Puerto Rico

Statutory framework; factor structure: 13 (art. 604). Separately, in domestic-violence protection proceedings, Law 54 art. 2.9, as amended by Act 120-2026 § 3, requires consideration of any Department of the Family evaluation before a court authorizes or modifies contact between minors and the respondent.

Authority

Código Civil de 2020 art. 604, 31 L.P.R.A. § 7283; Act 223-2011 art. 7, 32 L.P.R.A. § 3185

Source framework

Statutory

Factor structure

13 (art. 604)

Operative language

shall

Catch-all language

yes, (m)

Presumptions in the original survey

Shared custody is considered as a first option when it serves the child’s best interests; it is not compulsory and Act 223-2011 art. 9 exclusions apply.

Child's voice / age rule

none located

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Judicial divorce may be sought by a joint petition for consent or irreparable breakdown, or an individual petition for irreparable breakdown. Notarial divorce requires both spouses: article 473 addresses consent with applicable agreements; article 474 permits their joint declaration of irreparable breakdown without agreement on every ancillary issue, with court proceedings required for specified unresolved child matters.

Authority

P.R. Civil Code arts. 425, 473–475, Act 55-2020, as amended, including Act 184-2026 (August 14, 2026). Government-hosted OGP compilation revised August 21, 2026.

Grounds without a misconduct showing

Judicial divorce may be sought by a joint petition for consent or irreparable breakdown, or an individual petition for irreparable breakdown. Notarial divorce requires both spouses: article 473 addresses consent with applicable agreements; article 474 permits their joint declaration of irreparable breakdown without agreement on every ancillary issue, with court proceedings required for specified unresolved child matters.

Other grounds and proof conditions

No retained statutory misconduct list under the 2020 Code.

Separation

No general separation period identified for the ordinary breakdown route. See the ground and timing conditions.

Timing

Article 475 makes notarial dissolution effective on execution of the deed. Article 473 requires at least one spouse to have lived in Puerto Rico during the immediately preceding year; article 474 applies in the situation addressed by article 473. Cases involving the specified incapacity must go to court. Act 184-2026 addresses agreed later modifications of specified child-related stipulations protocolized with a notarial divorce deed; it does not create a new divorce ground.

Relief without dissolution

The Code’s dissolution provisions distinguish judicial and notarial divorce. They do not create a general legal-separation status.

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Three statutory conditions and twenty factors; Article 3 notice conditions apply. OGP English is an unofficial compilation; Spanish wording and scope limits are explained.

Authority

Act 102-2018, 32 L.P.R.A. 3371-3378

Court test

statutory relocation factors

Burden classification

no allocation found

Notice classification

yes

Trigger classification

more than ninety days; off-island context, intrajurisdictional scope not resolved

Effect of silence

no (consent or court order required)

What the court weighs

Article 6(A) requires proof of three conditions: the move is not to impede the child's relationship with the noncustodial parent or interested person; there is a 'razón válida y determinante' (our translation: 'valid and determinative reason'; the government-hosted OGP English compilation says 'valid and specific'); and it will offer a 'mejor oportunidad de vida' (our translation: 'better opportunity in life') for both the custodial parent or guardian and the child. The OGP English compilation instead says 'enhance the quality of life.' Article 6(B) lists twenty best-interest factors, including applicable shared custody in factor 7; factor 11 permits the court to order a destination social study, which must include crime analysis if ordered. Factors also address the child's preference where entitled to be heard, relationships and emotional ties, development, the move's impact, contact, finances and responsibility, school and childcare, workplace and household, landlord and employment/studies certification, the social worker's recommendation, health insurance, and other factors the judge deems necessary taking equity between the parties as a principle. In Jusino (2023), after the child's circumstances changed over several years, the Supreme Court reversed exclusions of the updated interagency report and relevant witnesses and remanded for the corresponding social report and a merits hearing; it did not decide whether relocation should be approved.

Who carries the burden

Article 6(A) says 'si se prueba' (our translation: 'if it is proved') without expressly identifying the proving party or a standard of proof. Article 3 requires the custodial parent or guardian to obtain sworn consent or seek court authorization; attributing the proof obligation to the applicant is an inference from that structure, not express burden-allocation text. The checked Jusino and Navas decisions do not announce a separate burden-shifting rule. P. del S. 1344's proposed language and the September 30, 2026 status record are historical legislative materials, not proof of enacted law or current bill status.

Notice and safety exceptions

Yes, where the court has already set parenting time (art. 3, last paragraph). Custodial parent or guardian gives written notice to the non-custodial parent entitled to visitation and to the court, by certified mail at least 30 calendar days before relocating, filing a copy by motion simultaneously. Late notice only for urgency (work, studies, or another reason the court finds meritorious). Art. 4 lists nine required contents (intent, new address, reasons, school, day care or caregiver, workplace, household members, landlord, employment or education certification). If no case is pending, art. 8 lets parents proceed by joint affidavit with the art. 4 information and a detailed parenting schedule. The Judiciary's OAT 1435 form tracks these items and certifies certified-mail service.

Which moves trigger the rule

Article 2(e) defines 'relocalización' as a change in the minor's principal residence for more than ninety days; it contains no express geographic qualifier. The Statement of Motives discusses moves outside Puerto Rico, and Navas Vidal (2021) describes the Act in that off-jurisdiction setting. Navas denied certiorari from a provisional move to Tampa, with jurisdiction and possible return retained; it did not decide an intrajurisdictional move. The October 2023 OAT 1435 form is expressly for relocation outside Puerto Rico. These sources support an off-island context, but no authority identified establishes that the definition excludes every move within Puerto Rico.

Objections and the effect of silence

Non-custodial parent (or joint-custody parent, per art. 7's title) answers by certified mail within 20 calendar days stating a position (art. 7). Silence does not authorize the move: art. 3 requires the non-custodial parent's sworn consent with a detailed parenting schedule, signed by both, and without it the custodial parent must ask the court for authorization.

The modification threshold

Article 5 allows the noncustodial parent or person with visitation rights to bring an action requesting a custody change if the custodial parent or guardian moves 'sin previa notificación y autorización' (our translation: 'without prior notice and authorization') and noncompliance with the Act is shown. It permits contempt when previously established parent-child relations have been denied, and discretionary application of Article 121 of Act 146-2012. The OGP English compilation uses 'or' where this Spanish sentence uses 'y' ('and'); no independent sanctions-trigger interpretation is selected here. Jusino explains that custody determinations may be revised on later facts and circumstances in the child's best interest; its ruling concerns updated evidence and a remand, not whether a proposed relocation alone satisfies a material-change threshold.

Other qualifications

Act 102 provides thirty-calendar-day certified-mail notice subject to Article 3's scope and urgency conditions, a twenty-calendar-day certified-mail response, sworn consent or court authorization, three Article 6(A) conditions and twenty Article 6(B) factors. The Judiciary's saved OAT 1435 form addresses requests to relocate children outside Puerto Rico. This description does not assert that Puerto Rico is uniquely regulated among the territories.

Important qualification

OGP's Spanish and English compilations are government-hosted but expressly unofficial, with different April 2024 revision dates. Our translations are labeled; the geographic-scope and later-law review limits remain explicit.

Burden summary

No allocation found

Notice summary

30 days; exceptions apply

Trigger summary

More than ninety days; scope qualified

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