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What is parental authority (patria potestad)?
Patria potestad, which can be loosely translated to parental authority, is the set of rights and duties parents have over their children and their children’s property while they are minors.1 You have the following rights and responsibilities as part of your parental authority:
- to look out for your children and have them with you;
- to feed them and provide what they need for their development and comprehensive education;
- to instill good habits and values as it relates to themselves and others;
- to discipline them in a reasonable and age and maturity-appropriate way; and
- to represent them in any actions that can benefit them or in which they are the defendant.2
1 31 L.P.R.A. § 7241
2 31 L.P.R.A. § 7242
