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Bill No. 1977/2024, Under Analysis in the Senate, Proposes to Remove from Aggressors the Right to Alimony and the Sharing of Assets in Cases of Domestic or Family Violence.
Bill No. 1977/2024, currently under consideration in the Federal Senate, proposes a change to the Civil Code and the Brazilian family rules. The text stipulates that those who commit domestic or family violence against a spouse, partner, or significant other will lose the right to receive alimony and to the sharing of assets acquired during marriage or stable union.
The bill is authored by Senator Ana Paula Lobato (PDT/MA) and gained traction in early 2025 after the Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ) issued a favorable opinion for its processing. As of now, it is in the CCJ of the Senate, awaiting the appointment of a rapporteur. Its declared objective is to prevent the aggressor from benefiting economically from the victim, through civil rights stemming from the family relationship.
What PL 1977/2024 Proposes
The bill amends articles 1,814 and 1,708 of the Civil Code, which address the causes that prevent someone from inheriting assets or receiving alimony. With the change, anyone convicted of domestic or family violence against a partner, spouse, or significant other will be automatically barred from:
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- Receiving alimony from the abused partner;
- Participating in the sharing of assets acquired during the marriage or stable union;
- Participating in the inheritance of the victim, in the event of their death;
- Being a beneficiary of a will or life insurance in the victim’s name, if there is a definitive conviction.
The measure also applies in cases of property, psychological, and sexual violence, recognizing that abuse can occur in various forms, not just through physical aggression.
Current Understanding and Gap in the Law
Currently, the Civil Code already provides for situations that prevent someone from inheriting — such as intentional homicide against the author of the inheritance. However, there is no explicit provision for cases of domestic violence within marriage or stable union.
In practice, a partner convicted of aggression can still inherit assets or receive alimony from the victim, which has been considered unjust and morally unacceptable by legal scholars and parliamentarians. Bill 1977/2024 seeks to fill this legal gap, making domestic violence a legitimate reason for exclusion from inheritance and loss of alimony rights.
The Justification of the Bill
In her justification, Senator Ana Paula highlighted that Brazil still grapples with high rates of violence against women and that it is “incoherent to allow an aggressor to maintain financial and property ties with the victim after the crime.”
According to data from the Brazilian Public Security Forum, in 2024 more than 1,400 femicides and 247,000 cases of domestic violence were reported across the country. For the parliamentarian, the proposal has a preventive and moral character, in addition to reinforcing the principle of human dignity, as provided in Article 1 of the Constitution.
What Changes in Practice If the Bill Is Approved
If PL 1977/2024 becomes law, convicts of domestic or family violence will automatically lose the following rights:
- Requesting alimony after separation or divorce;
- Being legal heirs or beneficiaries of the victim’s will;
- Participating in the sharing of assets in stable union;
- Receiving compensations or insurance in the event of the victim’s death.
The change creates a powerful legal and symbolic effect, as it breaks the economic dependency between aggressor and victim, in addition to serving as a form of dissuasion and moral punishment.
Processing and Next Steps
The bill has already been approved by the Human Rights Commission (CDH) and received a favorable opinion in the Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ) of the Senate. It is now heading for a vote in the plenary, before being forwarded to the Chamber of Deputies. If approved in both Houses, the text will be sent for presidential sanction.
So far, the bill has the support of women’s and human rights benches but faces resistance from parts of the legal sector, which points to the risk of duplicity of punishment and excessive subjectivity in the application of sanctions.
A Moral and Legal Advance in Combating Domestic Violence
The proposal reinforces a recent trend in the National Congress to expand the legal protection of victims of domestic violence, particularly women and the elderly. Other similar initiatives, such as PL 1.313/2023, had previously attempted to include emotional abandonment and physical aggression among the causes for exclusion from inheritance but did not advance.
If PL 1977/2024 is approved, Brazil will explicitly recognize that those who commit aggression cannot benefit from the victim, either financially or morally. More than a change in the Civil Code, the bill represents a change in values in Brazilian family law, where respect and dignity become essential conditions for the exercise of any property right.
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