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EspañolWhat is an order of protection for an older adult?
An order of protection for an older adult is a court order that tells an abuser to stop abusing them.1 In Puerto Rico, an older adult is someone who is 60 years of age or older.2 A judge can issue this type of order if there is reason to believe that the older adult has been the victim of abuse, abandonment, or any other crime.3 You can read the legal definitions of some of these forms of abuse, in Spanish, on our Puerto Rico Statutes page. You can also see more information in What is the legal definition of abuse against an older adult?
1 8 L.P.R.A. § 1513(33)
2 8 L.P.R.A. § 1513(5)
3 8 L.P.R.A. § 1519
What is the legal definition of abuse against an older adult?
This section defines what is considered abuse against an older adult for the purposes of getting an order of protection. The law considers an older adult to have been abused if they have been a victim of a crime or any of the following abusive behaviors:1
- Abandonment: When the person in charge of the older adult’s care, attention, or assistance leaves them, in an attempt to abandon them. Also, if, as a result of the abandonment, the older adult’s health, physical integrity, sexual integrity, or life is at risk.
- Abuse (mistreatment): Cruel or negligent treatment of an older adult that causes or exposes them to the risk of harm to their health, welfare, or property. It includes physical, emotional, sexual, and financial abuse, neglect, abandonment, isolation, assault, theft, illegal appropriation, threat, fraud, correspondence violation, age discrimination, civil rights restriction, and exploitation, among others. This abuse can be done by doing or not doing something, and can be carried out by anyone.
- Coercion: Physical or psychological force or violence committed against a person to force them to say or do something or not to say or do something.
- Correspondence violation: Stealing, opening, or taking the older adult’s mail or email without violence or intimidation and without the older adult’s consent.
- Emotional abuse: This includes the following behaviors:
- a pattern of behavioral or verbal abuse to cause dishonor, discredit, or to belittle personal worth;
- unreasonable limitation to access and use of shared assets;
- blackmail;
- isolation;
- constant surveillance;
- withholding, or threatening to withhold food or adequate rest; and
- ignoring, humiliating, or rejecting the older adult.
- Family violence: Doing something or not doing something that affects the peace and harmony of family life, specifically something that causes or may cause damage or physical, sexual, psychological, economic, and patrimonial suffering.
- Financial exploitation: Inappropriate use of an elderly person’s funds, property, or resources by another person, including fraud, false claims, embezzlement, conspiracy, forgery of documents, falsification of records, coercion, transfer of ownership, or denying the elderly person access to their assets.
- Intimidation: When the older person is compelled to do something against their will because of repeated actions or words that make them feel morally pressured in fear of suffering physical or emotional harm to themselves, their property, or to another person.
- Negligence: Failure to give food, clothing, shelter, or medical care to an older adult.
- Physical abuse: Use of force or violence by any means, which injures the older adult.
- Sexual abuse: Knowingly or recklessly forcing an older adult to take part in or perform sexual acts, including oral sex or vaginal or anal penetration, whether done with a body part or with an object.
- Undue influence: This can happen in various ways:
- when the older adult, within a power dynamic, allows someone else to act on their behalf, even though it is evident that these actions are harming the older adult;
- when the older adult acts in a different way than they usually would if they were not influenced by someone else; and
- when someone makes an older adult perform legal acts they are not okay with, do not understand, or are unaware they are doing.2
1 8 L.P.R.A. § 1519
2 8 L.P.R.A. § 1513
What types of protection orders are there for older adults?
There are two types of orders of protection for older adults.
An ex parte temporary protection order is meant to protect a victim until the court hearing for a more permanent protection order. Ex parte means that it is issued without the abuser being notified.
The ex parte temporary protection order can be issued if the judge determines:
- that the abuser (respondent) could not be served, even though there were diligent efforts to do so;
- it’s possible that the older adult would be at immediate risk of harm if the respondent received notice; or
- the older adult can show that it’s likely they’d be abused or a victim of a crime.1
After issuing an ex parte order, the court will immediately notify the abuser and provide an opportunity for them to oppose it. A hearing will be scheduled within 5 days of when the ex parte order is issued. After the hearing, the judge will decide whether to grant a more permanent order.1
A protection order is meant to protect the older adult from abuse in a more permanent way than an ex parte order. It can be issued after a court hearing in front of a judge, during which both parties have the opportunity to present their versions of what occurred. After the hearing, the judge can grant a protection order for any period the judge believes necessary.1
1 8 L.P.R.A. § 1523
Who can file for an order of protection for an older adult?
A person over 60 years of age, considered an older adult in Puerto Rico, who has been a victim of abuse, abandonment, or any other crime in the Puerto Rico Penal Code, can apply for an order of protection without the need to file a police report or criminal charges. The judge can issue an order of protection if they determine that there is sufficient reason to believe that the older adult (petitioner) has been a victim of abuse, abandonment, or any other crime.1
This protection order can be filed by the older adult or by a police officer, tutor, public employee, attorney, or anyone else interested in the older adult’s well-being,1 if:
- the older adult:
- is physically or mentally incapacitated;
- cannot do it by themselves; or
- it’s an emergency.2
The Office of the Ombudsman for the Elderly might be able to provide you guidance and support through any restraining order or criminal proceedings against the abuser.3
1 8 L.P.R.A. § 1519
2 8 L.P.R.A. § 1521
3 1 L.P.R.A. § 730
What protections can an older adult get in a protection order?
Amongst other protections, the judge can order the abuser to:
- leave the home that they share with the victim, regardless of any legal right to the home;
- stop disturbing, harassing, following, intimidating, or threatening the victim, or interfering in any other way with their legal rights;
- not to come near or enter the same place where the victim is, if the judge believes that this limitation is necessary to prevent the abuser from bothering, intimidating, threatening, or disturbing the peace of the victim or interfering with them in any other way;
- to pay support to the victim, if there is a legal obligation to do so;
- not to dispose of the petitioner’s assets; however, if the abuser (respondent) is administering the victim’s business, they will need to provide a monthly report to the court;
- pay financial compensation for the damages that were caused by the abuse or neglect, which may include, but are not limited to, moving expenses, expenses for repairs to property, or for legal, medical, psychiatric, or psychological expenses, counseling, housing, shelter, assistive technology, or any other similar expenses; or
- any other measures necessary for the victim’s safety.1
The judge can also order the abuser to reimburse the government for any public funds used to transport the victim to their home or care facility due to failure to pick them up after medical treatment.1
1 8 L.P.R.A § 1519
What are the steps to get an order of protection for an older adult?
The steps to get an order of protection for an older adult are similar to the steps to get an order of protection for victims of domestic violence. The procedure to get an order of protection can begin in one of the following ways:
- by filing a verbal or written petition;
- within any pending case between the parties; or
- by the District Attorney’s request in a criminal proceeding, or as a condition for probation or conditional release.
The documents are available in the court clerk’s office, and the clerk can provide the necessary support and guidance to complete and submit the forms.1
1 8 L.P.R.A. § 1521
