BRAZIL Law and Practice Contributed by: Adriana Chieco, Camila Ieracitano Macedo Maia and Mabel Tucunduva Prieto de Souza, Chieco Advogados
that require treatment unavailable in the current coun - try, etc). Courts tend to avoid allowing the child to move if the reasons are too generic or on a trial basis. 2.3.7 Grounds for Opposition to Relocation There are many reasons that can justify opposing a relocation request, such as: • if the relocation is not in the child’s best interests; • if the purpose of the relocation is to sever contact with the non-relocating parent; • if the child has never lived with the relocating par - ent; • if no stable plan for the child’s care has been pre - sented to the court; • if no concrete reason was given for the relocation; • a lack of familial support in the new country; • the child’s inability to speak the language of the new country; and • the fact that neither the relocating parent nor the child is a national of the new country. The child’s opposition to the move, depending on their age and the full context, can also be a factor. 2.3.8 Costs of an Application for Relocation If the relocation is contentious, the costs will be as follows. • The court fees, which are typically low for this type of lawsuit, as it does not involve economic inter - ests. • The fees for retaining forensic technical assistants, such as private psychologists and social workers, or any other specialist involved in the specific case, who follow the court experts’ work, discuss the techniques and methodologies applied by them to the case and present their own reports (having technical assistants is not mandatory, but is highly advisable). • Private forensic psychologists and social workers (or any other specialist) appointed by the judge where experts are not available at the local court. Their fees are paid by the party who requested the evidence, or are divided between the parties if so determined by the judge. At the end of the lawsuit, the losing party must reimburse the costs paid by the winning party, including such fees.
• Legal fees are borne by the loser in a judicial dispute. These are unrelated to retained attorneys’ contractual fees and are determined by the court in favour of the attorney of the winning party. Regarding the contractual fees to hire an attorney, these can be charged in several different ways (hourly rate, fixed amounts, success fee) and there is also the possibility to apply for free representation through dif - ferent entities (government and private) where a par - ent lacks the financial resources to hire a private one. 2.3.9 Time Taken by an Application for Relocation An application for relocation is made through a lawsuit before a family court. As such, it follows procedural rules and is subject to time-consuming expert exami - nations, and to appeals. Accordingly, it is difficult to estimate the time taken by an application for reloca - tion, because it depends not only on the case specif - ics but also on the local family court and state court specifics. Except for cases involving left-behind parents who are evidently not present in the child’s life (who see the child only on vacations, live in another state, etc), in which an urgent decision is more likely to be rendered, it is possible for a full lawsuit, with expert examination and appeals, to take anywhere from a few to several years. 2.3.10 Primary Caregivers Versus Left-Behind Parents There is no legal preference in the legislation between the applications of the primary caregiver parent and the left-behind parent. The court will only prefer one parent over the other if it is clear that doing so is in the child’s best interests. 2.4 Relocation Within a Jurisdiction Relocations within the same country are most com - mon, but the best interests of the minor remain para - mount. When a change of domicile occurs within the same city, the other parent’s authorisation is not required. However, if the move is to another city or state (which may mean a very long distance due to the sheer size of Brazil), either the express consent of the other par -
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