2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 32 - Act for the Improvement of Family Assistance and for the Support of the Elderly (§§ 711 — 748) › § 712 - Duties of the descendants and their limitations

(a) It is the obligation of the descendants of elderly persons to contribute to their sustenance. Those descendants of elderly persons who are responsible for their support, in those cases where the administrative mediation procedure has not been effective, the court shall order them to provide a monetary contribution or as an alternative, to make a fair and reasonable non-financial contribution to their support pursuant to this chapter. The duty to support elderly persons continues even when the elderly person has been placed by court order in a care facility or in the custody of another person, or a public or private agency or institution.
(b) In order to make the obligation of providing support to an elderly person effective, or to equate said obligation, it is necessary to file a petition for support whether by the obligee him/herself, or through his/her legal representative, or a police officer, a public or private agency or instrumentality, a guardian, a public official, or any private person concerned for the support of said person. Any of the above may file a petition for support before the Program, or before the court, or present a request for services to the Program pursuant to the provisions of § 722 of this title.
(c) An adult obligor who is already providing support to an elderly relative may file a petition before the court to direct other obligors to provide support to the obligee. In these cases, leveling shall be used as a means to equitably distribute the obligation to support between all the obligors.
(d) In order to determine a “fair and reasonable” contribution and to equitably distribute the obligation of providing support to an elderly person, the needs of the obligee and the capacity of the obligor party to provide the support shall be taken into consideration. In addition to the financial capacity of the obligor, consideration shall also be given to other non-monetary factors such as the company, care, and services, among others, rendered by the descendants to the elderly, which are needed to be provided or should be provided by their obligor descendants.
(e) When determining a fair and reasonable contribution by request of the obligor, consideration shall be given to the prudence and reasonableness with which the obligor has handled his/her financial affairs during a period of not more than thirty-six (36) months, counting retroactively from the date the request for services was made by, or on behalf of the elderly obligee. In accordance with the procedures established by this chapter, the Program or competent court shall take this aspect into consideration when determining the amount, if any, of the support for the receiver thereof.
(f) This legislation is addressed to guarantee the physical and emotional integrity of the elderly persons through the support of their descendant family. In order to achieve this end, certain obligations are imposed on the adult descendants of the elderly persons. The following factors shall be considered when fixing, modifying, leveling, or rendering ineffective the obligation of providing support to elderly persons:
(1) The financial resources of the obligee and of the obligors;
(2) the health and physical, mental, and emotional needs of the obligee;
(3) the standard of living of the obligor;
(4) the tax liability for each member of the obligors party, when practical and pertinent;
(5) the non-pecuniary contributions of each obligor party in the care and welfare of the obligee;
(6) other obligations for the support of the obligor(s);
(7) health condition[s] or mental or physical disabilities of the obligors, that prevents them from making financial contributions. Notwithstanding the above, in those cases that it is shown that the obligor cannot provide financial assistance to the obligee, he/she may be directed, as an optional form of payment, to make non-financial contributions, such as performing household duties, purchasing of personal care articles for the obligee, accompanying the obligee to attend to personal matters, health needs, among others, taking into consideration the circumstances of the case, or
(8) evidence that the obligor, against whom support is claimed, was a victim of abandonment, physical, emotional, or sexual abuse by the obligee, or that the obligee failed to comply with his/her obligation to provide support, properly required through an order issued by a court of jurisdiction to his/her descendants when they were minors.
History —Aug. 12, 2000, No. 168, § 4; Aug. 17, 2002, No. 193, § 4.