and complete the necessary information for the processing of the case with the information available in the Administration, or have to be requested from other agencies, entities or persons.
(2) The Administrator shall issue a notification to the party to which the claim is directed, or who may be affected, in writing or by means of verifiable communication, or by mail, and if the address is unknown, by means of a public notification, requesting same to appear at the Administration within twenty (20) days, or thirty (30) days if the petitionee is not a resident of Puerto Rico, starting on the date of the notification. The Administrator shall prepare a brief of the petition and the applicable laws, instructing the party of the legal consequences of the claim and that if same does not appear within the required term, the request may be granted without further notification to appear or to be heard; granting same the opportunity to defend himself/herself and to submit his/her version; requiring replies to the allegations and to accept, reject, object, impugn, clarify or add to the facts and legal aspects; and to submit documents or evidence to substantiate or refute the allegations, arguments or facts of the petition. In turn, the Administrator shall require the affected party to submit documents and evidence, or to complete a form, or proceed to issue an order to show cause for which the allegations and evidence should or should not be accepted for making the corresponding temporary or permanent determinations.
(3) Notification, communication and summons of the parties.— In the procedures carried out under the provisions of this chapter to establish, modify or enforce child support or to establish filiation, the Administrator shall carry out the reasonable procedures to notify, communicate, or announce to the parties that an investigation or case has begun which affects said parties or may affect their rights. After the party appears, of his or her own accord or represented by an attorney, he/she shall be notified of all orders or resolutions issued by the Administrator or the administrative judge.
Copies of orders that establish paternity, or which impose or modify a support obligation, including those orders which deny a modification of support order pursuant to the Revision and Modification of Support Orders Plan of the Administration, shall be notified to the parties within fourteen (14) days from the date of issue of the order.
(4) Compulsory investigation.— In the procedures carried out under the provisions established in this chapter to set forth, modify or enforce child support, or to establish filiation, the financial situation and capacity of the obligor and the obligee shall be investigated. The Administrator is hereby empowered to require the presentation of a certified copy of the income tax return, as well as a certification from his/her employer or any other document as evidence of his/her wages or salary, or of any other income or accruals, and of any movable or real property.
The Administrator shall prepare and provide a form to the parties to obtain the necessary information with respect to the financial situation, the needs of the minor, and the payment capabilities of the obligor and the obligee. In addition, the presentation of any document or evidence, or any petition of documents, tests, or proof of any circumstance that constitutes a factor that may influence a fair and reasonable determination of the child support shall be requested. The form shall be sworn before a notary public, or an official of the Administration or the Department of the Family authorized by the Administrator, or a certified statement under admonishment of perjury, and when duly completed with all the required information, said form shall be filed at the Administration. The filing of the form does not exempt the parties from their obligation to submit, when so required, all other information deemed necessary to determine their particular financial situation. The persons that submit the information required herein shall be subject to the penalties set forth for the crime of perjury.
The mechanisms for discovery of evidence as set forth in this chapter, and the Rules of Civil Procedure may be used in addition to the required form. All attorneys admitted to the practice of their profession in the Commonwealth who represent any of the parties as the attorney of record, in public practice, in reasonable time and manner, and according to the regulation adopted to such effects, are empowered to issue and sign summonses to the parties or witnesses for depositions, to appear at evaluations, or for medical examinations, hearings and inspections, notifications, information requests, documents, admissions and evidence, instructing the person that same is subject to the imposition of sanctions by the Administrator or the administrative judge, or to being penalized for contempt by the court. If the person does not comply with the requirement, he/she may be sanctioned by the Administrator or the administrative judge, and at the requirement of the other party, the court may penalize said person for contempt. The person affected by a request for discovery of evidence may request a protection order from the Administrator or the Administrative Judge by means of an adequate notification to the parties within a term established by regulation.
The parties shall be admonished of the fact that the Administrator may ascribe to the party that does not comply with the discovery of evidence within the required term, or does not duly reply or gives evasive replies, the average income of the trade, occupation, procession of the obligor, according to all the available evidence, including estimates, studies and projections of income, expenses, life style, and any other pertinent evidence, and continue with the administrative procedure authorized by this chapter, including a default judgment.
(5) Support agreements or stipulations.— When the parties reach an agreement on support, the agreement shall be submitted to the Administrator for approval, pursuant to the provisions set forth in the Mandatory Guidelines to Fix and Modify Child Support in Puerto Rico adopted pursuant to the provisions set forth in this chapter. However, the Administrator, at his/her discretion, may direct that an administrative hearing be conducted to ensure that the needs of the obligee shall be adequately satisfied according to the capacity of the obligor and the obligee to comply with the stipulations.
(6)
(A) Voluntary acknowledgement of paternity.— The certificate of paternity, as authorized in this section, shall be the exclusive means for the voluntary establishment of the paternity of children born out of wedlock, apart from the voluntary acknowledgements of paternity made before the Administrator or an administrative judge, pursuant to this section, or before the court, pursuant to § 512 of this title. The Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary of the Department of Health, shall issue the certificate of paternity.
(B) The certificate of paternity shall comply with all the acknowledgement of paternity affidavit requirements set forth in the applicable federal laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, the required information and format. The certificate shall include the name of the parents, their social security numbers, or if said numbers are not available, any other identification number, and their respective addresses.
(C) If the information required in the certificate of paternity does not exist, not providing same shall not hinder the voluntary establishment of paternity, pursuant to this section.
(D) The certificate of paternity shall be sworn by both parents of the child born out of wedlock before any of the following officials: a notary public, an authorized judicial official, an official in charge of the Demographics Registry, Administration officials named by the Administrator, administrative judges and authorized officials of public and private hospitals named by the Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary of the Department of Health.
(E) The certificate of paternity shall include a written notification of the available alternatives, the legal consequences, rights (including whether the father is a minor, any right that applies to being underage), and the responsibilities that arise from the signing of said certificate of paternity. This notification shall be provided in writing and verbally to both signing parties prior to subscribing the certificate of paternity.
(F) A certificate of paternity, if completed pursuant to the provisions set forth in this section, shall be considered as a conclusive determination of paternity with the same force and effect of an administrative or judicial adjudication of paternity without the need for ratification by the Administrator, an administrative judge, or a court, subject to the right of any of the signing parties to rescind the certificate of paternity within sixty (60) days, starting from the date of the signing. The rescission may be obtained by completing a request to rescind from the Demographics Registry in which the birth was registered within the specified term. The Demographics Registry, in view of the request to rescind, shall make all the necessary administrative corrections in the birth record. Any challenge against the certificate of paternity that arises after the conclusion of the rescission term of sixty (60) days shall be made in court and shall only be based on fraud, violence, intimidation or material error of fact. The burden of proof shall fall upon the person who issues the challenge. The legal responsibility of any signing party, which arises from the certificate of paternity, shall not be suspended during the challenge procedure before the court except when there is a determination of just cause.
(G) The Demographics Registry shall not create or amend a birth certificate to include any information about the father of a minor unless the certificate of paternity is completed pursuant to this section, or if a judicial or administrative adjudication issued by virtue of this chapter is submitted before the Registry. Subject to the provisions set forth in paragraph (H) of this clause, any other paternity documentation, including but not limited to, affidavits of acknowledgement of paternity that do not comply with the requirements of this chapter, shall not be used as a basis to create or to amend a birth certificate, unless such paternity documentation or evidence is ratified by the court or by an administrative judge.
(H) To establish or enforce a support obligation pursuant to this chapter, the Administrator, the administrative judge, and the court shall give full and credit to all determinations of paternity issued by any state of the United States or foreign countries, as long as:
(i) The state or foreign country complies with the requirements in subsection (1)(c) of § 504b of this title;
(ii) the determination of paternity is based upon a voluntary acknowledgement of paternity submitted pursuant to the applicable procedures of the promulgating state or foreign country, or
(iii) the determination of paternity arises from a judicial or administrative procedure authorized to determine filiation.
The same shall apply to the Demographics Registry, in those cases in which a birth certificate is created or amended.
(I) The Administration shall encourage the use of procedures for the voluntary acknowledgement of paternity and for child support in the manner determined by same and pursuant to the provisions set forth in the applicable laws and regulations.
(7)
(A) Allegations of filiation and the obligation to provide support.— In cases in which the paternity of the minor is in controversy, the Administrator or the person delegated by same shall notify their obligation to provide support to all the parties of the allegation of filiation.
The notification shall be delivered personally, pursuant to the regulation adopted by the Administration to enforce the personal serving of the notification, or by means of a notification published in a general circulation newspaper. The notification shall be understood as valid if made to the last known address found in the State Register of Child Support Cases to comply with due process of law. The parties have the continued obligation to inform any change in their residential, mailing and employment address.
In those cases in which the minor was born out of wedlock and has not been acknowledged, the notification of the allegation of filiation and the support claim shall be served to the petitionee personally.
If the petitionee cannot be notified by the aforementioned means, the notification shall be made in writing and an edict shall be published, which may be a notification with multiple notifications, in a newspaper of general circulation in Puerto Rico. The published edict shall contain the following information:
(i) The allegation of filiation.
(ii) The name of the parties claiming filiation and support.
(iii) That if the paternity is established, a support order shall be imposed upon the obligor according to his/her property and capacity to generate income, pursuant to § 518 of this title.
(iv) The amount of the support payments claimed and the date on which same shall take effect.
(v) The right to submit objections and defenses in a timely manner. In addition, same shall be admonished that, if no timely objection is submitted, the allegations made in the notification of allegation of filiation and the obligation to provide support shall be understood as true, and the Administrator shall issue an order of filiation and support pursuant to the provisions set forth in the initial notification.
(vi) Any other information adopted by the Administration by means of regulation.
(B) Support requests; notification.— In cases in which a child support shall be established, modified, reviewed or enforced, the Administrator or the person upon whom same delegates shall notify all parties of the allegation of the support obligation.
This notification shall be sent to the obligor by certified mail with return receipt requested to his/her last known address, or served personally according to the regulation adopted by the Administration to enforce said personal serving, or by means of notification published in a newspaper of general daily circulation. The notification shall be understood as valid if made to the last known address found in the State Register of Child Support Cases to comply with due process of law. The parties have the continued obligation to inform any change in their residential, mailing or employment address.
If the obligor cannot be notified by the aforementioned means, the notification shall be made in writing and an edict shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in Puerto Rico.
The published edict shall contain the following information:
(i) The allegation or modification of the child support.
(ii) The name of the parties claiming child support.
(iii) The amount of child support requested, fixed or modified, provisional or established, or the amount of support owed, as the case may be.
(iv) The date on which the support payment must be made and the demand to pay the fixed sum.
(v) The right to opportunely present his/her objection and defense of the allegations contained in the notification to the administrative judge. Furthermore, he/she shall be admonished that if the objection is not submitted in a timely manner, the allegations made in the notification of allegation of filiation and obligation to provide support shall be understood to be the truth, and the Administrator shall issue an order of filiation and child support pursuant to the provisions provided in the initial notification.
(vi) Any other information adopted by the Administration by means of regulation.
(C) Procedures to contest the notification of allegation of filiation and obligation to provide child support.— The obligor shall present his/her objections and defense within twenty (20) days from the date of the personal serving or the receipt by certified mail of the notification, or thirty (30) days from the date of publication of the edict if the petitionee is out of the jurisdiction of Puerto Rico.
If the obligor or the petitionee, submit a timely objection, defense, or both, the administrative judge shall review same to determine their validity. If the child support or the filiation are established, a support or filiation and support order shall be issued within twenty (20) days after the submittal of the objection or defense of the initial notification and the obligor shall be notified of his/her right to request a reconsideration of the order of the administrative judge and the holding of an informal hearing, to submit evidence, to an impartial adjudication, and that the determination shall be made based on the record.
(D)
(i) Genetic tests.— In any administrative procedure in which paternity is a pertinent fact, and the mother, child, and the alleged biological father are ordered to submit to genetic tests, the petitioner shall defray all expenses pertaining to the required tests in those cases in which the results thereof are negative. In the case the results of the tests are positive, the petitionee shall meet the expenses. If the party obligated to pay the costs of the tests is the beneficiary of financial assistance of the Temporary Assistance Program of the Department of the Family, or the Aid to Medical Indigent Families Program (Medicaid), the Administration shall pay the costs thereof.
Paternity shall be presumed indisputable in those cases in which the petitionee refuses to submit to the genetic test ordered by the Administrator or the administrative judge. The tests shall be conducted by duly qualified experts who are appointed by the Administrator, and upon completion, the results shall be notified to the parties. Before admitting said tests as evidence, the Administrator or the administrative judge shall determine and state for the record that the tests have been conducted under the strictest norms required for this type of analysis.
The test shall be admissible as evidence without need for corroborative evidence of authenticity or certainty, unless an objection in writing is filed before the administrative judge and the opposing party is notified within not less than twenty (20) days after receipt of the genetic test results, but never less than ten (10) days prior to the date of the hearing. If an objection to the genetic test is presented, pursuant to the provisions herein set forth, an additional genetic test shall be ordered only if the objecting party files a request for an additional test and provides the payment for the test in advance.
Paternity shall be presumed contestable in those cases in which the genetic test ordered by the Administrator or the administrative judge produces a probability of paternity of ninety-five percent (95%) to ninety-seven point nine percent (97.9%), but the burden of challenging the paternity shall fall upon the alleged father. Paternity shall be presumed indisputable in cases in which the genetic test ordered by the Administrator or the administrative judge produces a probability of paternity of ninety-eight percent (98%) and above.
(c) Review and reconsideration before an administrative judge.— Any party adversely affected by the order of filiation and child support issued by the Administrator may request the Administrative Judge to reconsider within twenty (20) days, or thirty (30) days, if the petitionee does not reside in Puerto Rico, from notification of the order. If reconsideration is not requested within the indicated term, the order of filiation and child support shall be final and binding.
Any party adversely affected by the order of filiation and child support of the administrative judge may request reconsideration within twenty (20) days, or thirty (30) days from notification of the order if the petitionee resides out of Puerto Rico. If reconsideration is not requested within the designated term, the filiation and child support order shall be final and binding.
If the obligor opportunely presents his/her petition for review or reconsideration, the administrative hearing shall be held within twenty (20) days, or thirty (30) days if the petitionee resides out of Puerto Rico, following the date of the petition. The administrative judge shall make determinations of fact and law and issue his/her ruling on the conclusion of the hearing. Excessive rigor shall be avoided in the holding of the administrative hearings.
The petition for revision or reconsideration does not exempt the petitioner from compliance with any order or decision of the Administrator or administrative judge, nor otherwise suspend or postpone the effectiveness thereof, unless there is a special order from the Administrator or administrative judge, upon a determination that the minor shall suffer irreparable damage if said suspension is not decreed.
(d) In any procedure under this section, pregnancy or genetic test expense related receipts shall be admissible as evidence without requiring witness corroboration by third parties and shall constitute prima facie evidence of the expenses incurred for these services or tests in behalf of the minor or minors.
(e) Any order issued pursuant to this section shall contain a disposition to require all parties in the case to inform the Administration of any change in residential address and/or employment address, or changes in the available health insurance coverage, within ten (10) days from said change. The Administration shall present the order and the form that must be completed pursuant to the provisions set forth in this chapter, within twenty (20) days from the date of issue of the order, at the State Register of Child Support Cases.
Any order, resolution or ruling to set, review, or modify a support order, or to ensure the enforcement of the payment of the child support established by means of the administrative procedure, to all effects of law, shall have the same force and effect as an order, resolution or ruling set forth through an ordinary judicial procedure.
The debt for noncompliance with child support payments shall be claimed by means of any mechanism for the enforcement of child support payments contemplated in this chapter.
History —Dec. 30, 1986, No. 5, p. 887, art. V, § 11; Apr. 24, 1987, No. 17, p. 38, § 2; June 24, 1991, No. 14, § 1; Sept. 22, 1992, No. 72, § 1; Aug. 17, 1994, No. 86, § 20; Aug. 12, 1995, No. 202, § 4; Dec. 18, 1997, No. 169, § 11; Aug. 1, 2003, No. 178, § 13.