Living Will in Brazil (Testamento Vital): Putting Your Care Wishes in Writing

A living will is the document that speaks for you about your own medical care when you no longer can — recording, in advance, the treatment you would want or refuse if you were terminally ill or permanently unable to communicate. In Brazil it is known as a testamento vital and forms part of the country’s advance-directive framework. Despite the name, it has nothing to do with inheritance; it takes effect while you are alive. This page explains what a living will can do in Brazil, what it cannot, and how to make one your doctors will honor.

Reviewed by Luciano Oliveira, Esq., LL.M — licensed in Brazil, Texas, and California. Last reviewed June 2026.

This page is general information, not legal or medical advice. Only a consultation with a licensed Brazilian attorney, on your own facts, can tell you what your situation needs.

What a living will is — and what it is not

A living will records your wishes; it does not name anyone. You use it to state, ahead of time, which treatments you would accept or refuse — for example, whether you would want disproportionate life-support measures if you were terminally ill. It is a declaration about your body and your care, effective in life, and it is not a “will” in the inheritance sense despite the English name. Its companion is the medical power of attorney, which names a person to decide for you; if you want to appoint that decision-maker, see our page on the medical power of attorney. Most people are best served by having both: one says what you want, the other says who applies it.

What Brazilian law says about living wills

Brazil has no single statute called a “living will law.” Its force comes from several sources that point the same way: a Federal Council of Medicine resolution on advance directives (Resolucao CFM 1.995/2012), the Civil Code rule that no one may be compelled to undergo a life-threatening treatment against their will (art. 15), the constitutional value of human dignity, and a formal interpretive statement by Brazilian jurists (Enunciado 528) recognizing the validity of a written directive of this kind. In practice the directive is addressed to your medical team, recorded in your medical file, and takes priority over the opinions of family members. It is respected, even though it rests on this combination of ethics norms and principle rather than a dedicated law.

What you can — and cannot — direct

A living will lets you ask that disproportionate, life-prolonging treatment be limited or withdrawn so that death can follow its natural course, with comfort and palliative care. Brazilian medicine calls this ortotanasia, and it is permitted. What a living will can never do is request euthanasia or assisted suicide, both of which are crimes in Brazil; a doctor is required to disregard any instruction of that kind. Understanding this line is part of drafting a directive that is both meaningful and lawful, and it is why the wording matters.

Making your living will count in Brazil

A directive is only as good as its ability to be found and followed at the moment it is needed. A few steps make the difference:

• Record it in a notarized declaration (escritura publica declaratoria) at a Brazilian notary, which files it in the national system so it can be located.
• Give a copy to your doctor or hospital, since the directive is meant to be communicated to the medical team and kept in your record.
• Pair it with a medical power of attorney so someone you trust can apply your wishes to circumstances the document did not foresee.
• If you have a directive from home, coordinate it — for someone who spends real time in Brazil, a Brazilian document usually works better at the bedside than a foreign one that needs apostille and translation.

How we help

We prepare your living will as part of your Brazilian advance directives, in wording that is clear, lawful, and consistent with any document you have at home, and we arrange the notarized declaration so it can be found when it counts. We do not, and cannot, promise how a particular hospital will act in a particular moment, and we are candid about where a directive’s limits lie; what we do is put your wishes on the record in the form most likely to be honored.

Book a consultation with a Brazilian attorney

This article is general information only. It is not legal or medical advice, it creates no attorney-client relationship, and it is not a guarantee of any outcome. Your situation depends on the facts, which we would review with you directly.

Frequently asked questions

Is a living will legally binding in Brazil?
It is a recognized and respected directive under CFM Resolution 1.995/2012, Civil Code art. 15, and constitutional dignity, addressed to your medical team, though it rests on those sources rather than a dedicated statute.

Is a living will the same as a regular will?
No. A living will concerns your medical care while you are alive; a last will and testament concerns your assets after death. They are different documents.

Can a living will request euthanasia?
No. It may only ask that disproportionate treatment be limited (ortotanasia). Euthanasia and assisted suicide are illegal in Brazil.

Should I have a living will and a medical power of attorney?
Usually both: the living will states your wishes, the medical POA names who applies them when your wishes do not cover the situation.

Related: Estate Planning in Brazil for Foreigners · Medical Power of Attorney in Brazil · Making a Will in Brazil