Q: Challenge of property division after NY divorce, Puerto Rico ignoring statute of limitations?

A: You said you already appealed to the highest court. So, there is nothing more that I could suggest. In any event, I would have to review your entire file, for the U.S. and for Puerto Rico, including your appeal, before I could understand what exactly happened. If you would like to retain me to do that, assemble all of the papers, then call for an appointment.

A: Jurisdictional Complexities in Property Division: New York Divorce vs. Puerto Rico Proceedings

Your situation presents a complex jurisdictional conflict between your decades-old New York divorce decree and Puerto Rico's current attempts to relitigate property division matters. Based on my research, I can provide some legal insights regarding this unusual circumstance.

Puerto Rico follows different property division rules than states like New York, operating under a community property system based on Spanish law rather than equitable distribution. In Puerto Rico, all assets acquired during marriage automatically belong to the conjugal partnership ("sociedad de bienes gananciales") regardless of who holds title to the property. Boricua Legal

The jurisdictional conflict arises from several key legal principles:

While American courts generally recognize foreign divorce decrees when one spouse was domiciled in the jurisdiction issuing the divorce, they will only enforce financial claims from foreign decrees if the foreign court had personal jurisdiction over the defending spouse and the decree doesn't violate a strong public policy of the forum state. Americanbar

In Puerto Rico, property division typically occurs as a separate legal proceeding following the divorce itself. After a divorce is granted, parties must file a separate action to liquidate the marital property (sociedad de bienes gananciales). Poderjudicial

Puerto Rico maintains a 20-year statute of limitations for certain property-related claims, which is considerably longer than many other jurisdictions. Mcvpr

The fact that your New York divorce decree specifically stated "no discovery was needed regarding property division" should theoretically be protected by principles of res judicata and full faith and credit between jurisdictions. However, Puerto Rico might be attempting to assert jurisdiction over property physically located within its territory under the theory that Puerto Rico can sometimes "sidestep" the general rule that the law of the state where property is located controls that property, due to its "expansive jurisdictional reach." Boricua Legal

Your best approach would be to engage counsel familiar with both New York and Puerto Rico property law who can effectively argue that the property division was implicitly resolved in your New York divorce through the statement that no discovery was needed, and that Puerto Rico should respect this under principles of comity, res judicata, and the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The extensive passage of time (38 years) further strengthens your position that Puerto Rico's current actions violate fundamental principles of finality in judicial proceedings.