The essentials
- Child support is not limited to money for buying food. It covers the reasonable needs of children according to their circumstances and the resources of those who must support them.
- It is made up of basic support, supplemental support, and, when they arise, extraordinary supplemental expenses.
- The PIPE is not just one more form: it is a sworn statement about your financial reality, and it is corroborated with documents.
- The Court and ASUME have concurrent jurisdiction over certain matters. They are not two names for the same thing.
- When the person entitled to support prevails, the law provides that attorney's fees be imposed on the person who owes support, with no need to prove obstinacy.
The statutory texts quoted below are published officially in Spanish. The English renderings here are translations offered for understanding; the Spanish text governs.
What does child support cover?
Child support is not limited to money meant for buying food. It seeks to cover children's needs in keeping with their circumstances and with the financial resources of the people responsible for supporting them.
To understand an award, it helps to distinguish between the parts it is made up of.
| Part | What it includes |
|---|---|
| Basic support | The child's day-to-day expenses: food, utilities, transportation, entertainment, and clothing, except uniforms. It is calculated under the Mandatory Guidelines. |
| Supplemental support | The proportional share of additional expenses: childcare, when it is needed in order to work or study; education; health care not covered by the medical plan; and housing. It is distributed between the parties. |
| Extraordinary supplemental expenses | Education, health, or housing expenses that do not repeat: those that are non-recurring or occur less often than every 36 months, and those that are unforeseeable, such as a graduation or a surgery. They are addressed as they arise. |
The three parts together make up the total support obligation. Extraordinary expenses are not a separate third award: they are a category within supplemental expenses.
The parts and how they are calculated are set out in the Mandatory Guidelines, Regulation No. 9535 of February 15, 2024.
The PIPE: more than a form
The Personal and Economic Information Statement, known as the PIPE, is a sworn statement about each party's financial reality. It covers income, deductions, expenses, debts, property, household composition, and other relevant financial information. It also requires documents that make it possible to corroborate what is reported.
Filling it out carefully is essential. A figure with no explanation, an expense classified incorrectly, or a missing document can affect the analysis of financial capacity.
Court or ASUME?
The Court of First Instance and ASUME, the Child Support Administration, have concurrent jurisdiction over certain support matters. Once the claim is filed in one of the two forums, that forum generally keeps the matter. The right route will depend, among other things, on whether a family case already exists, whether other disputes are pending, and on the particular circumstances of the family.
This is the difference between the two forums.
| Court of First Instance | ASUME |
|---|---|
| The Child Support Examiner takes part. | The Child Support Specialist takes part. |
| Holds hearings, receives the financial evidence, evaluates it, and performs the calculation. Issues findings and recommendations, and the final order is entered by the judge. | Handles the financial investigation and conducts the stages of the administrative proceeding. If there is an objection or an adjudicative dispute, the matter goes before an administrative judge. |
What neither one resolves. Neither the examiner nor ASUME adjudicates contested disputes over custody, parental authority, or parent-child relations. Those are handled through the corresponding judicial route.
They are not two names for the same function: they are different forums with different procedures.
Establishing and reviewing support
Support can be requested for the first time or reviewed later on. As a general rule, it can be reviewed every three (3) years. A review can also be requested before that term when there is a substantial change in the circumstances of the child, the custodial parent, or the non-custodial parent.
What if one of the parties changes jobs?
A change of job does not automatically lead to a particular outcome. It will be necessary to assess current income, the reason for the change, the children's needs, and the rest of the financial evidence.
Attorney's fees when the person entitled to support prevails
Article 22 of Law No. 5 of 1986, the Organic Act of the Child Support Administration, provides:
Article 22. — Attorney's Fees.
(1) In any proceeding under this Act for the setting or modification of a child support order, or to enforce one, the court or the Administrative Judge shall impose on the person who owes support the payment of attorney's fees in favor of the person entitled to support when the latter prevails.
(2) The court or the Administrative Judge may impose on the person who owes support the payment of attorney's fees in favor of the person entitled to support when provisional support is set.
(3) Where the parties are married to each other and one of the spouses controls all or most of the liquid assets of the conjugal partnership, the court or Administrative Judge shall order the spouse who controls the marital property to pay reasonable attorney's fees to the other spouse immediately, as requested. 8 L.P.R.A. § 521.
There is no need to prove obstinacy. This is the most important difference from the general rule in our legal system. Outside this context, attorney's fees are ordinarily imposed when a party has acted with obstinacy (temeridad). In support cases that is not so. The Supreme Court settled the point expressly in Torres Rodríguez v. Carrasquillo Nieves, 177 DPR 728 (2009), holding that fees may be imposed "without the need for the defendant to act with obstinacy."
The purpose of the rule is that the cost of claiming should not become the reason for not claiming.
How can Equitas help you?
We can help you understand the calculation, prepare and review your financial information, identify the evidence you need, assess a proposed agreement, or represent you before ASUME or the Court.
As for the PIPE in particular, having a lawyer alongside you can help you understand what each item asks for, organize the documentation, identify the information that needs explaining, and prepare to answer questions about your income and expenses.
The help can begin with a single consultation or extend to the stage of the proceeding where you need someone with you. To get started, you can arrange a consultation.
Content current as of September 2026. This article offers general information and does not replace a legal assessment of the particular circumstances of each family. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Sources
These official sources are published in Spanish.
- Law No. 5 of December 30, 1986, Organic Act of the Child Support Administration, Art. 22; 8 L.P.R.A. § 521, attorney's fees.
- Mandatory Guidelines for setting and modifying child support in Puerto Rico, Regulation No. 9535 of February 15, 2024, official text from ASUME.
- Torres Rodríguez v. Carrasquillo Nieves, 177 D.P.R. 728 (2009), 2009 TSPR 187.
- Child support in cases involving minors, official page of the Judicial Branch of Puerto Rico.
These sources were consulted and used as of September 16, 2026. Consult an attorney regarding the currency of this information and these sources.