The deed is in my name only: must my spouse participate in the sale?

You cannot always sell alone simply because only your name appears on the Bulgarian title deed. Before promising a completion date, establish the applicable matrimonial property regime, when and how the property was acquired and, where relevant, its use as the family home.

Buyers benefit from the same inquiry: the necessary parties are determined by their rights, not merely by the listing or names appearing in one document.

When the property may be jointly owned

Under the statutory community regime, Article 21 of the Family Code provides that property rights acquired during marriage through joint contribution belong to both spouses regardless of whose name appears. Contribution includes money, work, childcare and domestic work, and is presumed unless disproved.

An assertion that one spouse paid the instalments is therefore not a universal answer. The source of funds and other legally relevant circumstances need examination.

Article 24 requires joint disposition of common property. A transfer of common real estate by one spouse alone may be challenged subject to statutory conditions. Leaving that issue for a future dispute is avoidable transaction risk.

When the property may be personal

Under this regime, rights acquired before marriage or through inheritance or gift are generally personal. Article 23 also addresses acquisition using personal property.

The relevant basis should be supported by documents. Mixed funding and successive transactions may require more analysis than the date on the latest deed.

The separate family-home question

Personal ownership does not automatically remove the need for spousal consent. Article 26 contains a special rule for disposition of a family home owned personally by one spouse where the spouses have no other home, whether jointly or personally owned. If consent is absent, judicial authorisation is possible under the specified conditions.

This does not mean a spouse must sign every sale of inherited or premarital property. The particular home and family circumstances must fall within the statutory situation.

Documents to check before the preliminary agreement

• Acquisition document and date.
• Marriage and applicable property regime, including registered changes.
• Any matrimonial agreement and evidence of personal property.
• Divorce judgment and settlement, if the marriage has ended.
• Relevant facts about the family home.

Divorce does not automatically make one former spouse the sole owner. An arrangement granting use of the home is not necessarily a transfer of ownership.