18
May

When it comes to minors in general, it does not matter where one of the parents may be in order to access justice, and request Child Support, Visitation or Custody (parental loss) . The child’s domicile will always be taken into account, in order to determine where the claim would need to start, regardless of the location of the parent or guardian who will be sued.

So, the answer is YES, you will be able to request Child Support regardless of the other parent’s location, and the court that will hear that claim will be from the country where the child is. Therefore, if the minor is in the Dominican Republic and the father to be sued is from that country, then the case will be heard in the Dominican Republic. This is true not only for cases of Child Support, Visitation or Custody of a minor, the following proceedings also apply:

–          Paternity Challenge process in the Dominican Republic.

–          Acknowledgement of parentage in the Dominican Republic.

–          Abduction, retention or illegal relocation of minors in the Dominican Republic

IMPORTANT POINTS TO NOTE:

• The address is admitted and will be recognized as of the sixth (6) month; from that date, it is assumed that the minor in question is residing in the country.

• It is unimportant if the minor is a Foreigner and does not have a legal residence, the case will be admitted by the domicile itself.

• Proof of address must be provided, the acceptable documents are the following:

A) Certificate of Study from the educational center where the child studies.

B) Certification of extracurricular activity for the minor (ballet, Swimming class, etc).

C) Among others to be determined upon hearing the case.

• This is also true for the parent or guardian who is abroad. They may also initiate those same actions in the Dominican Republic, even if they do not reside in the country.

• The process may become longer, given that longer terms are granted when the address of the parent to be sued is abroad.

• You must know the address of the person who will be sued. You may also prove that the party in question is missing, however, this article refers specifically to cases in which the address is known but it is outside the Dominican Republic.

• The lawyers who will assist you must be lawyers in the Dominican Republic, however, it is not required to be represented by a lawyer for these proceedings.

Therefore, we would like to reiterate that if you are the parent of a child who is domiciled in the Dominican Republic and the other parent is abroad (no matter where), you may pursue the following:

• Request Custody of the Child legally or judicially in the Dominican Republic; I would also like to remind you that this concept is established in Law No. 136-03, code for the protection of Children and Adolescents in the Dominican Republic, which states the following:

“It is the circumstance that a child or Adolescent might be in, in which they under the total responsibility of one of their parents, a forebear or a third party by means of a Judicial decision.”

For more information, you may access our article How to request Custody of a Minor in the Dominican Republic?  In this article, we detail clearly and precisely how this process is carried out, as well as information on the amicable phase, Requirements and Proceedings for the voluntary surrender of custody to one of the parents. We suggest you read it if it is of interest to you.

· Apply for Child Support . We would like to take this opportunity to give you a reminder of the meaning of Child Support:

“Child Support consists of the care, services and products provided to fulfill the basic and indispensable needs of a child or adolescent, for their sustenance and development: food, shelter, clothing, assistance, medical care, medicine, recreation, integral development and academic education. These obligations are of public order ”.

You may access this article for more information: Child Support in the Dominican Republic

• Request parental authority (parental loss). Everything related to Children and adolescents in the Dominican Republic is supported by the minor code, which is the reason why we repeatedly establish its legal basis. In this specific case, Parental Power or Parental loss is established in Art. 67 of the Children’s Code No. 136 of the year 2013 and states the following:

“Parental authority is a set of duties and rights that pertain equally to the father and mother, with respect to children who have not reached legal age”

If you would like to know more information on this topic, we invite you to access our article: What is parental authority and reasons for losing parental authority in the Dominican Republic? In this article, you will find details regarding the aforementioned process.

Cases in which you will not be able to perform any of these actions. –

1.  When you are not complying with the Child Support payments.

2.   When you are serving prison, be it preventive or definitive.

3.   When there is no way you will be able to comply with what you requested, due to not having a domicile for example.

The most important question is: “What is the process for this type of claim?”

It is the same process that is carried out in court. In this case, it is important to know that the notification of the request and summons will be done abroad, which carries a specific protocol and wait time for the case to be heard. You can see a summary of the process below:

1.   Request for Summons.

2.   Notice of summons.

3.   Hearing of the claim.

• If the father or mother of the child is outside of the Dominican Republic, is a Child Support claim possible?
Yes, it is. For details, we invite you to access our blog dedicated to the topic, by clicking here.
• If the minor is NOT in the Dominican Republic, but the father or mother subject of the claim are: Is a Child Support claim still possible?
Yes, it is possible to start a claim for Child Support in the Dominican Republic of a minor that is NOT in the country, as an exception. Regarding the minor’s address for claim purposes, it is admitted to use the domicile of the father or mother, in the Dominican Republic, due to the difficulty of suing a parent who does not live in a certain country. Why? There are a few reasons to consider:

1. It is difficult to move from one country to another, to attend a hearing of Child Support; for example, Dominicans need a visa to travel to most countries, so the excuse of impossibility would be real.

2. It is also difficult for a different legislation to determine and investigate the economic condition of a person from another country; therefore, establishing an amount to pay for Child Support would not be possible.

For this and other reasons, we understand that there is a chapter in the Convention of 19 October 1996 on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Co-operation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children, that establishes this jurisdiction to the courts where the possible debtor or defendant is.

Conciliation is suggested in any proceeding involving children. This makes the process faster, cheaper and, most importantly, less harmful for all parties involved, especially the minor.

In our law firm Morillo Suriel – Attorneys at Law, we have a division specialized in Family Law and Juvenile Law. Therefore, we can assist you with any questions or concerns you may have regarding Child Support, given that we are lawyers from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic specialized in the matter.