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TJDFT Decision Exposes How the Right to a Name Can Accompany the Affective History Recorded in Real Life, Based on Evidence of Abandonment and Recognition of Socio-Affective Paternity, in Line with Understandings Already Established by STJ and STF on Affiliation, Civil Identity, and Public Registers.
The Justice of the Federal District authorized a woman to remove her absent biological father’s surname from her birth certificate and preserve, in her civil name, the reference to the one who exercised paternity in practice.
The case was unanimously decided by the 8th Civil Chamber of TJDFT, recognizing that the right to a name should accompany the identity built in real life.
According to the process, the plaintiff stated that she grew up without the presence of her biological father, without his participation in her emotional development, and without an affective bond over the years.
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In contrast, she reported being raised by her mother and her godfather, later recognized by the court as a socio-affective father, a figure who assumed the daily responsibilities associated with the paternal role.
Removal of Surname Due to Affective Abandonment in the Civil Register
Upon analyzing the evidence, the panel noted that the retention of the paternal surname did not represent the author’s history and functioned, according to the presented account, as a source of suffering linked to abandonment.
Mention was made of indirect financial assistance provided by the paternal grandfather during a certain period, but the alimentary obligation related to the family nucleus was ultimately discharged by judicial decision.
In its reasoning, the judges emphasized that the civil name is a personality right and should not be treated merely as a bureaucratic datum.
When the original registration no longer reflects the affective and social reality, rectification may be admitted, provided there is a relevant reason and sufficient proof.
The TJDFT decision also cited, as a normative basis, Article 57 of the Public Records Law, which provides for subsequent changes of names and surnames in justified cases, with its own requirements and controls.
In this case, the court classified affective abandonment and lack of paternal ties as elements capable of establishing just cause.
Socio-Affective Paternity in the STF and Multiparentality
The understanding applied in the Federal District aligns with the already established orientation in the higher courts regarding socio-affective paternity and affiliation.
In the STF, General Repercussion Theme 622 established the thesis that socio-affective paternity, whether registered or not, does not prevent the simultaneous recognition of the biological bond, with its own legal effects.
This parameter helps explain why, in many cases, the Justice system allows for the coexistence of biological and affective bonds, especially when there are objective elements demonstrating the presence of both.
Nevertheless, the very jurisprudential debate opens up space for different solutions when it is proven that the biological parent did not exercise any parental role and that the affective reference was entirely fulfilled by another person.
STJ and Socio-Affectivity in Affiliation Decisions
In the STJ, recent decisions reiterate that the analysis of affiliation bonds involves concrete verification of socio-affectivity, with attention to the history of care and coexistence, and not just to formal data.
In February 2025, for example, the Third Chamber upheld the disestablishment of paternity in a case where the absence of a socio-affective bond was treated as a central element for the resolution.
Name Change and the Public Records Law
Although the topic is gaining visibility, judicial recognition does not mean a universal rule applicable to any family conflict situation.
The Justice system usually treats the right to a name as protected by stability, precisely because it impacts documents, legal relationships, and social identification itself, requiring consistent justifications for subsequent changes.
Therefore, processes of this nature typically depend on a set of evidence that demonstrates, at the same time, the non-existence of a paternal relationship with the biological father and the consolidation of another parental bond, such as the socio-affective one.
Personal reports, history of coexistence, prior decisions, and testimonies are evaluated to verify if there is coherence between the civil registration and the life actually lived.
In the case of TJDFT, the court made it clear that the change was admitted exceptionally, due to the combination of affective abandonment, absence of coexistence, and the presence of a figure recognized as a socio-affective father.
By allowing the removal of the biological surname, the court emphasized that the name also serves a function of belonging and identity, and not just of genetic indication.
Civil Identity, Dignity, and Affective Dimension in Decisions
The decision highlights a trend of interpreting the civil register in light of human dignity and affectivity as a structuring element of family relationships, without disregarding the criteria of legal security.
In other words, the Justice system indicates that rectification may be possible when the birth record begins to deny, rather than reflect, the consolidated affective reality.
This type of understanding also illustrates the role of the Judiciary in accommodating new family configurations recognized in Brazilian law, especially when there is formal recognition of socio-affective parenthood.
At the same time, the decision preserves the logic that each situation requires individual analysis, without “ready-made solutions,” because the effects of the change reach the entire civil life.
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