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Legal Information: Puerto Rico

Restraining Orders

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Updated: 
November 25, 2023

What types of protection orders for the elderly exist?

There are two types of orders of protection.

An ex parte temporary protection order can be issued whenever there exists a substantial likelihood that the elderly person is at immediate risk of abuse or another crime.1 (Ex parte is a term in Latin that means an order granted without notice to the other party, the abuser.) After issuing the order, the court will immediately notify the abuser and will provide an opportunity to him/her to tell his/her version of the story. A hearing will be scheduled within 5 days of when the ex parte order is issued. After the hearing, the judge will decide if s/he will grant a more permanent order or not.1

A protection order is designed to protect an elderly person from abuse in a more permanent way than the ex parte order. A protection order can be issued after a court hearing in front of a judge, in which both parties have the opportunity to present their version of what occurred. After the hearing, the judge can grant a protection order for whatever time period the judge believes is necessary.1

1 8 L.P.R.A. § 1523