Filiação socioafetiva: critérios predominantes na jurisprudência do Superior Tribunal de Justiça

Abstract

The new conjunctures of society demanded the evolution of the concept of family. This concept lost its patriarchal and matrimonial character and assumed the goal of pursuing true happiness of its members. In order to be compatible with the aspirations of society the Federal Constitution of Brazil of 1988 established family as the foundation of society, prohibited the distinction between children, regardless their origin, instituted responsible parenthood and prioritized the principle of human dignity. Therefore, filiation gained new boundaries. The legal and biological criteria for its recognition lost ground to the affection which is now considered as a legal element. This study aims to identify the main criteria for recognition of socioaffective filiation used by Brazilian courts with focus on the decisions of the Superior Court of Justice in the last five years. We discussed the concept of family and filiation in order to study the relation paternal-filial based on affect’s lace. We emphasize the possession of the state of child and affection as a legal element capable of consolidating relations legally recognized.