Elias, Matias Advogados

Estate planning aims to ensure the proper transfer of assets, preventing disputes and protecting property. When it comes to digital assets, such as social media accounts, cloud-stored files, and email accounts, the complexity increases due to technical and legal factors, including online access and the intangible nature of these assets. Without a strategy for managing digital assets, heirs may face difficulties accessing essential accounts or risk losing valuable resources, such as cryptocurrencies.

The tax reform represents a significant change in the Brazilian tax system, potentially affecting pricing, risk allocation, and, most notably, contractual obligations. The replacement of taxes such as PIS, COFINS, ICMS, and ISS with the Value-Added Tax (VAT), in the forms of CBS (federal) and IBS (state/municipal), alters the taxation of goods and services, requiring a review of business contracts to reassess clauses related to tax pass-through and price adjustments.

Beginning May 26, 2025, the updated provisions of Regulatory Standard No. 01 (NR-01), issued by the Ministry of Labor and Employment (Ministério do Trabalho e Emprego – MTE), will enter into force. The revised regulation requires companies operating in Brazil to assess and manage psychosocial risks in the workplace. Its primary objective is to protect workers’ mental health by addressing occupational hazards such as stress, harassment, and work overload.

The recent revision of the Master Plan (Plano Diretor Estratégico – PDE) of the City of São Paulo, pursuant to Article 47, restructured two key instruments of the public housing policy: HIS – Social Interest Housing, and HMP – Popular Market Housing. These programs are essentially characterized by the granting of urban planning and tax incentives to developers for the construction of housing units intended for low-income populations. Such benefits are conferred irrespective of the formalization of agreements with public authorities, thereby encouraging private sector participation by enabling more advantageous land use—such as increased construction potential—and reducing certain financial burdens, including concession fees.

Among the most complex and sensitive topics in contemporary Tax Law is the exemption from ITBI (Real Estate Transfer Tax), particularly in capital contribution transactions for companies in the real estate sector.

The Federal Council of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) has approved a set of recommendations to guide the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in legal practice.