Constitution of the United States of Brazil (1946)/Title 6/Chapter 1

Chapter I
The Family

Art. 163—The family is constituted by marriage that cannot be dissolved and shall have right to the special protection of the State.

§ 1. Marriage shall be civil, and its celebration gratis. Religious marriage shall be equivalent to civil marriage, if performed with observance of the impediments established by the law, and in conformity with its provisions, and request to this effect be made by the celebrant or any party at interest, provided that the act is registered in the civil registry.

§ 2. Religious marriage celebrated without the formalities of this article shall have civil effects if, at the request of the betrothed, it be transcribed in the civil registry after ratification before the civil authorities.

Art. 164—Assistance to mothers, infants and adolescents is obligatory throughout the national territory. The law shall provide assistance to families with numerous offspring.

Art. 165—The order of succession to the estate of a foreigner, if located in Brazil, shall be regulated by the Brazilian law and for the benefit of the spouse or of the Brazilian children, in cases where the national law of de cujus may not favor them to a greater extent.