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A Set Of Structural Changes In Family Law, Including Recognition Of “Cohabitant”, Socio-Affective Affiliation Without Judge, Expanded Multi-Parenthood, Inheritance For Lovers And New Family Ties, Reignites National Debate On Legal Security And Impact On Brazilian Civil Relations
The debate on the future of family structures in Brazil has returned to the center of national discussions after the Federal Senate approved, this week, the creation of a temporary commission tasked with analyzing the Bill No. 4/2025, conceived by the President of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco. The text proposes a broad and sensitive reconfiguration of the norms governing marriage, stable unions, affiliation, inheritance, and civil rights. This information was initially reported by Gazeta do Povo, which highlighted the most controversial points of the proposal.
The project introduces unprecedented concepts in the legal system, such as the civil status of “cohabitant”, the possibility of recognizing socio-affective children directly at the registry office, the registration of trisal children, the creation of the so-called “parental family”, and even permission for lovers to receive testamentary inheritance. Given such breadth, legal scholars point out that the country may be facing the most significant legislative change since the current Civil Code came into effect in 2002.
According to a survey released by the Family Law and Succession Association (ADFAS), chaired by legal scholar Regina Beatriz Tavares da Silva, about 70% of Brazilians defend that spouses remain necessary heirs, rejecting any changes to this historical rule. For the entity, a significant part of the proposals opens gaps for legal insecurity and increased litigation, with potential profound social consequences.
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Creation Of The Civil Status Of “Cohabitant” May Alter Legal Ties And Generate Paternity Disputes
Among the most debated changes is the creation of a new civil status: the “cohabitant”. Currently, Brazil only recognizes single, married, divorced, and widowed. The stable union, although recognized, is not registered as a civil status. If Pacheco’s project is approved, this link would be officially included in personal documents.
For ADFAS, the proposal creates an evident risk: that people may be held responsible for child support or even paternity after the end of the relationship if they cannot quickly prove the absence of the biological link. In practice, someone who had lived in a stable union could be forced to bear responsibilities related to a child conceived in another relationship of the ex-partner until the case was judicially clarified.
The entity warns that this change, although seemingly bureaucratic, alters the essence of the concept of family and may generate conflicts that are not even anticipated by law today.
Marriage Without Witnesses, Without Ceremony, And Even Virtual Worries Experts
Another point that worries legal scholars is the treatment given to marriage, which according to the new text could be celebrated without witnesses, without announcements, without ceremony, and even virtually, even dispensing the presence of a justice of the peace.
ADFAS considers this change as a trivialization of marriage, removing the solemn and protective nature of the ceremony, transforming one of the legal pillars of society into a merely bureaucratic act.
Moreover, the project seeks to formalize the Provision 149/2023 of CNJ, signed by Minister Luis Felipe Salomão, which authorized registries to register stable unions without judicial decision. For Regina Beatriz Tavares, this equating of marriage and stable union undermines legal security and creates fertile ground for disputes among ex-partners and family members.
According to a statement from ADFAS itself, the proposal could trigger a “flood of litigations”, as it simplifies procedures that previously required rigor and technical analysis.
Socio-Affective Recognition At Registry Office, Multi-Parenthood And Adoption Of Adults Without Judge
The project also promotes relevant changes in the area of affiliation. Today, socio-affective recognition requires judicial analysis, but the text of the new Civil Code allows the procedure to be carried out directly at the registry office, with consent from the parties. This includes adults.
The direct consequence is the broadening of multi-parenthood, allowing a person to have more than two parents or mothers on the birth certificate without any judicial decision.
Another extremely sensitive point is the permission for adult adoption at the registry office, completely dispensing with judicial analysis. For ADFAS, this mechanism is considered “unacceptable”, as it eliminates the careful evaluation required in cases of definitive alterations of family ties.
The entity also warns of gaps that would allow a trisal to register a child as being from all the involved parties, something that currently has no legal support.
“Parental Family” May Open Inheritance And Pension Disputes Among Distant Relatives
The text also creates the category of “parental family”, which recognizes as family relatives who live together — ascendants, descendants, collateral, or socio-affective. In practice, cousins, aunts, nephews, and even affectionate relatives could form this new family category through registration at the registry office.
This mechanism would create legal obligations for support, assistance, and even inheritance rights — something non-existent in the current model. Legal scholars warn that the concept could become a umbrella for numerous social formations, including polyamorous arrangements, opening the door for property wars and complex disputes that would require court intervention.
ADFAS argues that such a category could only exist through public deed and judicial decision, preventing risks of manipulation or misuse of the law.
Assisted Reproduction And Donor Confidentiality: The Right To Know Genetic Origin May Be Violated
The project also modifies the rules of assisted reproduction. Article 1.629-K provides for absolute confidentiality for gamete donors, allowing the identity of the biological father to remain hidden — except for rare exceptions determined by a judge.
For ADFAS, this rule violates the fundamental right to know one’s genetic origin, a right widely recognized by recent jurisprudence. The entity argues that this access should be complete, clear, and mandatory, without depending on judicial interpretation.
Commission Will Have Eight Months For Analysis; Experts Project Deep National Impact
The temporary commission created by the Senate will have eight months to analyze the full text of the new Civil Code. After that, the project will proceed to the permanent committees, then to the plenary, and finally to the Chamber of Deputies.
Experts state that if approved as it is, Brazil will face a profound reconfiguration of family relations, with direct impacts on inheritance disputes, pensions, adoption, affiliation, recognition of ties, and legal stability — a change that could mark the legislative history of the country.
And you? How do you see this new family design proposed by the Civil Code? Do you think it represents more inclusion and modernity, or do you believe it creates serious legal risks and threats to traditional family pillars?
CRIARÁ RISCOS JURÍDICOS GRAVES E AMEACA AOS PILARES FAMILIARES
Estou de pleno acordo com esse novo código civil, principalmente que existem muitas pessoas com o nariz empenado por negar a verdadeira origem paterna e materna… E agora vão ter que receber os seus verdadeiros pais biológicos nós seus documentos…
Esse texto é uma ameaça aos pilares familiares tradicionais
Uma verdadeira aberração