Moving or traveling outside Puerto Rico with your children

When a custodial parent wants to move outside Puerto Rico’s jurisdiction with their minor children, there is a judicial procedure that Act 102-2018 standardized under the name Uniform Guide for Custodial Parent Relocation Cases. The process the court describes applies when the move is for more than 90 days, and turns on formal notice to the other parent or person with parental authority, their answer, and a court determination weighing the minor’s wellbeing. It is different from requesting permission to travel temporarily, which has its own form.

The relocation procedure is started by the parent who has custody of the minor and wants to relocate outside Puerto Rico. The other party — the non-custodial parent or person with parental authority — is the one who receives notice and can object. Whoever learns the other party wants to take the minor should first contact them and ask about the details; if they cannot reach them or reach no agreement for the minor to stay in Puerto Rico, they can file a petition for the court to decide. The court warns these petitions require specific pleadings and particular evidence, and that they are highly complex situations, so it recommends contacting a lawyer before filing.

• Notifying the other parent or person with parental authority by certified mail with return receipt, at least 30 days before the relocation.Verified against the official source
• Filing that same notice with the court by motion, simultaneously.Verified against the official source
• Filing the petition in a case before the Superior Family Courtroom. It cannot be filed as a provisional-status request or similar before the Investigations Courtroom.Verified against the official source
• If you are the non-custodial party: answering within 20 days of receiving the notice, also by certified mail with return receipt, stating your position on the move.Verified against the official source

• The relocation notice, which must include, among other data: the intention to relocate; the physical address of the custodial parent’s and the minor’s new main residence; and the reasons for the relocation.
• In that same notice: the location and details of the school or daycare — address, phone, teacher, principal — and the workplace with the employer’s general information.
• Also: the custodial parent’s or guardian’s general information, that of any additional people the minor will live with, that of the lease counterparty if applicable, and an employment or study certification.
• The matching form: Request for Authorization to Relocate Minors Outside Puerto Rico’s Jurisdiction (OAT 1435) if you are moving, or Request for Permission to Travel with Minors Outside Puerto Rico’s Jurisdiction (OAT 1434) if it is a trip.

1. 1

   Step 1: First of all: do not take them before resolving this

   If you move your child outside Puerto Rico without the other parent’s consent and without court authorization, the Judiciary warns it can be considered child abduction, which carries serious penalties and even loss of legal custody. Having custody is not authorization to relocate with the minor.

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   Step 2: Distinguish a trip from a move

   They are two different forms because they are two different things: OAT 1434 is permission to travel with minors outside the jurisdiction, and OAT 1435 is authorization to relocate them. The notice procedure described in Act 102-2018 applies to moves of more than 90 days.

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   Step 3: Give 30 days’ notice by certified mail

   The custodial parent seeking to relocate notifies the other party by certified mail with return receipt, at least 30 days before the relocation, and files that notice with the court by motion at the same time. The notice has detailed content: the new address, the reasons, the school or daycare with its address, phone, teacher and principal, the workplace and employer details, who else will live with the minor, the lease counterparty and an employment or study certification.

4. 4

   Step 4: If you are the one receiving notice: 20 days

   You have 20 days from receiving the relocation notice to file your answer, by certified mail with return receipt, stating your position. If you found out another way and cannot reach the other party or reach no agreement for the minor to stay, you can file a petition for the court to decide.

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   Step 5: Hearings, social study and decision

   The court evaluates the filings and sets one or more hearings where both parties present evidence. Among what it weighs: the minor’s preference, the need or reasons for the move — work, housing, quality of life, protection of life, a new partner —, the possibility of a stable life at the destination, special needs such as specialized medical services, and the duration of the move. If it deems it necessary, the judge can order a social study of the place the minor would be moved to.

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   Step 6: The standard that must be met

   To authorize the relocation, the judge must conclude three things: that the move does not seek to impede the child’s relationship with the non-custodial parent or any person interested in the minor; that a valid and decisive reason for the move exists; and that the minor will have better opportunities and quality of life at the relocation destination.

In a case before the Superior Family Courtroom of the Court of First Instance. The Judiciary itself recommends contacting a lawyer before filing, because these petitions require specific pleadings and particular evidence.

• Believing custody alone is enough to relocate with the minor outside Puerto Rico.
• Using the travel form (OAT 1434) for a move, or the relocation form (OAT 1435) for a vacation.
• Giving notice by text or verbally: the law requires certified mail with return receipt.
• Notifying the other party and not simultaneously filing that notice with the court.
• Letting the 20 days to answer pass when you are the non-custodial party.
• Filing before the Investigations Courtroom instead of in a case before the Superior Family Courtroom.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Poder Judicial de Puerto Rico

  Poder Judicial

  poderjudicial.pr

• Request for Authorization to Relocate Minors Outside the Jurisdiction — OAT 1435

  Poder Judicial

  poderjudicial.pr

• Legislative Record (SUTRA) — Act 102-2018, Uniform Guide for Custodial Parent Relocation Cases

  Oficina de Servicios Legislativos

  sutra.oslpr.org