Divorce

DIVORCE

For a U.S. divorce to have legal effect in Brazil, it must be registered with the Registro Civil de Pessoas Naturais in Brazil, i.e. in a Brazilan cartório. Legal guidelines for this process are provided by Provimento Nº 53 de 16/05/2016 from the Conselho Nacional de Justiça.

The Consulate General cannot change a Brazilian marriage certificate to reflect a U.S. divorce decision, even if the marriage was registered in the Consulate and never transcribed in a Brazilian cartório.

The Consulate General cannot use a non-Brazilian divorce decision to issue documents such as passports or powers of attorney. The only acceptable form of proof of divorce at the Consulate General is a marriage certificate issued by a Brazilian cartório with an averbação de divórcio.

The process of registering your U.S. divorce in Brazil varies according to the type of divorce:


Simple or Summary Divorce

In the case of a simple/summary divorce (dissolution of marriage without any division of assets, spousal support, child support, custody of children, etc.), the cartório that issued your Brazilian marriage certificate can register your divorce directly and issue a new marriage certificate with the averbação de divórcio.


Step-by-Step:

1.     Obtain an official copy of your U.S. divorce decision and a document from the court stating that you have returned to using your maiden name (if that is the case, and if the divorce decision does not explicitly contain this information).

2.     Have the court documents mentioned above authenticated with an Apostille by the Secretary of State in the state where they were issued.

3.     Have the divorce documents translated to Portuguese by a public sworn translator (known as a tradutor público or tradutor juramentado) in Brazil.
4.     Present your Brazilian marriage certificate* and the U.S. divorce documents, now translated and with Apostille certification, at the same cartório that issued your marriage certificate, and request an averbação de divórcio. The cartório will issue a new marriage certificate stating that you are now divorced and, if applicable, that you have returned to using your maiden name.

*If your U.S. marriage was registered in a Brazilian Consulate, but not subsequently transcribed in a Brazilian cartório, the marriage registration and subsequent divorce registration may be done concomitantly by the cartório. In this case you will need to present your original Consular marriage registration.


Divorce Involving Division of Assets, Child Support/Custody/Visitation Rights, or Contested Divorce

A divorce involving division of assets, child support, custody, etc., or a contested divorce, must be certified by the Superior Tribunal de Justiça (STJ) — a process known as "homologação de divórcio" — to be considered legally valid in Brazil. This process generally requires the services of an attorney in Brazil.


Step-by-Step:

1.     Hire a lawyer and give him or her power of attorney to act on your behalf in Brazil. The lawyer will specify whether a "public" or "private" power of attorney (procuração pública or procuração particular) will be needed.

2.     Obtain an official copy of your U.S. divorce decision and a document from the court stating that you have returned to using your maiden name (if that is the case, and if the divorce decision does not explicitly contain this information).

3.     If possible, obtain a written statement from your ex-spouse in which he or she consents to having the divorce decision certified in Brazil. Your spouse’s signature on the statement must be notarized by a notary public.

4.     Have the documents mentioned in steps 2 and 3 above authenticated with an Apostille by the Secretary of State in the state where they were issued. (For the written statement in step 3, the Apostille certification is required to verify the authenticity of the notary public’s seal and signature.)

5.     Send your Brazilian marriage certificate* and the documents mentioned above in steps 2 and 3, now with Apostille certifications, to your lawyer in Brazil.
6.     Once the divorce decision has been certified by the STJ, a new Brazilian marriage certificate, now updated with the averbação de divórcio stating the dissolution of the marriage (and any resulting name changes, if applicable), can be issued by the same cartório in which the marriage was registered.

*If your U.S. marriage was registered in a Brazilian Consulate, but not subsequently transcribed in a Brazilian cartório, the marriage registration and subsequent divorce registration may be done concomitantly by the cartório. In this case you will need to present your original Consular marriage registration.

Questions regarding divorce decisions can be sent to the Civil Registry section of the Consulate General of Brazil in Washington: regist.cgwashington@itamaraty.gov.brBrazil.