THE WIDOW'S VULNERABILITY IN LP 04/2025: ANALYSIS OF THE EXCLUSION OF THE SPOUSE AS A NECESSARY HEIR FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF INVISIBLE FEMALE CONTRIBUTION

Abstract

This paper performs a critical analysis of the proposed Civil Code reform, Bill No. 04/2025 (PL 04/2025), focusing on the changes to Brazilian Succession Law, notably the exclusion of the spouse and the partner (companion) from the list of compulsory heirs (herdeiros necessários). The study contrasts the patriarchal and patrimonialist model of the 1916 Civil Code with the current constitutionalist system of the 2002 Civil Code. The current model, founded on the 1988 Federal Constitution, elevated the spouse to the status of a compulsory heir with a right of concurrence (right to participate in the inheritance alongside other heirs), thereby recognizing the Principle of Family Solidarity and the non-pecuniary contribution to the building of the estate. The central thesis argues that PL 04/2025 represents an evident risk of regression and lack of protection. The withdrawal of this succession guarantee ignores that the protection of inheritance is a matter of public policy (ordem pública) and violates constitutional principles such as the Dignity of the Human Person and Family Solidarity. Additionally, the article explores the gender perspective, highlighting the patrimonial vulnerability and social harm imposed on widows, thus devaluing the invisible work of women’s caregiving.