Four situations we handle for families in two countries
Find yours below. Each block states how Brazilian law treats the situation and what we do about it — so you know where you stand before we speak.
Divorce with a Brazilian spouse, or with assets in Brazil
Brazil allows divorce without any separation period or waiting time. When both spouses agree and there are no minor or incapacitated children, the divorce can be signed at a notary office (divorcio extrajudicial); with a power of attorney, neither spouse needs to be in Brazil. Contested cases, and any case involving minor children, go through the family court. Two rules matter most for cross-border couples. First, Brazilian courts have exclusive jurisdiction to divide real estate located in Brazil, whatever a foreign court decides about it. Second, the property regime — partial community of assets by default, unless a prenuptial agreement chose otherwise — determines what is shared and what stays separate. Assets abroad may be dealt with by the foreign court, and the two outcomes coordinated.
What we do: we confirm which forum should hear which part of the case, prepare the divorce (notarial or judicial), handle the partition of the Brazilian assets, and register the divorce and any property transfers with the civil and property registries. When the case runs in both countries, we coordinate with your lawyer abroad so the Brazilian side does not undo the other.
Recognising a foreign divorce in Brazil (homologation)
A divorce granted abroad has no effect in Brazil until it is recognised here. A consensual foreign divorce that decides nothing beyond the dissolution itself can be recorded directly at the Brazilian civil registry (averbacao direta) under article 961, paragraph 5, of the 2015 Code of Civil Procedure and the Codigo Nacional de Normas do Foro Extrajudicial (CNJ Provimento 149/2023, article 464, paragraph 3). When the foreign judgment also rules on children, support or property — or when the divorce was contested — it must first be homologated by the Superior Court of Justice (STJ). The STJ reviews form, not merits: a final judgment, proper service on both parties, an apostille and a sworn translation. Until recognition happens, the person remains married in Brazil, which blocks a new marriage here, the sale of jointly held property, and any update to the property record.
What we do: we identify which route applies to your judgment, assemble and translate the file, file the registry request or the STJ petition, and record the outcome with the civil registry and, where relevant, the property registry. The whole process is handled by power of attorney.
Child support across borders
Brazil is a party to the 2007 Hague Child Support Convention (in force here since 2017) and to the 1956 New York Convention, with the Ministry of Justice acting as Central Authority. A support order from another country can therefore be enforced in Brazil against a parent who lives or holds assets here, and a Brazilian order can be sent abroad for enforcement. Inside Brazil, the enforcement tools include wage deduction, seizure of bank balances and property, registration of the debt with credit bureaus, and — for the three most recent unpaid instalments — civil imprisonment of up to three months. Brazilian courts also set and revise support directly when the child lives in Brazil or the paying parent does.
What we do: we enforce foreign orders in Brazil, obtain or revise Brazilian orders, and prepare Brazilian orders for enforcement abroad through the Central Authority route. You do not need to travel for any of it.
Custody, relocation and international child abduction
Brazilian family law presumes shared custody (guarda compartilhada) as the default since 2014, with the child's best interests deciding every question. A child cannot leave Brazil without the other parent's authorisation or a court order, and a parent who relocates abroad with the child without that consent — or who keeps the child in Brazil after an agreed visit — may trigger the 1980 Hague Convention on International Child Abduction. Brazil has applied the Convention since 2000: the Federal Administrative Central Authority (ACAF, Ministry of Justice) receives return requests, and the federal courts decide them. The Convention treats requests filed within one year of the removal differently from later ones.
What we do: we act for the parent left behind and for the parent in Brazil alike — return applications and defences, custody and relocation cases, and enforceable visitation arrangements. In abduction matters, the attorney responds within the hour on business days. Call +55 (18) 3908-1653 or use the form above.
