P.R. Laws tit. 8, § 515
In all judicial procedures related to support payments, the discovery of the financial status of the obligor and the obligee shall be compulsory.
At the request of any of the parties, the presentation of a certified copy of the income tax return as well as the certification of wages or salary by the employer shall be compulsory.
The Office of the Court Administration shall prepare a form to serve as a guide regarding the minimum information required as to the financial status of the parties, the needs of the obligee and the obligor’s ability to pay. The completed and sworn form or any similar document, also sworn, containing all the required information shall be filed with the clerk of the court and notified to the other party prior to the hearing, and shall bind the affiant to the penalties provided for perjury.
The filing of this form shall not constitute an excuse with respect to the parties’ obligation to disclose all circumstances that can help in determining their particular financial status.
The filing of this form or any other similar document shall not constitute an obstacle for the use of the mechanisms for discovery of evidence as established by the Rules of Civil Procedure, App. III of Title 32. Nevertheless, the decision to use the mechanisms for discovery of evidence shall not be a reason to suspend the hearing docketed by the clerk of the court as established in § 514 of this title. In that hearing, the amount of the provisional support to be recommended to the judge shall be determined, and a new hearing shall be set for the next available date. The provisional support payments thus established shall remain in effect until the court issues a new order or resolution.
When regular mechanisms for the discovery of evidence are used no extensions shall be granted to comply with the terms established by the Rules of Civil Procedure except by the strict demonstration of just cause.
The sanctions provided in the Rules of Civil Procedure for refusing discovery or for answering the questions asked as part of the procedure of discovery of evidence evasively shall be applied with all the rigor of the court, including the imposing of attorney’s fees.
History —Dec. 30, 1986, No. 5, p. 887, sec. V, art. 16; Aug. 1, 2003, No. 178, § 19.