Frequently Asked Questions

Yes! Full English support is provided. All consultations, documents, and communications can be conducted in English. I help expats and foreigners navigate Chilean family law.

The initial consultation is $50,000 CLP and lasts about 45 minutes. During this meeting, I evaluate your case and provide a detailed quote for legal services.

Yes. I offer video consultations for clients who are abroad or in other regions of Chile. This is perfect for expats living outside Santiago or those still overseas.

There is no guaranteed duration: it depends on the type of divorce, the court's workload and the complexity of the case. Mutual-consent divorce requires more than one year of separation and unilateral divorce three years (Law 19.947, art. 55).

Yes. You can file for unilateral divorce if you've been separated for at least 3 years. You don't need your spouse's consent.

Yes, it is possible. A marriage celebrated abroad under local law has the same effects in Chile as one celebrated here (Law 19.947, art. 80), and divorce is handled by a family court. It can be registered at the Civil Registry or a consulate, with an apostilled certificate and a translation if needed; we found no rule that requires this as a prior step to divorce. If you already divorced abroad, that divorce is recognized in Chile through exequatur before the Supreme Court. See our guide to divorce from abroad.

There's no fixed percentage set by law — courts consider the child's needs and the paying parent's income and resources case by case.

Legal minimum: for a minor child, 40% of the minimum wage if there is one child (30% each if there are two or more)
Legal maximum: 50% of the payer's income (all children combined)

If the debtor's country of residence is a party to the 1956 New York Convention on the Recovery Abroad of Maintenance, the Corporación de Asistencia Judicial (CAJ) provides free guidance and legal representation to the person claiming from Chile. The United States and Canada do not appear as parties in the UN list, and Chile is not a party to the 2007 Hague Child Support Convention; in those cases other routes in the debtor's country must be assessed. Chile's National Registry of Child Support Debtors is domestic;. See our guide to child support when a parent lives abroad.

Shared custody (cuidado personal compartido) is a regime that seeks to encourage the co-responsibility of both separated parents in raising and educating their children through a residence system that ensures stability and continuity (Civil Code, art. 225). It is set up by agreement between the parents, made by public deed or by a record before the Civil Registry. Without an agreement, the children stay with the parent they live with, and a judge decides according to the child's best interests (art. 225-2). Since the 2013 reform (Ley 20.680), the Civil Code treats both parents on an equal footing.

To take a child out of Chile, the authorizations required by article 49 of the Minors Law are needed. If a child was taken or kept without your consent, the 1980 Hague Convention seeks the child's immediate return; Chile's Central Authority is the International Office of the Corporación de Asistencia Judicial of the Metropolitan Region. Act without delay and consult a lawyer. See our guide to international child return and exit permits.

Yes. Article 229 of the Chilean Civil Code recognizes the "direct and regular relationship" (what is commonly called visitation) as both a right and a duty of the parent who does not have day-to-day care, and it does not depend on where that parent lives. The frequency and freedom are agreed by the parents or, failing that, set by the judge. Read the visitation guide

Mediation can be held by videoconference if both parties agree (Law 19.968, art. 109 bis). The judge may authorize a party to attend an in-person hearing remotely (art. 60 bis). If the judge needs your testimony as a party, it can only be given on court premises; your lawyer will tell you how to organize it. Read the visitation guide

Only with the authorizations required by article 49 of the Chilean Minors Law: if a judge entrusted day-to-day care to one parent, that parent's; and, if visitation was already regulated by a judgment or a court-approved agreement, also that of the parent in whose favor it was set. The permit is granted by public deed or by a private document certified by a notary. If it is refused without a plausible reason, you can ask the judge to authorize it. Read the visitation guide

It can, if the Convention is in force between Chile and your country of residence. Article 21 allows an application to the Central Authorities for the organization or protection of the effective exercise of access rights. It does not set a visitation schedule: that comes from an agreement between the parents or from the Chilean court. Read the visitation guide

Article 229 requires the parent with day-to-day care not to obstruct the regime that is established. It helps to document every missed visit and to consult your lawyer about which measures to ask the court for. Read the visitation guide

If the judge authorized the exit for a set period and the children unjustifiably do not return, article 49 of the Minors Law lets the judge suspend the child support payments ordered. Read the visitation guide

Yes. The claim is filed before the Family Court (Law 14.908, art. 1). Collecting when the debtor and their assets are outside Chile is a different matter and depends on treaties or reciprocity between countries. Read the child support guide

If the debtor's country of residence is a party to the 1956 New York Convention on the Recovery Abroad of Maintenance, the Corporación de Asistencia Judicial (CAJ) provides guidance and legal representation to the person claiming from Chile; according to the ChileAtiende entry, the service is free regardless of nationality or socioeconomic status. If no treaty applies, other routes in the debtor's country must be assessed. Read the child support guide

According to the UN participant list as of October 7, 2026, Germany, Spain, Argentina, Australia and the United Kingdom, among others, appear; the United States and Canada do not. Chile also does not appear in the HCCH status table for the 2007 Hague Child Support Convention (consulted October 7, 2026). Read the child support guide

When the person receiving support is a minor child, support cannot be less than 40% of the minimum monthly wage if there is one child, or 30% per child if there are two or more (Law 14.908, art. 3). The maximum is 50% of the payer's income unless there are well-founded reasons (art. 7). Support is set in UTM (art. 6). Read the child support guide

If payments are overdue, the court may order night arrest for up to 15 days, repeatable, and a travel ban (arraigo) that stays in force until the debt is paid (art. 14, Law 14.908). It may also withhold tax refunds, suspend a driver's license for up to six months and withhold funds in bank accounts (art. 16). The prudent course is to regularize the debt or ask the court for a modification. Read the child support guide

Moving does not end the obligation; a reduction or termination must be requested from the court. The claim is declared inadmissible if the claimant is listed in the National Registry of Child Support Debtors, unless there are qualified grounds (art. 1 of Law 14.908, added by Law 21.484). Read the child support guide

Largely yes. You need a patronizing lawyer and a valid power of attorney; the mandatory prior mediation can be held by videoconference if both parties agree, and the judge may authorize remote attendance at hearings. A party's own testimony, however, can only be given on court premises. Read the power of attorney guide

Yes, and we recommend that it be recorded in a public notarial instrument and apostilled, provided your country is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention (in force for Chile since August 30, 2016). The apostille certifies the signature, not the content, so your lawyer should draft the text before you sign. Read the power of attorney guide

No: consular documents are not apostilled. The original, with a handwritten signature, must reach Chile to be legalized at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a free procedure. Read the power of attorney guide

The consular fee schedule in Law 18.340 is US$25 for a special power of attorney (US$50 for a general one), plus US$5 per page; each consulate states its own amount, currency and payment methods. Read the power of attorney guide

We currently have no confirmed legal basis to grant this power of attorney for a family case by video call or electronic signature, and the consulates we checked require in-person appearance. That is why we work with the two routes in this guide. Read the power of attorney guide

Yes: divorce is handled by a family court (Law 19.968, art. 8 No. 15), and you can be represented by your lawyer with a power of attorney granted from abroad. Which court hears the case when the other party lives abroad is something we could not confirm in official sources, and we assess it case by case. Read the divorce guide

Not automatically. A foreign divorce judgment is recognized in Chile under the Code of Civil Procedure rules, through exequatur before the Supreme Court (arts. 242 to 251); the Court checks whether it meets the legal requirements and may reject it. Read the divorce guide

A lawyer qualified in Chile files it with the foreign judgment legalized or apostilled and translated into Spanish (CPC, art. 247; ChileAtiende; Foreign Ministry). Read the divorce guide

It depends on the case. If you lived in Chile in recent years and plan to divorce abroad, assess it with a lawyer first. Read the divorce guide

Divorce is handled by a family court (Law 19.968, art. 8 No. 15) and, under the law, the competent court is that of the defendant's domicile (Law 19.947, art. 87). Chilean law recognizes a marriage celebrated abroad under local law (Law 19.947, art. 80); for it to be recorded in Chile it should be registered at the Civil Registry or a consulate, with the apostilled certificate and a translation if needed (ChileAtiende, entries 111056 and 2404). The Foreign Ministry states that registration is the way for the marriage to produce legal effects in Chile; we found no rule that expressly requires it to file for divorce, but it is wise to do it first. If you already divorced abroad, that divorce is recognized in Chile through exequatur before the Supreme Court. Read the divorce guide

If a judge entrusted day-to-day care to one parent, the child leaves with that parent's authorization; if the court also decreed visitation with the other parent, the law requires that parent's authorization too. If the other parent refuses without a plausible reason, the Family Court of the child's domicile may grant it, considering the benefit of the trip and setting the period. Read the child return and exit permits guide

The law does not expressly regulate a permanent move. The court decides day-to-day care and visitation based on the child's best interests (Civil Code, art. 225-2); consult a lawyer before acting. Read the child return and exit permits guide

If your country of residence and Chile are both Contracting States of the 1980 Hague Convention, you normally go first to your own country's Central Authority, which forwards the request to the International Office of the Corporación de Asistencia Judicial of the Metropolitan Region. Time matters: the Convention distinguishes less than one year from more than one year since the removal or retention. Read the child return and exit permits guide

The procedure is expedited: a single hearing is set within the fifth working day and, while it is pending, proceedings on the merits of custody are suspended. There is no guaranteed total duration with an official source. Read the child return and exit permits guide

It stops applying when the child turns 16 (art. 4). Read the child return and exit permits guide

A parent may recognize a child before a Civil Registry officer or by public deed; also through an agent appointed by public deed with express authority (Civil Code, arts. 187 and 190; ChileAtiende, entry 3394). With a power of attorney granted from abroad (see our guide on powers of attorney), travel is not always necessary. Read the paternity guide

Parentage can be claimed in court before the Family Court, and no prior mediation is required. Read the paternity guide

In parentage cases the judge may order a DNA test, which the Servicio Médico Legal performs by court order; unjustified refusal to take the test creates a presumption of paternity. Whether sample collection can be done abroad is something we could not confirm in official sources. Read the paternity guide

The birth abroad of a child or grandchild of a Chilean can be registered through the Chilean consulate where you live, with the foreign birth certificate apostilled, the Chilean parent's documents and, for minors, the surname-order agreement form signed by both parents. Read the paternity guide

Yes, if the country is a party to the Apostille Convention (Chile has been since August 30, 2016); if not, they must be legalized by the Chilean consul and by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with a translation when not in Spanish. Read the paternity guide