Parental authority after a separation in Peru: who decides on school, health and travel?

Parental authority is not the same as custody

When parents separate, two different things are at stake. Custody (tenencia) is who the child lives with; we cover it in child custody and visitation. Parental authority (patria potestad) is something else. Civil Code article 418 defines it:

“Por la patria potestad los padres tienen el deber y el derecho de cuidar de la persona y bienes de sus hijos menores.”

(Through parental authority, parents have the duty and the right to look after the person and property of their minor children.)

The big decisions about a child come from it. Civil Code article 423 and article 74 of the children’s code (Código de los Niños y Adolescentes) list them: providing for the child’s education, directing the child’s schooling, keeping the child with them and representing the child in civil matters. Article 74 adds the duty to look after the child’s overall development.

This page answers one question: when parents live apart, who makes those decisions?

The starting rule: both parents, and a judge if they disagree

Civil Code article 419 says:

“La patria potestad se ejerce conjuntamente por el padre y la madre durante el matrimonio, correspondiendo a ambos la representación legal del hijo. En caso de disentimiento, resuelve el Juez del Niño y Adolescente, conforme al proceso sumarísimo.”

(Parental authority is exercised jointly by father and mother during the marriage, and both are the child’s legal representatives. If they disagree, the family judge decides in a summary proceeding.)

Note two things. First, the article speaks of marriage. Second, when parents disagree, neither one wins by default: the judge decides.

What changes when parents separate

The law has several pieces here, and they do not all say the same thing.

The Civil Code (1984). Article 420 says that after a legal separation, divorce or annulment, parental authority is exercised by the spouse the children are entrusted to, and “el otro queda, mientras tanto, suspendido en su ejercicio” (the other is suspended from exercising it in the meantime).

The children’s code (2000). Article 76 says something different for one specific case:

“En los casos de separación convencional y divorcio ulterior, ninguno de los padres queda suspendido en el ejercicio de la Patria Potestad.”

(In a separation by mutual consent and the divorce that follows, neither parent is suspended from exercising parental authority.)

So if the separation was by mutual consent (separación convencional), neither parent is suspended. The difference between mutual-consent and fault-based separation is explained in divorce in Peru.

Ley 31590 (2022). It rewrote article 81 of the children’s code: when parents are separated in fact, custody “es asumida por ambos padres, excepto que no sea posible o resulte perjudicial para el menor” (is taken on by both parents, unless that is not possible or harms the child). Article 84 then sets what shared custody means:

“b. Los progenitores tienen igualdad de derechos para tomar decisiones respecto a la educación, crianza, formación y protección del hijo;”

(Both parents have equal rights to make decisions on the child’s education, upbringing, formation and protection.)

What this means for you. Under shared custody, school, upbringing and the child’s protection are decided by both parents on an equal footing. Civil Code article 420, which leaves one parent in charge, is written for when the children are entrusted to one spouse. We found no norm or ruling that says, in those words, how article 420 fits with article 84. If your case turns on that, talk to a family lawyer.

If you were never married. Civil Code article 421 says parental authority over a child born outside marriage is exercised by the parent who recognized the child, and if both did, the judge decides who holds it, “atendiendo a la edad y sexo del hijo, a la circunstancia de vivir juntos o separados los padres y, en todo caso, a los intereses del menor” (considering the child’s age and sex, whether the parents live together or apart and, in every case, the child’s interests). The shared custody rule in article 81 applies to parents “separados de hecho” (separated in fact), and does not require that they were married.

Even a parent without parental authority keeps, under article 422, the right to maintain with the child “las relaciones personales indicadas por las circunstancias” (the personal relationship the circumstances call for). The grounds on which parental authority is actually suspended or lost are in loss or suspension of parental authority.

Decision by decision

Travel abroad: where separation causes the most conflict

Article 111 of the children’s code, as amended by Ley 32191 in December 2024, says:

“Para el viaje de niños, niñas o adolescentes fuera del país solos o acompañados por uno de sus padres, es obligatoria la autorización de ambos padres con certificación notarial.”

(For children or adolescents traveling abroad alone or with one parent, the notarized consent of both parents is mandatory.)

The same law added exceptions where one parent’s signature before a notary is enough, with supporting documents:

• The child needs medical care abroad for a complex or rare disease “sin tratamiento o con tratamiento insuficiente en el Perú” (with no treatment, or insufficient treatment, in Peru).
• The child travels to study, in two cases: a student exchange program or a full scholarship.

Even then, the article adds: “De existir disentimiento de uno de los padres, este será tratado de conformidad con el artículo 112” (if one parent disagrees, it is handled under article 112). For travel within Peru, one parent’s consent is enough.

If the other parent refuses, article 112 gives you a way forward:

“En caso de disentimiento de uno de los padres o de existir oposición al viaje, se abrirá el incidente a prueba y en el término de dos días resolverá el juez, previa opinión fiscal. La oposición que formule alguno de los padres se inscribirá en el Libro de Oposición de Viaje de los Juzgados Especializados, el que caduca al año.”

(If a parent disagrees or objects to the trip, the judge opens a short evidentiary step and rules within two days, after hearing the prosecutor. A parent’s objection is entered in the courts’ travel objection register and expires after one year.)

This works both ways. If you want to travel and the other parent will not sign, you ask the judge for authorization. If you fear the other parent will take the child abroad, you can file an objection, which is recorded in that register and lapses after a year.

There is a faster route. If the other parent is on the REDAM (the register of parents behind on child support) or has a final conviction for an intentional crime against their children, article 112-A (Ley 30886) requires the judge to rule on the trip “en el plazo máximo de dos días” (within two days at most), without the evidentiary step or the prosecutor’s opinion, save in exceptional cases. It does not apply if the debtor has paid off the full support debt.

The notarial and consular procedure for the permission is in travel permission for minors. Passport requirements for a minor are in Peruvian passport.

What to do

If you are separating, the most useful step is to write down how the big decisions will be made. Article 81 lets parents set how shared custody works by agreement, taking the child’s view into account, and formalize it through an out-of-court conciliation. If you cannot agree on something specific, the law gives neither parent the last word: it gives it to the judge.

What this page does not cover

We do not cover consent rules for a minor’s medical treatment (see informed consent), passport requirements, management of the child’s property, or the details of the summary proceeding. We did not review rulings on how Civil Code article 420 has been applied since Ley 31590.