WE DEFEND THOSE WHO BUILD. WE PROTECT WHAT MATTERS.
EVERY CASE IS TREATED AS IF IT WERE THE ONLY ONE.
Three decades of legal experience dedicated to defending our clients' interests.
REAL ESTATE
LAW
Legal support in divorce, separation, parental responsibilities, child support, and other family matters, with a focus on protecting the individual, children, assets, and the stability of family relationships.
Need legal support?
Get in touch with our team for clear, rigorous legal support tailored to your case.
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The Experience Behind Our Practice
Over 30 Years of Consolidated Experience
With more than three decades of legal practice, we combine strong legal knowledge, extensive practical experience, and a mature understanding of the challenges faced by businesses, individuals, and investors.
Rigorous Legal Expertise with Close Client Support
Every case is handled with attention to detail, technical precision, and strategic focus, ensuring personalized and close support throughout every stage of the process.
International Presence and Coordinated Legal Assistance
Through a network of strategic partnerships across Portuguese-speaking and European markets, the firm provides coordinated legal support for both national and international matters and operations.
Family Law
Family law governs some of the most sensitive matters in personal and financial life, covering issues connected with marriage, divorce, separation, civil partnership, parental responsibilities, maintenance, the family home, and the legal organization of family relationships.
At Armandino Lopes Advogados, we provide legal advice in family law to individuals and families who need support during moments of breakdown or family reorganization, when defining parental rights and duties, or when protecting their personal and financial interests. The legal framework for these matters is found mainly in the Civil Code (Código Civil), the General Regime for Civil Guardianship Proceedings (Regime Geral do Processo Tutelar CÃvel), and the civil registry and judicial procedures that apply to divorce, separation, and parental responsibilities.
Our work in family law covers divorce by mutual consent, divorce without the consent of one of the spouses, judicial separation of persons and property, the regulation of parental responsibilities, changes to existing parental responsibility arrangements, breaches of those arrangements, child support, the allocation of the family home, maintenance between spouses or former spouses, civil partnerships, family agreements, and family mediation.
In Portugal, where there are minor children involved, parental responsibilities can be settled either by agreement or by court decision, with the general rule being that decisions of particular importance in the child's life continue to be made jointly by both parents.
If you are looking for legal support in family law in Guimarães, our team offers careful, close guidance in situations that call for sensitivity, legal clarity, and the ability to act decisively.
In many cases, the aim is not only to resolve an immediate conflict. It is also to create a stable and legally secure framework for the family’s future. This is especially important when there are minor children involved. It matters for issues such as maintenance (support), the child’s residence, parental contact arrangements, protection of family assets, or reorganizing family life after divorce or separation.
Family mediation can also be very important for many of these issues. It is recognized by the Ministry of Justice as a mechanism that helps resolve family disputes more amicably.
As a law firm based in Guimarães with established experience in civil, financial, and litigation matters, we provide legal advice in family law with a focus on protecting our clients' interests, respecting the best interests of the child, and finding solutions that are both legally sound and humanly appropriate. We work both on the preventive and negotiating side and within ongoing court proceedings, supporting clients through divorce, separation, parental responsibilities, maintenance, the family home, and the breach of agreements or court decisions. For anyone who needs a family lawyer in Guimarães, we offer close, technically rigorous support at moments when legal security and personal stability matter most.
Situations where legal support is essential
Divorce by mutual consent
When both spouses agree to divorce and also agree on the key related issues, the process can be handled through the civil registry, provided the legal requirements are met.
Divorce without the consent of one of the spouses
When the spouses cannot agree on the divorce itself or on its consequences, it may be necessary to take the matter to court, which will then consider the situation and decide the issues at stake.
Judicial separation of persons and property
Separation does not end the marriage, but it does bring duties such as cohabitation and mutual assistance to an end. It may be sought by mutual consent or, where there is no agreement, through the courts.
Regulation of parental responsibilities
In cases of separation, divorce, or breakdown between parents, it is essential to set out clearly, in legal terms, where the child will live, how contact will work, how decisions of particular importance will be made, and how maintenance will be paid.
Child maintenance
The duty to pay maintenance is there to cover the child's living expenses, education, housing, healthcare, and clothing, and it is important to be able to set, fix, vary, or enforce that amount when needed.
The family home In a divorce or separation
Deciding what happens to the family home is one of the questions that may need to be settled by agreement or by a court decision.
Civil partnership and the breakdown of life together
Ending a civil partnership may call for a clear legal framework around children, maintenance, housing, property, and the reorganisation of family life.
Parental disputes over schooling, health, or residence
Important questions in a child's life, such as education, healthcare, and a change of residence, may need legal clarification and, if necessary, intervention by the courts.
Cases where one parent lives abroad
When one parent lives outside Portugal, particular evidential and procedural needs may arise in matters concerning parental responsibilities and the protection of the child.
In-Person or Online Legal Support
Do you need legal support?
Schedule a consultation with our firm and receive clear, professional guidance tailored to your case.
About Us
More Than Three Decades of Strategic Legal Practice
Armandino Lopes Advogados is a law firm headquartered in Guimarães, with offices in Porto and Maputo, founded in 1995. With more than three decades of activity, the firm combines consolidated legal experience with an international outlook, advising businesses, private clients, and investors in Portugal and across Portuguese-speaking markets.
Our practice covers Civil, Tax, Administrative, Commercial, Employment, Insolvency and Corporate Restructuring, Family, and Foreign Investment, with particular expertise in tax litigation and the defense of companies before the Tax Authorities and Social Security.
Through a network of partnerships with law firms in Lisbon, Vigo, Madrid, Paris, Luanda, São Paulo, Macau, Los Angeles, Boston, and Chicago, we provide our clients with coordinated legal assistance across the markets where they operate or intend to invest.
This international positioning is further strengthened through collaboration agreements with professors and academics from Universidade Portucalense, the Faculty of Law of the University of Porto, the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon, and the Catholic University of Porto, maintaining a close connection to academia and leading legal scholarship.
Rigor, proximity, and results. That is what defines us.
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A Rigorous Legal Approach, From Assessment to Representation
1.
Assessment
We begin by understanding the facts, reviewing the documentation, and identifying legal risks, relevant deadlines, and the full scope of the situation.
2.
Strategy
We define the most appropriate approach for the case, based on the client’s objectives, the applicable legal framework, and the best way to protect their interests.
3.
Action
We handle the matter with technical rigor, whether through negotiation, contract drafting, document regularization, dealings with public authorities, or litigation proceedings.
4.
Ongoing Support
We keep the client informed and supported throughout every stage of the process, with close communication, clarity, and a focus on achieving a legally sound solution.
In-Person or Online Legal Support
Rigor, experience and confidentiality
Schedule a consultation with our firm and receive clear, professional guidance tailored to your case.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Family Law?
t is the area of law that governs family and personal relationships, covering matters such as marriage, divorce, separation, parental responsibilities, maintenance, the family home, civil partnerships, and other issues tied to the legal organization of family life.
What is legal advice in family law for?
It helps you set sensitive family situations on a sound legal footing, protect personal and financial rights, define parenting arrangements, and find safe, secure solutions in cases of separation, divorce, or family conflict.
Who might need support in this area?
Legal support may be needed by spouses, former spouses, partners in a civil partnership, parents, grandparents, close relatives, and anyone with legal questions about family life, children, maintenance, or family organization.
Who can help with family law matters?
A lawyer experienced in divorce, parental responsibilities, maintenance, and family litigation can handle these matters with thoroughness, sensitivity, and strategic vision. In Guimarães, Armandino Lopes Advogados provides legal advice in this area, focusing on the protection of the family, the child, and the patrimonial interests involved.