Notary offices in several capitals and cities across the country are promoting this Saturday (29) the Notarial Journey 2025 – Protecting the Future is Planning the Present, a national citizenship action aimed at protecting elderly people and raising awareness about the importance of personal and asset planning. The initiative is from the Colégio Notarial do Brasil – Federal Council (CNB/CF) and its state sections.
During the day, notaries from across the country will be in public places offering free legal guidance on self-trust deeds, declaratory deeds of expression of will and acts of succession planning, such as wills and lifetime donations of real estate with usufruct to raise awareness in society about the importance of acts that guarantee autonomy and security in old age.
According to the Colégio Notarial do Brasil, the campaign was born supported by the Provision No. 206/2025 of the National Council of Justice (CNJ), which reinforces the relevance of these instruments to avoid conflicts and ensure that the citizen’s will is respected even in situations of possible incapacity.
Self-curatela
The self-curatorship deed, made at a notary’s office, in which the elderly person stipulates who should be responsible for the care of their health and their assets, must be consulted by judges when judging cases of incapacity of elderly people and the appointment of a possible curator – a person responsible for managing the assets and taking care of the health of these people. The acts will be stored at the Notarial Central of Notary Offices (Censec).
During the journey, interested parties will be able to register their interest in carrying out the deeds, which in turn can be done in person at the notary’s offices or via email. e-Notary digital platform. The notaries will launch the act in a specific field at CENSEC, which becomes a mandatory reference for magistrates when defining the curator, a measure that prevents elderly people from being placed in the care of someone they did not choose.
“It is important to highlight that, despite this new rule, the rule of article 1,775 of the Brazilian Civil Code remains valid, which determines that the non-separated spouse or partner is the curator of the other. If the spouse or partner is absent, the father or mother is considered to be the legitimate curator and, in their absence, the descendant who proves to be more capable. Among the descendants, the closest degree precedes the most remote. If there is none of those listed above, the choice of the curator will be up to the judge, who must consider and observe the wishes expressed by the person at the notary’s office”, adds the Colégio Notarial do Brasil – Rio de Janeiro section (CNB/RJ).
For the CNB/RJ, the new CNJ rule comes at a time of growth in the elderly population and an increase in violations.
“Between 2020 and 2023, there were more than 408 thousand reports of mistreatment, in addition to another 150 thousand reports registered by Dial 100 in the first three months of this year”, says the CNB/RJ.
The president of CNB/RJ, Edyanne Moura da Frota Cordeiro, explains that the guardianship deed is made before a notary or his legal substitute. “An interview will be carried out with the doctor, there will be a notarized record confirming the person’s mental state. This interview with the doctor will be recorded on video, usually a geriatrician, psychiatrist or neurologist. Family members such as spouses, children, siblings, nephews will also be heard. A judge will approve these minutes to certify that all requirements have been met. Doing it in a notary’s office is much faster than going to court”, said Edyanne.
The declaratory deed of will, also known as a living will, serves the person who is in full mental capacity and wants to control their future, choose palliative care in a terminal illness, whether they want to be on life support, choose their curator, among other acts.
In Rio, the day will be at Praça Saens Peña, in Tijuca, from 9am to 2pm. The initiative in São Paulo will take place from 8am to 3pm, at Shopping Metrô Santa Cruz, store 217 (near Lavoisier, on the Passarela floor). In Brasília, the action will take place at Venâncio Shopping, from 10am to 4pm.
