Setting Up Adult Guardianship in Portugal

Last verified: October 2026.

Who this is for

• A parent, spouse, or adult child in Portugal can no longer manage their own affairs, and you want to know the legal options.
• You care for a young person with a lifelong disability who will soon turn 18.
• You want to plan now for who would look after your affairs if you lose capacity later.

Not for you if: you want to set out your own medical wishes in advance. Read Making a Living Will (Testamento Vital) in Portugal instead.

Portugal no longer declares adults "incapable". Since February 2019, a court can instead order support measures for an adult who cannot fully exercise their rights. The adult is called an accompanied adult (maior acompanhado), and the person who supports them is the accompanier (acompanhante). The court orders only the support that is needed. A judge must meet the person face to face before deciding. The measures are reviewed at least every five years. You need a court case, usually with a lawyer, unless the public prosecutor brings it.

What changed

The old system had two categories, interdição and inabilitação. They took away a person's legal capacity as a whole and handed it to someone else. A law reform in 2018 replaced them with the accompanied adult regime. It took effect in February 2019.

The new system is built around support, not removal of rights. The court tailors the measures to the person. They must take away no more freedom than the situation needs.

Who the regime is for

The regime covers an adult who, because of health, disability, or their own behaviour, cannot fully, personally, and consciously exercise their rights or meet their duties.

Three things follow from that wording:

• The test is what the person can do, not a diagnosis. A medical report is evidence, but it is not the test.
• Behaviour counts. The regime is not limited to illness or disability.
• The measures are for the person's benefit. The law frames them as protection given to the adult, not power over them.

Young people turning 18. You can apply in the year before an 18th birthday, so the measures start on the day the young person becomes an adult. This avoids a gap for families of young people with lifelong disabilities.

When a court will not order anything

The aim is the adult's wellbeing and recovery, and the full exercise of their rights.

The law also says the measure does not apply when that aim is already met through the normal duties of family cooperation and help. If the person is already well looked after and nothing is going wrong, the court should not order anything. Going to court is not a formality to tidy up a family arrangement that already works.

What the adult keeps

As a rule, the accompanied adult stays free to exercise their personal rights and to carry out everyday transactions. This changes only if the law or the court's decision says otherwise.

The law lists personal rights, among others:

• to marry or live as a couple;
• to have children, recognise a child, or adopt;
• to care for and raise their children;
• to choose a job;
• to travel in Portugal or abroad;
• to choose where they live;
• to have relationships with whoever they wish;
• to make a will.

A court order that names someone to manage the person's money does not, by itself, take away the right to marry or move house. Each restriction must be stated.

Who can apply

• The adult themselves.
• With the adult's permission: their spouse, their unmarried partner (unido de facto), or any relative who could inherit from them.
• The public prosecutor (Ministério Público), without anyone's permission.

If the adult cannot give permission. The court can give it in their place. It does so when the adult cannot freely and consciously agree, or when it finds another good reason. You can ask for this in the same application, so you do not need two cases.

The public prosecutor route. The prosecutor needs nobody's permission. The prosecutor is also exempt from court costs when acting to defend the rights the law entrusts to it. A family that cannot fund a case can tell the local public prosecutor's office about the situation and ask it to act.

What support a court can order

The law says support is limited to what is necessary. The court decides case by case. It can order any of these, whatever the application asked for:

• Parental responsibilities: handling the person's duties as a parent, where needed.
• Representation: general representation, or special representation for named types of acts only.
• Managing assets: all or part of the person's property and money.
• Prior authorisation: the person still acts, but needs the accompanier's consent for certain acts.
• Other measures, clearly spelled out.

Prior authorisation is lighter than representation. Under it, the adult still makes their own decisions, and the accompanier consents. It suits someone whose judgement is affected only in one area, such as large financial commitments.

Selling property needs a judge. Any sale or other disposal of a house or land needs specific prior permission from the court, in every case. A general representation order is not enough.

Choosing the accompanier

The accompanier must be an adult in full possession of their own rights.

The adult chooses first. The accompanied person, or their legal representative, chooses the accompanier. The court then formally appoints them.

If there is no choice, the court appoints the person who best protects the adult's vital interests. The law gives this list as a guide:

1. the spouse, if not separated;
2. the unmarried partner;
3. either parent;
4. a person the parents named in a will or in a notarised document;
5. adult children;
6. any grandparent;
7. a person named by the care home or institution where the adult lives;
8. someone the adult gave power of attorney to;
9. another suitable person.

Several accompaniers. The court can name more than one, each with set tasks. For example, one family member handles care decisions and another handles money.

Parents of a disabled child. Item 4 matters. You can name, in a will or a notarised document, who should support your child after you die. The court is directed to that name. See Using a Notary and Certifying Documents in Portugal.

What the accompanier must do

• Put the person first. The accompanier must focus on the person's wellbeing and recovery, with the care of a responsible person in that situation.
• Stay in contact. The accompanier must keep in permanent contact and visit at least once a month, or as often as the court decides.
• Avoid conflicts of interest. If a conflict cannot be avoided, the accompanier must ask the court for permission or instructions.
• Keep accounts. The accompanier reports to the person and to the court when the role ends, or earlier if the court orders.

The role is unpaid. Expenses can be shared, depending on the situation of both people.

Refusing or leaving the role

Read this before you agree to be named.

• A spouse, a descendant (child or grandchild), or an ascendant (parent or grandparent) cannot refuse the role or be released from it.
• Children and other descendants can ask to be released after five years, but only if another equally suitable descendant exists.
• Anyone else can ask to be excused on the grounds the law allows for guardians, or ask to be replaced after five years.

The court can also remove an accompanier who does not do the job properly.

How the court case works

The case is urgent. The court can order provisional and urgent measures at any stage, to protect the person or their property.

1. The application

The application must:

• explain why you are entitled to apply and why the adult needs support;
• ask for the measures you think fit;
• name who should be the accompanier;
• say what publicity the final decision should have;
• include evidence of the medical situation.

If you are asking the court to give permission on the adult's behalf, you must also explain why.

2. Protecting money during the case

Where the adult's interests require it, the court can send notices and orders to banks, financial firms, the civil, land, and company registries, and others. This is how money can be stopped from leaving an account while the case runs.

3. The adult's reply

If someone else applied, the court notifies the adult in the most effective way. The adult has 10 days to reply.

4. The judge meets the person

The judge can appoint one or more medical experts. In every case, the judge must hear the person personally and directly, travelling to them if needed, at home or in hospital. The judge asks the questions. The applicant, the person's representatives, and the experts can suggest questions. The judge can hear part of it alone with the person.

No accompaniment order is possible without a judge meeting the person face to face.

5. The expert report

If ordered, the expert report describes, as far as possible, the condition, its effects, when it probably began, and the support and treatment advised. If doubts remain, the judge can authorise an examination in a specialist clinic, with a stay of no more than one month.

6. The decision

The judge appoints the accompanier and sets the measures. Where possible, the judge also fixes the date from which the measures became appropriate. The judge can name a substitute, several accompaniers, and a family council.

Living wills are respected. The decision must say whether the person has a living will or a health care proxy, and must respect the wishes they expressed in advance. If your relative made a living will, tell the court.

7. Appeal and afterwards

You can appeal the decision. The applicant and the adult can appeal. Once the decision is final, a list of the adult's assets can be drawn up, if requested. The decision is publicised only as far as strictly necessary to protect the person or others.

Acts the person does on their own

What happens to a contract or other act the adult signs depends on timing.

• After the accompaniment is registered: acts that break the measures can be cancelled (annulled).
• After the case is announced but before the decision: acts can be annulled only after the decision, and only if they harm the adult.
• Before the case is announced: the ordinary rules on temporary incapacity apply, which are harder to prove.

The time limit to ask for annulment starts only from the registration of the decision. Registration is therefore the key date for protecting the family.

Reviews and changes

Automatic review. The court must review the measures as often as the decision says, and at least every five years. Nobody needs to apply.

Changes at any time. The accompanier, or anyone who could have applied, can ask the court to end or change the measures when circumstances change. The court can also review or lift them whenever the person's progress justifies it.

Planning ahead: a mandate for future support

While you still have full capacity, you can sign a mandate for future accompaniment (mandato com vista a acompanhamento). It names who will manage your affairs if you later need support, with or without powers to represent you.

• It must state the rights involved, the scope of any representation, and any conditions.
• You can cancel it at any time.
• If a court later orders accompaniment, it must use the mandate, in whole or in part. It takes it into account when setting the measures and choosing the accompanier.
• The court can end the mandate if it is reasonable to think you would have wanted to cancel it.

A mandate lets you choose your own accompanier in advance, so the judge starts from your choice. It is often made alongside a power of attorney. See Granting a Power of Attorney (Procuração) in Portugal. A person you gave power of attorney to is also on the court's list of preferred accompaniers.

What it costs

The law treats this as a case about a person's status. Such cases always carry a value just above the limit for appeals to the Court of Appeal, so an appeal is always possible. That means a lawyer is compulsory for the person bringing the case.

There is also a court fee (taxa de justiça), set by the court costs table for that case value.

Two routes reduce the cost:

• Legal aid. You apply at Segurança Social. It can cover the court fee and a lawyer. See Applying for Legal Aid in Portugal.
• Ask the public prosecutor. The prosecutor is exempt from court costs when bringing the case.

Two things this regime is not

It is not a route to compulsory psychiatric admission. That is covered by the separate mental health law, not by an accompaniment case.

It is not automatic after a diagnosis. A court can accept a diagnosis and still order nothing, if family help already covers the person's needs.

If your family has a pre-2019 court order

Old interdição and inabilitação orders were converted automatically by the 2018 reform:

• An old interdição now follows the accompanied adult rules, with the accompanier holding general powers of representation. The judge can allow the person to carry out personal acts directly, on a justified request.
• An old inabilitação now follows the accompanied adult rules, with the accompanier authorising the acts that used to need the curator's approval.
• Old guardians and curators (tutores and curadores) became accompaniers.

These converted orders are reviewed under the current rules if the person, the accompanier, or the public prosecutor asks. If your family holds an old order, consider asking the court for a review, so the measures fit the person as they are today.

Checklist

1. Ask whether anything is actually going wrong. A family arrangement that works is a reason not to apply.
2. Decide what specific support is needed. Prior authorisation is lighter than representation.
3. Get the adult's permission if you can. If not, ask the court to give it in the same application.
4. Consider asking the public prosecutor to bring the case.
5. Agree who will be named, and remember that spouses, children, and parents cannot refuse or step down.
6. Gather medical evidence for the application.
7. Check for a living will. The court must respect it.
8. If you still have full capacity, sign a mandate to choose your own accompanier.
9. Expect the judge to meet the person, at home or in hospital if needed.
10. Note the review date. Five years is the longest interval.

For wider care planning, see Caring for an Ageing Parent in Portugal. For estates and inheritance, see Making a Will and Handling an Inheritance in Portugal.

This guide is general information about Portuguese law, not legal advice. Every family's situation is different; speak to a lawyer or the public prosecutor's office about your case.

Sources

This guide is written from official sources and, where relevant, organisations' own websites.

• Procuradoria-Geral Regional de Lisboa, Civil Code (Decreto-Lei n.º 47344/66), articles 138 to 156, consolidated: https://www.pgdlisboa.pt/leis/lei_mostra_articulado.php?nid=775&tabela=leis (article 138 scope; 139 court decision after personal hearing, urgent measures; 140 aim and subsidiarity; 141 who may apply, court may give permission; 142 year before majority; 143 choice of accompanier and order of preference, several accompaniers; 144 no refusal for spouse, descendants, ascendants, five-year release; 145 measures, immovable property needs court permission; 146 care and monthly visits; 147 personal rights; 148 revoked by Lei n.º 35/2023; 149 ending and changes; 150 conflicts of interest; 151 unpaid, accounts; 152 removal; 153 publicity; 154 acts of the accompanied adult; 155 review at least every five years; 156 mandate for future accompaniment), checked 2 October 2026
• Procuradoria-Geral Regional de Lisboa, Code of Civil Procedure (Lei n.º 41/2013), consolidated: https://www.pgdlisboa.pt/leis/lei_mostra_articulado.php?nid=1959&tabela=leis (article 40 compulsory lawyer where an ordinary appeal is admissible; article 303 status cases valued at the Court of Appeal limit plus €0.01; articles 891 to 904 urgent procedure, application contents, publicity, orders to banks and registries, 10-day reply, mandatory personal hearing, expert report and one-month clinic limit, decision and living will, appeal, inventory, annulment, death and review; article 905 revoked), checked 2 October 2026
• Procuradoria-Geral Regional de Lisboa, Lei n.º 49/2018, of 14 August (accompanied adult reform): https://www.pgdlisboa.pt/leis/lei_mostra_articulado.php?nid=2925&tabela=leis (article 25 in force 180 days after publication; article 26 conversion of existing interdições and inabilitações, tutors and curators become accompaniers, review on request), checked 2 October 2026
• Procuradoria-Geral Regional de Lisboa, Court Costs Regulation (Decreto-Lei n.º 34/2008), consolidated: https://www.pgdlisboa.pt/leis/lei_mostra_articulado.php?nid=967&tabela=leis (article 4(1)(a) Ministério Público exempt from costs; article 7 court fee for special proceedings under table I), checked 2 October 2026
• gov.pt, Doenças incapacitantes: direitos legais e laborais (updated 4 September 2026): https://www.gov.pt/guias/doencas-incapacitantes-direitos-legais-e-laborais (accompanied adult regime, support only where needed), carried from verified guide W2D-02, checked 2 October 2026

Last verified October 2026. Rules and fees change; check the official source before acting.