Buying property while married: who owns it and what you need to know

"The property is in my name, so it's mine" - this is one of the most common misconceptions we hear from clients. If you are married, the answer to "whose property is it" often does not depend on whose name is on the notarial deed, but on when it was bought and with what money. Here we explain in plain terms the rules of the Bulgarian Family Code that are worth knowing before you buy or sell a home.

The default regime: marital community of property

The Family Code recognises three regimes for property relations between spouses: the statutory community regime, the statutory separation regime, and a contractual regime (a marriage contract). If you did not choose anything when you got married, community of property applies to you - known in Bulgarian as СИО. Most families in Bulgaria are in this situation.

Under community of property, homes bought during the marriage belong jointly to both spouses, regardless of whose name they were acquired in. The law presumes that both contributed to the purchase. Contribution is not only money - it can also be work, childcare and housework. So even if one spouse paid for everything, the other is, as a rule, also an owner.

An important detail: the moment that counts is the signing of the notarial deed, not the preliminary contract. If you signed a preliminary contract before the wedding but the notarial deed came after it, the property as a rule falls into the community.

What stays yours personally

Your personal property, which does not fall into the community, includes:

- property you owned before the marriage;

- property you received during the marriage by inheritance or as a gift;

- property bought during the marriage entirely with personal funds - for example with money from selling an apartment you owned before the marriage.

If the property was bought partly with personal funds, the corresponding part of it is your personal property, unless that part is insignificant.

Money from parents: how to protect it

Many young families buy their first home with help from their parents. This is where misunderstandings often arise. Court practice holds that money given by parents is not automatically considered a gift to their own child alone. If a dispute arises later, the spouse who claims that the property (or part of it) is personally theirs has to prove where the money came from. In an interpretative decision from early 2025, the Supreme Court of Cassation confirmed that payment from one spouse's personal account is not enough on its own - it must be shown where the money in that account came from.

In practice this means: if your parents give you money for a home and you want it to remain yours personally, sign a written gift agreement that clearly names you as the recipient, and keep the bank documents that show the path of the money to the seller. If the parents want to support both spouses, it is also good to state that clearly.

A mortgage taken out before the marriage

If you bought a property before the marriage with a mortgage, it remains your personal property, even if the instalments are paid during the marriage. The fact that your spouse helped repay the loan does not make them a co-owner. It may only give them a monetary claim for the funds they contributed, not a share of the property.

Conversely - if the property was bought during the marriage with a loan, it is as a rule joint, even if the loan is in only one spouse's name and only that spouse pays the instalments.

Selling: why both spouses sign

While the marriage lasts, joint property is sold by both spouses together. If one spouse sells a joint property without the other, the sale can be challenged by the other spouse within 6 months of learning about it, but no later than three years after the sale.

This matters for buyers too. If you are buying from a seller who was married when they acquired the property, check that both spouses will be present at the transaction. Otherwise you risk the sale being challenged years after your purchase. Careful checking of the seller's documents is part of the work we do for every client.

There is one more rule few people know: if the family home is the personal property of one spouse and the family has no other home, it can only be sold with the other spouse's consent. Without that consent, permission from the district court is required, and the court checks that the sale does not harm the children and the family.

In a divorce

When the community ends, the spouses' shares are equal - half each. The court can award a larger share to one spouse only in specifically defined cases - for example if their contribution significantly exceeds the other's, or if the underage children stay with them and this creates particular difficulties.

Marriage contract and the separation regime

If you want the property each of you buys to be only theirs, you can choose the statutory separation regime or sign a marriage contract. Both are possible either when you marry or during the marriage.

A marriage contract is signed personally by both spouses, in writing, with notarial certification of both its content and the signatures. In it you can settle, for example, the rights to property acquired before and during the marriage and the consequences of a divorce. However, you cannot agree that property one spouse owned before the marriage becomes joint.

Choosing a regime is not a matter of distrust. It is especially useful when one spouse has their own business, when parents' money is involved in a purchase, or when one of you already owns property from a previous relationship.

Practical tips

- Before buying, be clear about what money you are buying with and keep documents proving where it came from - gift agreements, bank statements, documents from selling a previous property.

- If your parents are helping, formalise their help with a written gift agreement, not just a bank transfer.

- If you are buying from a married seller, check whether the property is joint and whether both spouses will sign.

- If you are about to marry and one of you already owns property or a business, consider a marriage contract early.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Every case has its own specifics, so in more complex situations - money from different sources, previous marriages, property abroad - consult a lawyer.

At New Key Properties we check the documents of every property and tell our clients honestly what we have found, before they pay a deposit. If you are planning to buy or sell a property in Sofia, call 0879 826 292 for a free consultation.