P.R. Laws tit. 8, § 502
It is hereby stated to be the public policy of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to ensure that the legally responsible parents or persons contribute, in the measure that their resources allow, to the support and welfare of their children or dependents, through the strengthening of the systems and the expediting of the administrative and judicial procedures for the determination, collection and distribution of child support. The provisions of this chapter shall be interpreted liberally in favor of the best interests of the minor or obligee that needs child support.
The obligation to support children is based on the right to life, established as an inherent right of a person. To provide child support is vested [in] the highest public interest. This obligation is consecrated in the Puerto Rico Civil Code. The father and mother have, with respect to their unemancipated children, the duty to support them, be with them, educate them and represent them in all actions that result in their benefit.
Failure to comply with the moral and legal obligations on the part of one or both parents toward their children constitutes one of the most alarming problems in our society.
In view of the serious problem of noncompliance with the obligation of child support, it is necessary to enact a public policy of responsible parenthood. Furthermore, this is possible because in most of the cases the noncomplying parent has the financial means to satisfy his/her obligation.
One of the most frequent complaints in child support cases refers to the delays in the procedures for which needy minors lack support while the State resolves controversies on child support. To shorten this period, it is necessary for the child support procedures to be placed upon one single administrative organism. Thus, the fragmenting of a process that should not be delayed shall be avoided.
History —Dec. 30, 1986, No. 5, p. 887, sec. III, art. 3; Aug. 17, 1994, No. 86, § 4; Aug. 1, 2003, No. 178, § 2.