P.R. Laws tit. 8, § 523

2019-02-20 00:00:00+00

§ 523. Measures to assure effective payment of support—Income withholding; order and notice

(1)

(a) The court, the Administrator, or the Administrative Judge, pursuant to the provisions established in this chapter, at the time of establishing or modifying support payments, shall immediately issue an order fixing or modifying support payments and requiring the obligor’s employer or any person who is a disburser with regard to the obligor, as defined in § 501 of this title, to withhold or deduct at the source, from the obligor’s income, regardless of whether the payment of support is in arrears or not, the amounts which are indicated in the order to meet the payment of the support and of any debt for support payments due or unpaid. These amounts shall be determined when the withholding order is issued. This order shall not be issued apart from the one containing the adjudication, revision, or modification of the obligee’s right to the support, or that adjudicates any other dispute between the parties, unless the parties reach an alternate written agreement, through which another alternative is provided, or when the court or the Administrator determines that there is just cause not to serve the order for immediate withholding or deduction at the source of the income of the obligor. In these exceptional cases, the income withholding order shall not be notified to the employer or disburser at the time the support payments are fixed or modified, but the obligor shall be notified that the same shall be executable when the latter is in arrears in the payment of child support for the equivalent of one (1) month. When said noncompliance occurs, the clerk of the court or the Administrator shall proceed in accordance with the procedures established in clause (b) of this subsection.

All support payment orders issued or modified shall advise the obligor of his/her obligation to constantly inform the court or the Administrator of any change of employer or disburser and of his/her access to any medical insurance coverage at a reasonable cost, as well as to the information on the medical insurance available.

The conclusion that there is just cause not to order the immediate withholding of income shall be based on written determinations or explanations of the court or the Administrator, as the case may be, regarding the reason for which the issuing of said withholding order would be against the best interests of the minor and, in those cases which require a modification of the child support payment, on the evidence of the punctuality of the payments.

The income withholding order form shall be in both Spanish and English, similar to the form required by the federal government in all jurisdictions, to be used in interstate and local child support cases. This form shall be prepared by the Administrator and shall be reviewed by the Court Administration Office within the thirty (30) following days, to be used by the courts and the Administrator.

(b) In those cases in which the order for immediate withholding is not served pursuant to clause (a) of this subsection, and an obligor is in arrears for the equivalent of one month in the payment of support, the clerk of the court or the Administrator, as the case may be, shall automatically serve the order to the obligor’s employer or disburser for the withholding at source of the income. The court or the Administrator, as the case may be, shall also issue the corresponding order to withhold the income of the obligor at source, if the obligor voluntarily requests such withholding, provided he/she is in arrears for less than thirty (30) days in the payment of support or if the obligee requests it and it is determined, pursuant to the procedures and standards established in subsections (2) and (3) of this section that said request should be granted.

When Puerto Rico is the initiating state pursuant to the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, the court or the Administrator, as the case may be, shall send a withholding notice to the respondent state where the obligor is employed within twenty (20) calendar days following the determination that withholding is required, and if it is in order to acknowledge receipt of any information needed to perform the withholding.

(2) When for any reason, the court or the Administrator, as the case may be, has not issued an order for immediate withholding of income at the time the child support payment is fixed or modified, and the obligor is in arrears for a period equivalent to one month, the clerk of the court or the Administrator, per se, without having to resort to additional judicial or administrative intervention, or by petition of the interested party shall, within fifteen (15) calendar days following arrears equivalent to one month of support payments or of having located the obligor issue and remit by mail to the obligor, with copy to the obligee, a notice of indebtedness for arrears, informing and advising him/her of the following:

(a) The obligation to settle said debt, the terms of the support order and the immediate withholding order, the total amount in arrears and the amount of the income to be withheld for support payments and for the amount in arrears, as well as to defray the cost of withholding to be made by the employer or disburser as provided in subsection (9)(c) of this section.

(b) The right to object to withholding, notwithstanding that the only admissible defenses are those of errors of fact; that there is no debt, or that the amount corresponding to the debt or the support payment are mistaken, or that the person is not the obligor.

(c) The conditions and terms of the procedure to object to the withholding, pursuant to the provisions of subsection (3) of this section.

(d) If there is a debt for child support payments, the Administrator or the clerk of the court shall automatically fix a reasonable amount to be credited thereto. The Administrator or the clerk of the court shall fix up to a maximum of thirty percent (30%) of the fixed amount of the support as payment plan to settle the debt.

(3)

(a) Procedure to object to the withholding order.— The petition objecting to the withholding shall have to be filed in the court or with the Administrator, as the case may be, within a term of ten (10) days from the notice of the order of immediate income withholding, after notice to the obligee.

(b) The court or the Administrator, as the case may be, shall consider the petition objecting to the withholding order and shall serve the adjudicating resolution to the parties within fifteen (15) days from the timely filing of the petition.

(c) The court or the Administrator, as the case may be, shall notify the resolution and corresponding orders to the employer or disburser, the obligor and the obligee, within the term of fifteen (15) days provided in clause (b) of this subsection. If the objection to the immediate income withholding proceeds, the return of the corresponding amounts paid in excess shall be ordered.

(4) If the obligor has made payments during the time in which the immediate income withholding order is being processed, the amounts shall be credited and adjusted, but this shall not have the effect of preventing the execution of the income withholding order.

(5) When the employer or the disburser has to be notified of the order to withhold income at the source, as provided in this section, the clerk of the court or the Administrator, as the case may be, shall promptly mail to the employer or disburser of the indebted obligor, with notice to the obligee, a notice of the order to withhold income. In addition, he/she shall indicate to same the obligation to withhold or deduct at the source of the income of the obligor, the amount indicated in the order to satisfy the payment of support and any debt for due and unpaid support, and also informing and admonishing him/her in accordance to the provisions of subsection (9) of this section. The notice of the income withholding order may be served by electronic means. When the employer or disburser is a government agency whose funds under the custody of the Secretary of the Treasury, the clerk of the court or the Administrator, as the case may be, shall mail the withholding order to both agencies simultaneously. The withholding order shall contain the terms and conditions of the withholding that must be made, as well as his/her responsibilities under this chapter, as provided in subsection (9) of this section. The notice of the withholding order and certification of the total amount corresponding to the debt shall be served to the employer or disburser, to the obligor, and to the obligee.

(a) The order shall be effective from the time of notice and shall continue in effect as long as the duty to provide support exists, or until said order is rendered ineffective or dismissed, modified or revoked by the court or the Administrator, as the case may be. Payment of the debt due to arrears in the payment of support shall not, by itself, be grounds for rendering ineffective or revoking the order to withhold income at the source.

(b) In cases where the obligor changes employer or there is a new disburser, the clerk of the court or the Administrator, as the case may be, shall proceed pursuant to what is established in the opening paragraph of this subsection, immediately after being notified of the change.

(d) The employer or disburser shall carry out the withholding and shall promptly remit to the Administrator the sums withheld for support within the terms indicated in subsection (10) of this section, which shall be remitted to the obligee within a term of two (2) workdays, from the date they are received.

(6) In no case shall the amount to be withheld from the salary or wages of the indebted obligor for the payment of the current support payment of each month for the payment in arrears, if any, and to defray the cost of the withholding by the employer or disburser, as provided in subsection (9)(c) of this section, exceed the limits set by § 303(b) of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, notwithstanding the provisions set forth in § 1130 of Title 32.

(7) Should there be more than one order for the withholding of income at its source for the same obligor, the employer or disburser shall deposit the total amount claimed with the Administration up to the limits imposed by § 303(b) of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, as they apply to the obligor and according to the instructions of the court or the Administration. The court or the Administration shall apportion the amount withheld among the obligees within the abovementioned limits, giving preference to child support and to current allowances over those in arrears, up to the limits imposed by § 303(b) of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, notwithstanding the provisions of § 1130 of Title 32.

(8) Neither the employer nor the disburser shall be held liable for inadvertently withholding amounts in excess of the limits provided by § 303(b) of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, when they have believed in good faith that they were within the limits established under said section by the court or the Administration in the order. The employer or disburser, however, is bound to inform the court or the Administration, as the case may be, of any amount in excess ordered by the court or the Administration.

(9) The notice to the employer or disburser shall include the following items:

(a) The obligor’s name and social security number, as well as any other number or data for the identification thereof, the amount to be withheld from the wages or monthly salary of the obligor for the payment of the current monthly child support payment;

(b) the amount to be withheld for the payments in arrears, if any, and the date in which said withholding shall cease;

(c) the maximum amount that the employer or disburser can withhold from the obligor’s income to defray the cost of each withholding that he/she makes when, and as determined by the Administrator through regulation;

(d) notice of his/her obligations and responsibilities as the employer or disburser under this section, as well as the terms and procedures, as provided in subsections (6)–(8) and (10)–(14) of this section, respectively;

(e) notice of his/her obligation as the employer or disburser to continue making the deductions or withholding until advised otherwise;

(f) notice that he/she must notify the court or the Administration, as the case may be, within thirty (30) days following the date of termination of the employee’s job or the termination of the obligor’s obligation to pay; the occurrence of this fact, together with his/her last known address, as well as the name and address of the new employer or disburser, if known,

(g) when the obligor terminates his employment, and is creditor of any amounts for liquidation, the employer or disburser shall arrange with the Administrator an account statement certificate including the certification of any unpaid amount in arrears for more than one (1) month of default in the payment of the support or the established payment plan. If there are payments in arrears, the amounts to be remitted for the payment of the arrears to the obligee shall be discounted from the liquidation amounts to be remitted to the obligor, and shall be remitted to the Administrator.

(10) Every current or future employer or disburser, shall honor the withholding orders issued by a court of competent jurisdiction or the Administrator, as the case may be, after due notice to such effect. The employer or disburser is under the obligation to begin the withholding no later than seven (7) workdays from the first date that the amount should have been paid or accredited to the employee after receiving the notice of the court or the Administrator, as well as to remit the amounts withheld subsequently for each payment period within the (7) workdays from the date in which the payment is made to the employee to the Administration’s state collections unit, pursuant to the provisions in § 520 of this title.

When the employer or disburser is a government agency whose funds are in the custody of the Secretary of the Department of the Treasury, the agency in which the indebted obligor renders his/her services shall be obliged to process the corresponding payroll change notice before the Department of the Treasury, within five (5) workdays following the date of receipt of the order. [The Department of the Treasury shall withhold the amount set out in the order, in the next pay period following the receipt of the payroll change notice.] The Department of the Treasury shall likewise be bound to remit the amount thus withheld to the court or the Administration on the indebted obligor’s payday.

When the employer receives an income withholding order issued by a state, the employer shall apply the Income Withholding Act in effect in the state of the main place of employment of the obligor after the determination of:

(a) The employer’s fees for the processing of an income withholding order;

(b) the maximum amount allowed to be withheld from the obligor’s income;

(d) priorities for the withholding and allocating of the withheld income for multiple obligees, and

(e) any terms and conditions for the withholding that were not specified in the order. An employer that complies with an income withholding order that seems to be valid at face shall not incur in civil liability before any person or agency for his/her behavior in compliance with the order.

(11) The employer or disburser may issue a single certified check or money order for all the amounts withheld from all the obligors under this chapter and, in that case, the check shall be accompanied by a list of the names and social security numbers of each obligor, the case number and court part and the individual amounts withheld from each one, and the date of the withholding. The requirement to mail the withheld amounts by means of a certified check or bank money order shall not apply to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, its agencies, instrumentalities, public corporations or municipalities, or to those employers or disbursers who pay through electronic banking transfers.

(12) The withholding directed under this chapter has priority over any other withholding or claim against the income of the same obligor. Notwithstanding the provisions in the Puerto Rico Civil Code, the withholding of income under this chapter shall be carried out without being subject to other prior or subsequent writs of attachment or liens or to any other claim of another creditor, except for other support cases as provided in subsection (7) of this section, and shall have preference over the payment of other debts, including those for salaries and taxes. The payment remitted as required by the withholding order shall be the disburser’s or the employer’s defense against any claim by the debtor or his creditors for the sums already paid.

(13) Should an employer or disburser fail to withhold or remit the income withheld pursuant to a valid withholding order, or should he fail to comply with any of the duties imposed by this chapter, at the request of the creditor, the court or the Administrator of their own accord, as the case may be, after due notice to the employer or disburser, and notice for the holding of a hearing, shall pronounce judgment for the total amount the disburser or employer failed to withhold and remit, plus the fines, expenses and interest that may be imposed, and shall order the collection of same on the property of the employer or disburser. Such execution of the judgment on the property shall not proceed in the cases in which the employer or disburser is a municipality, department or agency of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

(14) No employer shall reduce the salary, dismiss, suspend, change the category, refuse to hire, impose or attempt to impose onerous working conditions, or threaten or in any other manner discriminate against an employee for having authorized the withholding of his salary, commissions or any other income for the payment of support, or for having been required to withhold the support by an order of the court or the Administrator, as the case may be, to make the withholding.

Any employer or disburser who is guilty of the conduct described in this subsection shall incur civil liability to pay an amount equal to twice the amount of the damages his actions may have caused the employee. The employee shall be entitled to be reinstated in his job in case of dismissal, suspension or change of category or to have the employer desist from his conduct, plus the payment of costs and counsel fees. The person requesting employment shall be entitled to rehiring in the employment at hand or one of an equal category, and to costs and attorney fees.

The Secretary of the Department of Labor and Human Resources may represent the employees before the courts to determine if the dismissal is a violation of this chapter and to assert their rights.

(15) A creditor who receives support payments through the withholding of income under the provisions of this chapter shall notify the clerk of the court if he receives payments directly from the obligor and/or any change in the address where he receives said payments within seven (7) days of the date of the change.

(16) When for any reason the obligation to pay the support ceases, the court shall issue an order to such effects and shall notify the employer or disburser and the parties with the indication to cease the withholding of the obligor’s income. The Department of the Treasury shall also be notified in the cases provided in subsection (10) of this section.

In cases in which amounts in excess of the support payments have been withheld and sent to the court, the court shall immediately proceed to refund the amounts it has in its power, and if necessary, shall issue an order to the obligee or to the Secretary to deposit with the clerk of the court any money received in excess of the amount due. When in order, the court shall remit the amounts deposited in excess to the obligor.

History —Dec. 30, 1986, No. 5, p. 887, art. VII, § 24; Apr. 24, 1987, No. 16, p. 38, § 5; June 24, 1991, No. 14, § 2; Sept. 22, 1992, No. 72, § 2; Aug. 17, 1994, No. 86, § 31; Dec. 20, 1997, No. 180, § 5; Aug. 1, 2003, No. 178, § 27.