Inheritance in Bulgaria is regulated under the Inheritance Act. It also describes the groups of heirs, their reserved portions, and the rules under which inheritance can take place. The heirs under Bulgarian law are:
1. Children – inherit equal shares, even those adopted by him.
2. Spouse – inherits equal shares with the children. If there are no ascendants or siblings or their descendants, the spouse receives the entire inheritance.
3. If the deceased left no descendants, the living parents inherit.
4. If the heir has left only ascendants of the second degree or above, only the nearest of them shall inherit in equal shares.
5. If the deceased left only brothers and sisters, they inherit in equal shares.
6. Where the deceased left no brothers or sisters, neither descending nor ascending, the relatives by consanguinity up to and including the sixth degree shall inherit, the nearer ones excluding the more remote ones by degree.
7. The descendants of the deceased who have died before him shall be legally replaced by their descendants.
That is to say, if the deceased has left several heirs, the immovable property shall be divided according to the order described above and each heir shall receive his share thereof.
In order to divide inherited estates, it is possible to proceed to a partition between heirs. In this way, each of them receives a real part of the property. There are two types of division: judicial and voluntary. We advise our clients to opt for voluntary partition whenever possible. With it you will save money and time. Our attorneys will assist you in preparing all the necessary documents for a voluntary partition, and in the event that such is not possible, we will help you file a partition lawsuit.
It is important to know that when you accept an inheritance, you are also accepting the deceased’s obligations. If you make a disclaimer of inheritance, you do not assume the liabilities, but you also disclaim ownership of the property. A renunciation of inheritance is a complete refusal by an heir to inherit from his or her heir. The renunciation begins with a written application to the District Court, to be in notarial form and to be entered in a special book at the court, for which the court issues a certificate.
Partition case
Each heir may bring a partition action against the other heirs. The action divides the inherited property. The court process takes place in two phases, and in view of the complexity, we advise you to contact a real estate lawyer.
In this case, you can look for a good divorce lawyer to assist you through both phases of the process. If you have any further questions, you can contact us on our phone numbers or through our contact form.