Dividing inherited property in Bulgaria: voluntary and court division, phases, costs and the indivisible home

Iva Petkova, attorney · Published 2 November 2026 · 8 min

Heirs become co-owners of the inherited property and sooner or later have to decide what to do with it. We explain how voluntary division works, how court division runs, when the home is assigned to one heir, and what it costs.

How we can help

When the owner dies, the heirs become co-owners of his property, usually in undivided shares according to their statutory or testamentary shares. Co-ownership is rarely a lasting solution: one heir lives in the home, another wants to sell, a third pays the taxes. Division ends co-ownership, with each heir receiving a share in kind, money, or his part of the price on a sale. How it happens depends above all on whether the heirs can agree.

Who can ask for division, and when

Any heir may always ask for division, even if the deceased provided otherwise (Art. 69(1) of the Inheritance Act). The same applies to any co-owner, despite any agreement to the contrary, unless the law provides otherwise or division is incompatible with the nature and purpose of the thing; the claim for division never lapses (Art. 34 of the Property Act). Each heir may ask for his share in kind as far as possible, and unequal shares are evened out in money (Art. 69(2) of the Inheritance Act).

Voluntary division before a notary

The quickest and cheapest route is a voluntary division agreement. Where the division includes real property, the agreement is made in writing with notarised signatures (Art. 35(1) of the Property Act), and if persons lacking capacity or absent persons take part, prior permission of the district court is needed (Art. 35(2)). All co-heirs must sign: a division made without one of them is entirely void (Art. 75(2) of the Inheritance Act). Property left out is divided later (Art. 75(1)).

A voluntary division does not necessarily mean each heir gets a separate property. Often one heir takes the home and pays the others the value of their shares, or the property is sold and the price shared. Before signing, it is important to check the title, the tax assessment value, and whether the properties are declared with the municipality.

Selling a share and the other heirs' right of pre-emption

An heir who wants out can sell his undivided share. If he sells to an outsider, he must first offer the share to the other co-owners on the same terms, present written proof of this to the notary, and declare that none of them accepted (Art. 33(1) of the Property Act). If the declaration is untrue or the terms were stated in a sham way to the detriment of the others, any co-owner may buy the share on the actual terms, by a claim brought within two months of the sale (Art. 33(2)). Selling an undivided share to a stranger is rarely attractive, so in practice it often serves as pressure towards a voluntary division.

Court division: the two phases

If the heirs cannot agree, any of them may apply for court division by a written petition to the district court, attaching the certificate of death and of heirs, evidence of the inherited properties and copies for the other co-heirs; they may ask at the first hearing for other properties to be included (Art. 341 of the Civil Procedure Code).

1. First phase, admitting division. The court decides between whom and for which properties division will be made and what each co-heir's share is (Art. 344(1)). This is where disputes over who is an heir, whether a property belongs to the estate and what the shares are, are resolved.
2. Second phase, carrying out the division. At the first hearing after division is admitted, the co-heirs may raise claims for accounts against each other, stating their evidence (Art. 346). If this moment is missed, the claims must be pursued in a separate case. The court draws up the division protocol on the basis of an expert report (Art. 347), presents the draft to the parties and hears their objections (Art. 350). Where forming shares and drawing lots is impossible or very inconvenient, the court allocates the properties without lots (Art. 353).

Until the division is completed, the court may, at an heir's request, decide who uses which property or what sums some pay the others for use (Art. 344(2)).

An indivisible home: assignment or public sale

Where a property is indivisible and cannot be placed in one of the shares, the court orders it to be sold at public auction, and the parties may bid (Art. 348). There is, however, an important exception for homes.

If the indivisible property is a home, any co-sharer who lived in it when the succession opened and owns no other home may ask for it to be placed in his share, with the other shares evened out by other property or money; where several qualify, the one offering the higher price is preferred (Art. 349(2)). The request must be made no later than the first hearing after the decision admitting division becomes final, and the property is valued at its actual value (Art. 349(4)). The money balance, with statutory interest, must be paid within 6 months of the assignment decision becoming final; otherwise the decision lapses automatically and the home is sold at auction, unless another qualifying co-sharer pays at once (Art. 349(5) and (6)). A similar right belongs to a surviving or former spouse where the home was marital property and that spouse has parental rights and no home of his or her own (Art. 349(1)).

Compensation for use and expenses between heirs

An heir who alone uses the common property owes the others compensation for the benefit they are deprived of, from the date of a written request (Art. 31(2) of the Property Act). A written demand is therefore the first step for an heir who does not live in the property. Each co-owner shares in the benefits and burdens of the common property in proportion to his share (Art. 30(3)), which is the basis for claims for taxes, repairs and other expenses paid.

Mediation in division cases

In cases filed after the amendment of the Civil Procedure Code in State Gazette No. 55 of 2025, in the second phase of division, as well as in claims for expenses and compensation for use and in disputes over the use of common property, the court may oblige the parties to attend a mediation information session where it finds the dispute suitable (Art. 140a(1)(1) to (3) and (2)). The session happens only once per case (Art. 140b(2)), and a party who fails to attend without good reason pays the cost of one hour of the session (Art. 78a(2)). If a mediation agreement is approved by the court, 70 per cent of the state fee paid is refunded, and 85 per cent after a mandatory session at a court mediation centre (Art. 78(9)).

What court division costs

The state fee in a division case is 4 per cent of the value of the shares, or 2 per cent of the value of each share if the parties settle before the division protocol is drawn up (Art. 8 of the Tariff of state fees collected by the courts under the Civil Procedure Code). If the petition is dismissed or the case ends other than by settlement, the fee is EUR 12.78 to 51.13 (Art. 9 of the Tariff). The parties bear the costs in proportion to the value of their shares, and in joined claims, such as claims for accounts, costs follow the general rules (Art. 355 of the Code). Expert fees and lawyers' fees come on top, so a settlement is almost always cheaper.

Disposing of a single inherited property before division

If one heir sells or mortgages a single inherited property before division, the transaction is ineffective if that property does not fall to his share in the division (Art. 76 of the Inheritance Act). Buyers of property from heirs should bear this in mind, and heirs can rely on it when one of them tries to sell common property alone.

Common mistakes

• a voluntary division signed without one of the heirs, which is entirely void;
• failing to raise claims for accounts at the first hearing after division is admitted;
• missing the deadline to ask for the home to be assigned, or to pay the balance;
• one heir using the property without a written demand from the others from which compensation runs;
• selling an undivided share without first offering it to the other co-owners.

Where a lawyer changes the outcome

• before the division: all heirs, shares and properties, including those overlooked;
• in the choice: voluntary division, a buy-out or court division, depending on interests and costs;
• in court division: applications for allocation, accounts and compensation for use made at the right time;
• for an indivisible home: allocation instead of a public sale, where that is in the client's interest;
• with heirs abroad: representation under a power of attorney, without travel.

Petkova & Minkov Law Firm handles voluntary and court divisions and disputes between co-owners, including for heirs living abroad. Iva Petkova is also a registered mediator. We work in Bulgarian, English, Russian and German.

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