The consequences of divorce under the Bulgarian legislation

When both spouses are Bulgarian citizen in the case of divorce the BG legislation shall be applicable.

According to the BG legislation there are two types of divorce: by mutual consent and divorce through breakdown of marriage

Divorce by mutual consent

In the case of a serious and firm mutual consent for divorce between the spouses, the court shall grant it without investigating their motives for dissolution of the marriage. In a divorce by mutual consent the spouses shall set forth their settlement as to the discharge of parental rights, personal relations, and the support of children, and also their property relations, the use of the matrimonial home, the alimony between them, and the family name. The settlement shall be sanctioned by the court after verifying that the interests of the children have been protected. Where the settlement is not complete or the interests of the children are not well protected the court shall set a term during which these faults are to be eliminated. Where within the set term the faults have not been eliminated the divorce petition shall be dismissed.

Divorce through breakdown of marriage

Divorce through breakdown of marriage could be set forth when one of the spouses is not in agreement with the divorce. Either spouse may seek divorce where the marriage has suffered a deep and irrevocable breakdown. Together with the decision allowing the divorce the court shall rule exofficio as to the fault for the breakdown of marriage unless it is caused by objective reasons which cannot be ascribed as fault to either spouse. The court may not rule as to the fault for the breakdown of marriage where the spouses request so and submit to the court their settlement as to the discharge of parental rights, personal relations and support of the children, and also about property relations, the use of the matrimonial home, the alimony between them and the family name. A divorce shall not be allowed when the breakdown of marriage is caused by the misbehaviour of the plaintiff only, and the other spouse insists on the preservation of the marriage. Assignment of matrimonial home after the divorce

When allowing the divorce the court shall assign the use of the matrimonial home to one of the spouses if it cannot be used separately by both of them, taking into account the interests of the children, the fault, health conditions and other circumstances. Where there are no underage children from the marriage and the matrimonial home is the property of the guilty spouse, the court may award use of it to the spouse who is not guilty only for a limited period of time.

Where there are underage children from the marriage and the matrimonial home belongs to one of the spouses, the court may award use of it to the other spouse, to whom the discharge of parental rights has been granted, until he or she continues to do so.

Where there are underage children from the marriage and the matrimonial home belongs to one of the spouses' kin, the court may award use of it to the other spouse to whom the discharge of parental rights has been granted for a limited period of time. If both of Bulgarian citizens have been concluded their marriage in the other country the Bulgaria law shall also be applicable. A divorce between spouses with different nationalities shall be governed by the law of the State in which the said spouses have a common habitual residence at the time of submission of the application for divorce.

If the applicable foreign law does not admit the divorce and at the time of submission of the application for divorce one of the spouses was a Bulgarian national or was habitually resident in Bulgaria, Bulgarian law shall apply. Matrimonial matters shall be cognizable in the Bulgarian courts if one of the spouses is a Bulgarian national or is habitually resident in Bulgaria.

This article was created by Valova&Angelova law firm.