Guardianship and heirs in Fund cases

It is Article 10 of Act 45-1935: the one letting the Industrial Commission handle guardianship files so compensation can be paid to minors and incapacitated persons, and the one making the declaration of heirs of a deceased worker — and the filiation action, if needed — proceed urgently and free of costs.

The guardianship the Industrial Commission may handle covers minors and mentally incapacitated adults subject to this Act, and only for the purpose of paying the compensations the Administrator grants: it does not replace a general guardianship for other purposes. The cost-free declaration of heirs applies where the heirs of a deceased worker must be determined for this Act’s purposes, and the free filiation action applies where bringing one is necessary to award compensation to the beneficiaries.

• That it be necessary to determine the heirs of a deceased worker for this Act’s purposes: the Administrator then communicates it to the Secretary of Justice so the steps are taken before the Court of First Instance.Verified against the official source
• For guardianship: that it involves minors or mentally incapacitated adults subject to this Act, and exclusively for the purpose of paying the compensations the Administrator grants.Verified against the official source

Information pending verification.

1. 1

   Step 1: The guardianship the Industrial Commission handles

   Article 10 opens with a power that saves a whole lawsuit. “The Industrial Commission may handle the processing of guardianship files in cases of minors and mentally incapacitated adults subject to this Act, exclusively for the purpose of paying the compensations granted by the Administrator.” That last phrase is the limit: the guardianship the Commission handles serves to get the compensation money to the right person, not to govern the person’s other affairs.

2. 2

   Step 2: Who starts the declaration of heirs

   It is not the family who has to discover the route. “In cases where it is necessary to determine the heirs of a deceased worker, the Administrator shall communicate it to the Secretary of Justice.” That is, the Fund’s own Administrator triggers the procedure towards the Department of Justice. Then, before the corresponding room of the Court of First Instance, the steps may be taken by that room’s prosecutor, by any legal officer empowered to act as prosecutor, “or by any private attorney at an interested party’s instance”. All three routes are in the text.

3. 3

   Step 3: With all urgency, and off the special calendar

   The Act puts speed into the procedure with a direct instruction to the court: “this class of files shall be processed with all urgency by the court without needing to be included in the special calendar”. It sets no number of days — which is why this guide’s processing time goes unverified — but it does order that they not wait their turn like an ordinary case.

4. 4

   Step 4: No costs, no fees

   This is the part that saves money and the one almost nobody knows to invoke. “No costs or fees whatsoever shall be charged by the court or its officials for the processing and approval of such files, or for the certificates issued for the use of the Administrator or of the Commission.” Two things covered: the processing and approval of the file, and the certificates issued from it for the Administrator or the Industrial Commission.

5. 5

   Step 5: The registry certificates, free

   The exemption does not stop at the court. “The officials in charge of demographic statistics and civil registries of each municipality shall issue free of charge the certificates necessary for the stated purpose.” That is: the birth, marriage or death certificates the file needs are issued without charge, when they are for this purpose.

6. 6

   Step 6: And if a filiation action is needed

   The article closes with the hardest case: the child whose filiation is not on record and who needs to establish it in order to collect. “Where it is necessary, in order to award compensation to the beneficiaries of the deceased worker, that a filiation action be brought, it shall be processed in the same manner set out above and without any fees whatsoever accruing.” In the same manner means with the same urgency and through the same routes; and “without any fees whatsoever accruing” means without stamp duty.

7. 7

   Step 7: This is not the ordinary declaration of heirs

   Two procedures with the same name are worth not confusing. The ordinary declaration of heirs — the one done for any inheritance — has its own procedure and its own fees, and we cover it in its own guide. The Article 10 one is the one processed because there is Fund compensation to award to a deceased worker’s beneficiaries, and that is the one the Act exempts from costs, fees and the special calendar. If your case does not come from a work accident or illness, this article’s exemptions are not yours.

8. 8

   Step 8: The numbering note, and why we leave it written

   There is a detail we prefer to flag rather than fix on our own. Article 3 of this same Act, in the text the compilation prints, tells the Administrator to submit the case so “the Industrial Commission appoints the guardian in accordance with Article 13 of this Act (11 L.P.R.A. sec. 13)”. But 11 L.P.R.A. § 13 is this Article 10, and Article 13 of the Act is the uninsured-employers one, at 11 L.P.R.A. § 16. The L.P.R.A. citation the Act itself gives alongside points at this article, which is the guardianship one. We report both numbers and do not silently pick one.

The guardianship for compensation-payment purposes is handled by the Industrial Commission of Puerto Rico. The declaration of heirs is done before the corresponding room of the Court of First Instance, and the Fund’s Administrator communicates it to the Secretary of Justice so the steps begin; a private attorney may also take them at an interested party’s instance. The certificates the file needs are issued by the municipality’s demographic-statistics and civil-registry officials, free for this purpose. The Act publishes no addresses, phone numbers or forms in this article, and we read none here.

• Paying fees for the declaration of heirs in a Fund case: the Act says neither the court nor its officials shall charge any costs or fees for processing and approving those files.
• Paying for the Demographic Registry certificates for that file: the demographic-statistics and civil-registry officials issue them free for this purpose.
• Believing you must wait your turn as in an ordinary case: the Act orders these files processed with all urgency and without needing to be on the special calendar.
• Assuming the family must start the procedure alone: the Fund’s Administrator communicates it to the Secretary of Justice.
• Not knowing that a private attorney may also take the steps at an interested party’s instance.
• Giving up on the compensation of a child whose filiation is not on record: the filiation action needed to award it is processed the same way and without any fees accruing.
• Confusing this guardianship with a general one: the one the Industrial Commission handles is exclusively for paying the compensations the Administrator grants.
• Applying this article’s exemptions to an inheritance that does not come from a Fund case: there the ordinary procedure governs, with its fees.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Comisión Industrial de Puerto Rico (CIPR)

  Comisión Industrial

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov