The long-standing prediction of notary offices disappearing in Brazil, fueled by calls for debureaucratization, has been overtaken by a growing trend in the opposite direction, driven by the need to ease the courts’ backlog. The latest development in this shift came on August 20, 2024, when the National Council of Justice (CNJ) issued a regulation allowing probate proceedings, asset distributions, and uncontested divorces to be handled by notary offices, even when involving heirs under 18 or incompetent.
