<\/p>\n
When spouses are unable to reach an agreement on terminating their marriage, the only available option is contentious divorce proceedings. This is an adversarial court procedure in which one spouse, acting as the claimant, must prove that the marriage has broken down deeply and irretrievably [Article 49, paragraph 1 of the Bulgarian Family Code].<\/p>\n
This is the sole statutory ground for contentious divorce. According to the established case law of the Bulgarian Supreme Court, the breakdown is:<\/p>\n
Deep<\/strong> when the marital relationship has lost its substance and there is no longer mutual understanding, respect or trust between the spouses [Decree No. 10 of 1971 of the Plenary Session of the Supreme Court].<\/p>\n Irretrievable<\/strong> when the relationship has deteriorated to such an extent that its restoration is impossible [Decree No. 10 of 1971 of the Plenary Session of the Supreme Court].<\/p>\n The court does not rely solely on the parties\u2019 allegations. It must examine all objective causes of the marital breakdown, such as infidelity, violence, factual separation and other circumstances, as well as their impact on married life [Decree No. 10 of 1971 of the Plenary Session of the Supreme Court].<\/p>\n The proceedings commence with a statement of claim in which the claimant must set out all grounds for the breakdown of the marriage [Article 127, paragraph 1 of the Bulgarian Code of Civil Procedure].<\/p>\n This is of particular importance because grounds that arose before the conclusion of the proceedings but were not raised in the case may not subsequently be relied upon in a new divorce action [Article 322, paragraph 1 of the Bulgarian Code of Civil Procedure].<\/p>\n Together with the divorce claim, the court is required to determine the following matters:<\/p>\n The court rules on fault for the breakdown of the marriage only where one of the spouses has expressly requested such a ruling [Article 49, paragraph 3 of the Bulgarian Family Code].<\/p>\n Determining fault is not an end in itself, as it has significant legal consequences:<\/p>\n Spousal maintenance:<\/strong> Only the spouse who is not at fault for the divorce is entitled to claim maintenance from the other spouse [Article 145, paragraph 1 of the Bulgarian Family Code].<\/p>\n Family home:<\/strong> Fault is one of the factors considered by the court when deciding which spouse will be granted the right to use the family home where it is co-owned by the spouses [Article 56, paragraph 5 of the Bulgarian Family Code].<\/p>\n Legal costs:<\/strong> The costs of the proceedings are imposed on the spouse found to be at fault [Decree No. 15 of 1970 of the Plenary Session of the Supreme Court].<\/p>\n Contentious divorce is a complex judicial process in which professional legal assistance is essential.<\/p>\n Burden of proof:<\/strong> A lawyer knows how to collect and present the necessary evidence before the court, including witness testimony and documents, in order to prove the client\u2019s allegations concerning the breakdown of the marriage or the fault of the other spouse.<\/p>\n Representation in related claims:<\/strong> The most intense disputes often concern parental rights. The lawyer will develop a strategy to demonstrate that the client is better suited to exercise parental rights, focusing on the criteria examined by the court, including parenting abilities, the care provided, the child\u2019s emotional attachment and the material living conditions, always with regard to the best interests of the child [Article 59, paragraph 6 of the Bulgarian Family Code; Interpretative Decision in Case No. 3\/2023 of the Bulgarian Supreme Court of Cassation].<\/p>\n Procedural protection:<\/strong> The lawyer will ensure compliance with all procedural deadlines and rules, submit requests for interim measures to protect the client during the proceedings, including measures concerning maintenance or the use of the family home [Article 323, paragraph 1 of the Bulgarian Code of Civil Procedure], and provide adequate protection against the procedural actions of the opposing party.<\/p>\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When spouses are unable to reach an agreement on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[5129,5091,5090,5096,5097,4142,5098,5124,2043,5126,5101,5125,5130,5131,4949,2254,5128,5132,5127,4947,5105,566,4073,5081,4959,5118,5137,5141,5136,5139,5120,5117,3882,5119,5116,5135,3910,3897,5110,554,5115,5134,5104,5080,5133,1525,5143,4940,184,3861,4958,5122,4942,5112,4023,5142,5138,5123,5121,5140],"class_list":["post-3263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1","tag-adultery-and-divorce","tag-bulgarian-divorce-lawyer","tag-bulgarian-family-law","tag-child-custody-bulgaria","tag-child-residence-after-divorce","tag-child-support-bulgaria","tag-child-visitation-rights","tag-contentious-divorce-bulgaria","tag-contested-divorce-bulgaria","tag-divorce-proceedings-bulgaria","tag-divorce-with-children-bulgaria","tag-divorce-without-mutual-consent","tag-domestic-violence-and-divorce","tag-factual-separation","tag-family-home-after-divorce","tag-family-law-attorney-bulgaria","tag-fault-in-divorce-bulgaria","tag-interim-measures-divorce","tag-irretrievable-breakdown-of-marriage","tag-parental-rights-after-divorce","tag-5105","tag-566","tag-4073","tag-5081","tag-4959","tag-5118","tag-5137","tag-5141","tag-5136","tag-5139","tag-5120","tag-5117","tag-3882","tag-5119","tag-5116","tag-5135","tag-3910","tag-3897","tag-5110","tag-554","tag-5115","tag-5134","tag-5104","tag-5080","tag-5133","tag-1525","tag-5143","tag-4940","tag-184","tag-3861","tag-4958","tag-5122","tag-4942","tag-5112","tag-4023","tag-5142","tag-5138","tag-5123","tag-5121","tag-5140"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomovi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomovi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomovi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomovi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomovi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3263"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/tomovi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3263\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3269,"href":"https:\/\/tomovi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3263\/revisions\/3269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomovi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomovi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomovi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}2. The Procedure: Statement of Claim and Mandatory Elements<\/h2>\n
\n
3. The Issue of Fault: Strategic Importance<\/h2>\n
4. The Role of an Experienced Lawyer in Adversarial Proceedings<\/h2>\n