Q: How can I collect child support from Puerto Rico order?
I transferred from Puerto Rico to Florida a couple of years ago with my daughter. My ex is not paying child support and has an open case in court in PR but when he gets a citation, he files for bankruptcy to prevent the local court from collecting from him. He doesn’t pay and the bankruptcy case gets dismissed. This is the 3rd time he has filed for bankruptcy and is about to get dismissed as well. I was told that I can’t bring the case to Florida because it’s a local case and the transfer was arranged in PR. Is there anything I can do? I also went to file my taxes here in Florida and was told that my daughter was already claimed and she lives with me. I’m assuming it was him claiming her in PR to get tax refund and stimulus. I have a lawyer helping in PR with the bankruptcy case to try to ban him for a year from filing again and another one in the state family court. I’ve never collect support through the child support agency, it was direct to my bank account.
A: You were told correctly: if he is not in Florida, you can't pursue child support in Florida because the Florida courts don't have jurisdiction over him (and presumably he has no assets in Florida anyway).
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