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In a historic day, on Tuesday, December 7, 2021, equal marriage completed its legislative process, a law that regulates, under equal conditions, marriage between people of the same sex and recognizes same-sex families, regardless of the gender of those who make them up. This new equal marriage law was published on December 10 in the Official Gazette and came into force on March 10, 2022.

What is involved in equal marriage in Chile

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Through the modification of Law 21.400, the law allows same-sex unions to be called marriage, with equal rights and duties. .

In addition, the term "husband or wife" is replaced by the word "spouse", stating that "laws or other provisions referring to the terms husband and wife, husband or wife, shall be understood to apply to all spouses, without distinction as to sex, sexual orientation or gender identity".

And about the institution of marriage, the definition of solemn contract "between a man and a woman" is changed to "between two persons". Chile also recognizes egalitarian marriages contracted abroad.

About filiation

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Equal Marriage Enables Adoption for Same-Sex Couples It also allows the filiation of children to both fathers or mothers, who are now called "parents", that is to say, the concept of "father" or "mother" is changed to the univocal and neutral "parent", meaning their mother and/or father, their two mothers or their two fathers.

"Laws or other provisions which refer to the expressions father and mother, or father or mother, or other similar expressions, shall be understood to mean applicable to all parents, regardless of sex, gender identity or sexual orientation. Unless the contrary is to be understood from the context or by express provision," the legislation stipulates.

It is also indicated that same-sex spouses will be able to determine filiation links, either by assisted reproduction techniques or by legal act of recognition, and the maternity of trans women and paternity of trans men will be declared in the birth certificates of their sons or daughters.

As regards the order of the surnames, the parents may, by common agreement, express the order of the surnames of their first child together, otherwise, if there is no consensus, the Civil Registry shall draw lots to decide.

Family issues

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Among other family aspects of this law are pre- and post-natal leave, and in this regard it is indicated that same-sex marriages will be able to access these labor rights, being the pregnant person who will be able to enjoy the benefit for a longer period of time. On the other hand, the person who does not give birth, in the case of post-natal leave, will have paid leave corresponding to five days after the birth of the child, and the person who does not give birth will have paid leave corresponding to five days after the birth.birth.

Furthermore, this law guarantees family allowances and pensions for widows and widowers, and also specifies that siblings may be siblings of double conjunction (on the part of both parents) or single conjunction (on the part of one of them), thus eliminating the concept of maternal or paternal siblings.

However, this regulation will continue to act under the assumption that there are two parents with whom the filial bond is determined and, therefore, there will be no multiple parenthood.

Meanwhile, in the case of separation, the law provides that one of the spouses may apply for maintenance for the child already born or about to be born.

And another article that was modified has to do with the fact that, if one of the spouses changes gender, they may choose to maintain or dissolve the marriage, but it will no longer be an immediate cause for termination of the contract, as it was until now.

Property regime

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With respect to marital property, the law determines that spouses of the same sex shall be deemed to be married with Total Separation of Property. The marital partnership regime, in which the husband administers the common property, does not apply to egalitarian marriages.

It should be noted that the Civil Union Agreement will remain in force, since it exclusively regulates patrimony, but not equal marriage, which establishes equal rights and duties for all couples. That is to say, the Civil Union Agreement will not be replaced by equal marriage as they are different institutions.

Although there is still a long way to go in terms of inclusion and diversity, there is no doubt that equal marriage represents an important step forward for the equality of Chilean families, a law that makes Chile one of the 31 nations in the world that recognizes same-sex marriage and the ninth in the continent.