P.R. Laws tit. 31, § 383
In all cases of divorce the minor children shall be placed under the care and patria potestas of the spouse whom the court, in the exercise of its sound discretion, considers best fitted to serve the best interest and welfare of the minor; but the other spouse shall have the right to continue family relations with his or her children, in such manner and extent as the court may determine upon decreeing the divorce, considering the case at issue.
In all cases of custody and patria potestas, the history of the prior domestic violence conduct of the parents shall be considered to determine the best interests of the child. In this sense, it shall be evaluated as to whether the person has already been a beneficiary of the diversion program established in § 636 of Title 8, and if convicted of any of the following crimes of abuse (§ 631 of Title 8); aggravated abuse (§ 632 of Title 8); abuse by threat (§ 633 of Title 8); abuse through the deprivation of liberty (§ 634 of Title 8) and sexual conjugal aggression (§ 635 of Title 8) part of the law known as the “Domestic Violence, Prevention and Intervention Act”. It shall be at the discretion of the court to hear the testimony of the minor when determining custody or patria potestas.
The spouse who has been deprived of the custody and patria potestas shall have the right to recover them if he or she proves before any competent Part of the Court of First Instance the death of the other ex-spouse or shows to the satisfaction of the court that the said recovery of the custody and patria potestas is convenient to the best interest and welfare of the minor.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 107; Apr. 18, 1935, No. 44, p. 250; Mar. 21, 1947, No. 3, p. 4; Apr. 25, 1950, No. 112, p. 288; June 2, 1976, No. 100, p. 297; Aug. 13, 1999, No. 233, § 1, eff. 60 days after Aug. 13, 1999.