A Puerto Rico Support Order That Crosses Into Bankruptcy Court

What We Received

A client submitted a Puerto Rico Superior Court Resolución issued by the Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de San Juan, in a custody case (K CU2018-0414) that governs child-support enforcement. The document is a post-hearing order entered after a Contempt Hearing (Vista de Desacato) held in person with both parents and three attorneys present — one of them appearing specifically to represent the obligor-mother in her pending U.S. Bankruptcy Court case.

The order separates the obligor's liabilities into two groups. Three items — an ASUME arrears balance and two past-due private-school balances — are listed as allowed claims for child-support obligation in the bankruptcy case. A fourth debt, for the current academic year, is kept under the state court's continuing jurisdiction and governed by a five-step payment plan. A <a href="/languages/spanish">certified Spanish translation</a> was needed for filings in the parallel bankruptcy matter.

How We Handled It

We translated each Puerto Rico-specific term with a consistent US English equivalent and kept the acronym where it identifies an agency of record: ASUME was kept as-is, with "Administración para el Sustento de Menores — the Puerto Rico Child Support Administration" expanded in a Translator's Note. Alimentante was rendered as Obligor. Sala became Courtroom. Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de San Juan became Court of First Instance, San Juan Superior Court. Corte de Quiebras became U.S. Bankruptcy Court throughout. Ledo./Leda. (Licenciado/a — licensed attorney) was rendered as Atty. Jueza Superior was rendered as Superior Judge, preserving the gender neutrality US court translations use for bench titles.

The numbered list structure of the order — three allowed-claim items followed by the retained-jurisdiction debt, then a five-step payment plan — was preserved so a reader can line up each English item against the corresponding Spanish one. Every amount and date was carried over digit-for-digit: the ASUME arrears balance of $5,463.27, the $22,788.39 prior-year balance at one school, the $9,246.75 balance at the other, the $7,069.61 retained-jurisdiction balance, the $2,000.00 payment already applied on March 11, 2026, and the biweekly $300.00 payments beginning in May 2026. Spanish calendar dates ("15 de abril de 2026") were rendered as US-style "April 15, 2026" to remove DD/MM ambiguity.

Two minor typographical errors in the original — "maneta" for "manera" and "pot" for "por" — were rendered with the correct intended meaning and documented in a <a href="/guides/translators-note">Translator's Note</a>, per standard certified-translation practice.

Expert Note

"ASUME = Administración para el Sustento de Menores (the Puerto Rico Child Support Administration). "Alimentante" is rendered as "Obligor"; "Sala" as "Courtroom"; "Tribunal de Primera Instancia" as "Court of First Instance"; "Corte de Quiebras" as "U.S. Bankruptcy Court." Two typographical errors in the original ("maneta" for "manera" and "pot" for "por") have been rendered with the intended meaning."

Mateo GarcíaSenior Immigration Translation Specialist

The Outcome

The certified translation was delivered to the client for use by counsel in the parallel U.S. Bankruptcy Court matter and for the parties' attorneys of record. The three allowed-claim items, the retained-jurisdiction debt, and the five-step payment plan each read cleanly in English with every amount and date matching the original line-for-line.