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Proposal for Updating the Brazilian Civil Code, Whose Foundation Was Conceived in the 1970s, Includes Digital Inheritance, Unilateral Divorce, and Recognizes Animals as Sentient Beings, Seeking to Adapt the Law to 21st Century Society.
A comprehensive proposal for reforming the Brazilian Civil Code has been submitted to the Federal Senate, marking the start of one of the most significant legislative updates in recent decades. The current text, which came into effect in 2002, was largely based on a project from the 1970s, reflecting a completely outdated social and technological reality. The modernization aims to incorporate themes that have become central to daily life and close the gap between written law and citizens’ practical lives.
Drafted by a commission of renowned jurists, headed by Minister Luis Felipe Salomão of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), the draft bill seeks to provide legal certainty to situations that currently depend on judicial interpretations, which are often slow and inconsistent. If approved, the reform will not only update the law, but also simplify processes, such as divorces and inheritances, aligning the Brazilian Civil Code with how people live, relate, and conduct business today.
Digital Life Finally Enters the Law
The lack of clear rules for the digital environment is one of the most critical points of the current code, forcing judges to decide on complex issues without explicit legal support.
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The reform proposes creating an entire chapter dedicated to the subject, with a focus on digital inheritance.
The proposal establishes what happens to a person’s online assets after death, differentiating economically valuable assets, such as cryptocurrencies, airline miles, and monetized channels, from those with purely sentimental value, such as social media accounts and personal emails.
Under the new rule, financial assets would be transferred to heirs, while access to private content would, in principle, be extinguished to protect the privacy of the deceased.
In addition to inheritance, the proposal expressly validates contracts entered into electronically, including so-called “smart contracts,” which are self-executing on platforms like blockchain.
In practice, this means that a “click” or other form of digital acceptance will have unequivocal legal recognition, providing greater legal security for e-commerce and digital transactions.
The measure is seen as essential for keeping pace with the evolution of the economy and commercial relationships, which have massively migrated online, ensuring that technological innovation does not operate in a legal vacuum.
New Families and Relationships in the Brazilian Civil Code
Perhaps the most profound modernization of the reform is in Family Law.
The text abandons the “marriage-centric” model, which historically placed marriage as the main family structure, superior to others.
Now, it begins to recognize the affective bond as the central element for constituting a family.
The proposal formalizes in law the recognition of same-sex civil unions and stable unions on an equal footing with marriage for all purposes, consolidating an understanding that the STF had already established in 2011.
The terminology is also updated, replacing the expression “family power,” which implies an idea of possession, with “parental authority,” focused on duties of care and education.
Another change with significant practical impact is the establishment of unilateral or impositive divorce.
The proposal allows one person to request a divorce directly at the registry office, without the need for the partner’s consent, who would only be notified of the decision.
The objective is to streamline the end of the marital bond and prevent one party from using the process to prolong suffering or blackmail the other, configuring a form of procedural violence.
Issues such as the division of assets and child custody would continue to be discussed separately, but the end of the marriage would be immediate, ensuring autonomy and dignity for those involved.
Animals Are No Longer “Things” Under the Law
In one of the most revolutionary changes, the reform proposes to radically alter the legal status of animals in the Brazilian Civil Code.
Currently, they are treated as “movable goods,” that is, things, objects.
This classification creates problematic situations, such as in cases of accidents, where compensation for damage to a pet may be limited to its “market value.”
The new text recognizes them as “sentient living beings,” endowed with a special nature and their own legal protection, which must consider their fundamental rights. This conceptual change has immediate and profound practical consequences.
In a divorce dispute, for example, a pet will no longer be divided like furniture or a car.
Instead, a judge may set custody rules and a visitation schedule, considering the animal’s well-being and the emotional bonds it has with each owner, similarly to what happens with children.
The measure also strengthens civil liability for mistreatment, as the harm caused is no longer to an “object,” but to a being capable of feeling pain and suffering, paving the way for fairer reparations.
The proposal for reforming the Brazilian Civil Code represents a monumental effort to synchronize the country’s primary law governing private life with the social and technological advances of the last five decades.
The changes, ranging from cryptocurrency inheritance to pet custody, reflect a more complex, digital, and diverse society, seeking to ensure that the law is a true reflection of reality, and not a relic of the past.
The path in the National Congress, however, will be long and subject to intense debates.
Which of the proposed changes do you consider the most urgent for today’s Brazil: the regulation of digital life, the recognition of all family forms, or the new protection for animals? Leave your opinion in the comments — we want to know how this reform could impact your life in practice.
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