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Commission of Jurists Confirms: The Revision of the Civil Code Equalizes Inheritance Rights of Biological and Socio-Affective Children, but Stepparents Remain Without Automatic Inheritance.
The revision of the Brazilian Civil Code (Law No. 10.406/2002) entered a new phase in 2025, with the presentation of proposals by the Commission of Jurists established by the Federal Senate in 2023.
Among the topics debated and consolidated in the preliminary drafts of the bill is the equalization of inheritance rights for biological, adoptive, and socio-affective children — one of the most relevant changes in the field of family and succession law in recent decades.
According to the documents discussed by the commission and published on the official Senate portal in September 2025, the goal is to consolidate into law what has already been applied by jurisprudence: the recognition of emotional bonds as a legitimate form of filiation.
What Changes for Socio-Affective Children
The proposal explicitly states that socio-affective filiation produces the same legal effects as biological and adoptive filiation, including in the area of legitimate succession. In practice, this means that children judicially recognized as socio-affective will be able to inherit on equal terms with biological children — without distinction in the inventory or will.
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This change is directly based on the thesis established by the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) in 2016, in the judgment of REsp 1.618.230/RS, where the Court recognized the possibility of coexistence between biological and socio-affective filiation.
Now, the new Code aims to positivize this understanding, making it part of the legal text and avoiding divergent decisions among state courts.
Stepparents and Stepmothers Remain Without Automatic Inheritance Rights
Despite the progress, the new text does not automatically expand inheritance rights among stepparents, stepmothers, and stepchildren.
Affinity, in itself, does not create legal inheritance bonds — only kinship by blood relation, adoption, or judicially recognized socio-affective filiation.
This means that, even after decades of cohabitation, a stepparent will not have the right to inherit from the stepchild, nor vice versa, unless there is formal adoption or judicial recognition of affective filiation.
This position aligns with what the STJ has decided in various rulings, such as REsp 1.733.560/PR (2018), which reaffirmed that the bond of affection, by itself, is not sufficient to create inheritance rights.
Socio-Affective Recognition Can Be Formalized More Clearly
Another advancement under discussion is the facilitation of recognizing socio-affective filiation, which can be done through public deed at a notary, provided there is proof of continuous cohabitation and consent of the parties involved.
Currently, many recognitions of this type depend on judicial action. With the change, the aim is to streamline the process, ensuring legal security and equality of treatment for families formed by affective bonds.
The topic is being studied within the Working Group “Family and Successions” of the Senate Commission, responsible for reviewing Book IV of the Civil Code.
The final report is expected to be presented by the first semester of 2026, when it will be forwarded to the Senate plenary for legislative processing.
Expected Impacts
If approved, the new Civil Code will mark a historic change in Brazilian succession legislation.
From then on, biological, adoptive, and socio-affective children will have identical inheritance, pension, and succession representation rights, consolidating the notion that affection is also a source of kinship.
On the other hand, the proposal maintains the distinction regarding affinity — which means that stepparents and stepmothers will only have inheritance rights through a bond recognized judicially.
Thus, the text seeks to balance the appreciation of affection with the preservation of legal security in family relationships.
A Change That Reflects Today’s Society
The Civil Code of 2002 was created in a context where family structure was predominantly traditional. More than 20 years later, the multiplicity of family arrangements — stable unions, blended families, and socio-affective bonds — requires a more modern law aligned with Brazilian reality.
The Commission of Jurists responsible for the update is chaired by STJ Minister Nancy Andrighi and includes prominent names in civil and constitutional law.
The final text, after public hearings and revisions, is expected to be officially delivered to the Senate in April 2026, when it will proceed to legislative analysis.
If approved, the new Civil Code will represent one of the largest legal reforms since 2002, consolidating a new paradigm: inheritance will no longer be determined solely by blood, but also by love proven and recognized by law.
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