Court allows Brazilian boy to have three fathers and one mother

Court allows Brazilian boy to have three fathers and one mother

After a six-year legal battle, a court in the Brazilian federal state Espirito Santo decided that a child may be officially registered as the child of three fathers and one mother. This landmark decision could have far-reaching implications for family structures in Brazil.

Background of the decision

Lawyer Ana Paula Morbeck, who represents the now 10-year-old boy, informed CNN Brasil that the child was regularly registered at birth with his biological father and mother. However, due to his biological parents' "complex and inconsistent" marriage, the boy's uncle and his husband helped care for the boy.

The family environment

“What was originally supposed to be sporadic became routine, and that created an emotional bond with the then-little boy,” Morbeck continued. After his biological parents divorced, the boy lived permanently with his uncle and his husband. “They took care of his health, education, nutrition, leisure time and also gave him all the love and security for his healthy development,” reported the lawyer.

The desire for recognition

When the boy started school, he expressed a desire to receive formal recognition of his family circumstances - he wanted his three fathers to be recognized. To achieve this, the family had to file a lawsuit in 2019, but the application was initially rejected by the local court. This decided that a change in parental custody was only possible through adoption.

The turning point in the legal dispute

“This was not what the family wanted, because the boy recognizes his biological parents and sees them as such, despite the strong bond with his social-affective parents,” explained Morbeck. On January 21, another court ruled in the family's favor and ordered the same-sex couple to be registered as legal fathers of the boy, who now officially has three fathers and a mother.

A step for diverse family structures

The lawyer emphasized that the love, affection and care that the child feels for his uncle and his husband were the basis for the court's decision. “Such a decision recognizes that families come in many shapes and types and strengthens bonds of affection,” Morbeck added. Same-sex adoption has been legal in Brazil since 2010, placing this case in a broader context of legal advances and social changes in the Brazilian family.