Stable Union - Part I: Legal Assumptions

With the enactment of the Federal Constitution, the Stable Union began to be recognized as a family entity (art. 226, § 3 of the CF) and this family nucleus not constituted by civil union began to have the same protection and social care by the public power than unions formed by marriage. However, although it has been recognized for years, the form of constitution of a stable union is still not generally known by society - which reflects on the difficulty of proving the existence in cases of recognition and dissolution of this legal category. Thus, the first requirement, brought by the Civil Code (art. 1723), is the need to publicize the relationship, which assumes that people close to these cohabitants know about the existence of this relationship and that individuals live as if they were married. In addition, said coexistence needs to be continuous and lasting. However, the first point to be explained is that there is no minimum period stipulated by the legislation for the constitution of a stable union, and the relationship must be observed in the concrete case by the judge of the cause. Another requirement is the objective of constituting a family, that is, that the cohabitants have as the purpose of this relationship the formation of a home. It is also clarified that there is no need for cohabitation or the existence of children, considering that the objective of constituting a family is formed by the duties of loyalty, respect, assistance and, only if applicable, custody, support and children's education. Finally, those who are prevented from marrying by law also cannot form a stable union, namely: people already married; ascendants with descendants; in-laws in straight lines (father-in-law, mother-in-law, stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, etc.); siblings and collaterals up to the third degree (uncles and nephews); as well as the husband/wife with the person convicted of murder or attempted murder against their spouse. CBR Legal Advice