BRAZIL Law and Practice Contributed by: Cassio Namur and Roberta Toledo, Tortoro, Madureira & Ragazzi Advogados
stable union in Brazil maintained between them – that is, of a relationship lived with the purpose of establishing a married life in common. A stable union is mainly characterised by con - tinuous co-existence, with affection, durability, publicity, mutual assistance and the intention to form a family. A stable union does not require a minimum period for its configuration. Cohabita - tion, financial dependence and children are not essential requirements for a relationship to be considered stable but, when they exist, the find - ing of a stable union relationship is practically unequivocal. Thus, when there is a break-up, the existence of a stable union must be demonstrated and rec - ognised in court, if it has not been previously declared by the parties by means of a public deed or a private instrument. Only then can the union be dissolved, producing patrimonial effects (sharing of assets and/or fixing of ali - mony) and arrangements regarding the children (assignment of custody, alimony, and regulation of visits). When there is a document formalising the stable union and establishing a property regime, the property will be shared according to the rules established by the couple, as long as they do not contradict public rules. That is, the property regime established in a public deed or private instrument of recognition of the stable union must be valid to be judicially enforced. If there is a document establishing the stable union, but the property regime has not been elected, the division of property will take place according to the regime of partial community of property – that is, with the equal division of property. The same will happen if the recognition of the stable union is made in court by means of a declaratory action, with subsequent dissolution and shar -
ing of assets, which will provide for a 50% split between each of the cohabitants of the assets acquired onerously in the course of cohabitation. 2.7 Enforcement Compliance Enforcement Failure to comply with a court decision or the terms agreed in a public deed of divorce or dis - solution of a stable union leads to its judicial execution, by filing a request for compliance with the judgment or filing an enforcement action. In the same way, an agreement made in a private mediation hearing, ratified by a court or an arbi - tral decision, is enforceable before a judiciary. Following the rite proper to each execution, the judiciary can determine the arrest, seizure and blocking of assets, provided they are located in Brazil, to enforce what has been agreed or decided. All coercive measures may be used on the defaulter’s assets to comply with the order, such as breach of tax secrecy, blocking of assets, and seizure of movable and real estate. The party can also make use of financial orders, which require the inclusion of the name of the defaulting party in the list of debtors with the banking and financial system. Concerning maintenance (child or spousal main - tenance), sanctions for non-compliance can be financial – from confiscation of funds in bank accounts, investments, social security contri - butions for profit sharing, or rental income, to the seizure of assets such as vehicles or real estate. Suspension of credit cards can also be requested in court. The most radical sanc - tion is a prison sentence – civil imprisonment, provided for in the Brazilian Constitution as a coercive punishment. The Brazilian Civil Proce - dural Code foresees from one to three months of civil imprisonment for failure to comply with an alimony obligation – this is the sole cause of
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