Child custody in Chile
In Chile the parents agree on who has day-to-day care, shared care is allowed, and the court decides by the child's best interests if they cannot agree.
Updated October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
If the parents are married
Both parents have parental authority, and the parents decide by agreement who has the child's personal care.
If the parents are not married
By default the mother has personal care. The parents can agree that the father or both have it, and the father can ask the court.
The unmarried father, in one line: The mother has it; the father needs a step: a joint declaration, registration, agreement, or living with the mother at the birth.
After a divorce or separation
The parents can agree on shared personal care (cuidado personal compartido). If they do not agree, the court decides by the child's best interests.
What the child can say
The child's opinion is heard according to age and maturity.
Moving house or moving abroad with the child
The official sources do not give a simple rule on this point; where parents share responsibility, taking a child to live abroad generally needs both parents' agreement or a court's permission.
If the parents live in different countries
Chile is a party to the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention, which lets a parent ask for a child wrongly taken to another country to be returned. It works only with countries that have accepted its accession, so check the other country on the treaty status table.
Understand the legal system first
Chile belongs to the Civil law family. Family law grows out of the legal tradition, so it helps to know how the system works.
Read the Chile legal-system profile in the Legal Families Atlas →
Who owns what in a marriage in Chile? →
Divorce rate and trend in Chile →
Official sources
Take it further
The family and property rules of a European country in one PDF, with questions for a local lawyer.
Write down parenting time and responsibilities.
Permission for a child to travel with one parent or another adult.
Marriage, divorce, custody and support, step by step.
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TheLawToKnow Tools’s child custody guide is an educational overview of general rules. It is not legal advice, and it does not replace the official source or a lawyer in the country. Report a mistake.
