Created on 24.02.2025
In Bulgaria, every parent has rights and obligations in relation to their children under the age of 18. Parents have equal rights and obligations whether they are married or not.
Bulgarian law contains rules on what are the basic rights and obligations of parents and their children, how parental rights are exercised by each parent in the presence or absence of marriage and after divorce.
I. What rights and obligations do I have as a parent towards my child?
As a parent, you have the following rights and obligations towards your child, regardless of his or her sex:
- to care for your child's physical, mental, moral and social development, as well as for their education and their personal and property interests;
- to bring up your child and provide for their education in accordance with your abilities and taking into account your child's needs and inclinations, so that they may grow up to be an independent and responsible person;
- you have no right to exercise violence against your child, nor to discipline them by means, which violate their dignity;
- you must provide constant supervision of your child when they are under 14 years of age, and then provide appropriate control of their behavior until they turn 18;
- you are required to live with your child until they turn 18, unless there are important reasons that require you to live separately. For example, if the child is studying in a specialized school (musical or other) and is accommodated in a dormitory there, if you are placed in a medical facility for a long time due to illness, etc.;
- to represent your child until the age of 14, and to consent to your child's legal actions from the age of 14 to 18.
- to manage your child's property in their best interests and with due care. You may dispose (e.g. by sale) of their immovable property and valuable movable assets (securities, deposits) only with the permission of the regional court and if it is in the best interests of the child. Your child may not personally or through you make gifts, waivers, loans or secure other people's debts. Such actions have no legal effect. If there is a need or an obvious benefit for the child, and in the case of a family emergency, the court may exceptionally allow you to secure other people's debts by pledging or mortgaging your child's property. For example:You want to buy a larger home for the family and have taken out a loan for this purpose. You may ask the court to allow this loan to be secured by a mortgage on your current home if it is owned by the child, etc.
Important! If your child has left home without good reason, you can ask the court to order its return.
If the court considers that there are important reasons why the child cannot live with you, it will inform the Social Assistance Directorate, which will take measures to protect the child. In such cases, it is best to seek legal advice from a lawyer immediately.
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II. What rights and obligations does my child have?
Your child has the following rights and obligations:
- the right to be raised and educated in a way that ensures their physical, mental, moral and social development;
- the right to personal relations with you, unless a court has ruled otherwise. When and how personal relations between you and your child are determined is described below in this article;
- the right to turn to the Social Assistance Directorate if there is a disagreement between them and you as a parent on a given issue. If your child has reached the age of 14 and the disagreement between you is on important issues, your child can, through the Social Assistance Directorate, turn to the court to resolve the dispute;
- the obligation to respect their parents and grandparents, as well as to help them. The child also has such an obligation towards other family members;
- the obligation to take care of his/her elderly and sick parents when he/she reaches the age of 18.
III. How are parental rights exercised by both parents?
You and your spouse are obliged to exercise your parental rights at all times in the best interests of your child. You can exercise your rights together or separately. When you act alone, you are obliged to inform the other parent of your actions.
Usually, the exercise of your parental rights and obligations is by mutual agreement. However, if there is a disagreement between you and the other parent on any issue, you should first try to resolve it between you.
If this is not possible, you can contact a mediator or file a claim with the court, which will examine the dispute and decide the matter.
IV. What happens in the event of a dispute between parents about the child’s travel abroad?
The issue of a child under the age of 18 traveling abroad is decided jointly by both parents. The consent of both parents is mandatory for the child to travel.
If there is a dispute between the parents, each of them can file an application with the court, which will examine and resolve this issue.
Important! If you have concerns that the other parent wants to take your child out of Bulgaria without your consent, you can request the regional court to impose a ban on the child leaving the country. The court immediately notifies the border control authorities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs that such proceedings have been initiated.
The court will also hear the opinion of the other parent, and may also collect other evidence. The court may reject your request, but if it considers it to be valid, it will issue a decision prohibiting the child from being taken out of Bulgaria. This ban is always temporary, for a specified period of time.
You can appeal the court's decision within 7 days. For this purpose, we advise you to seek legal assistance from a lawyer:
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When the court decision becomes final, the court immediately sends a copy of it to the Ministry of Internal Affairs so that a signal can be entered into the Schengen Information System, which will counteract the illegal removal of the child from the country.
The ban on leaving the country can be lifted by the court at the request of a parent, guardian or custodian of the child.
V. How are parental rights exercised after divorce?
Divorce is a way to terminate a civil marriage through court proceedings. In Bulgaria, a divorce can be requested:
• by mutual consent of the spouses; or
• by filing a claim with the court in the event of a deep and irreparable breakdown of the marriage.
You can read more about the divorce procedure in the article How do I get divorced in Bulgaria?
A mandatory consequence of a divorce is to determine how parental rights will be exercised, where the child will live and what their child supprot will be.
These issues are settled either in the divorce agreement by mutual consent or during the court process in a divorce by claim.
Several options are possible:
- parental rights are shared between you. This means that both parents will have parental rights over the child, and you will agree in the agreement that the child will live with both of you for a certain period of time in turn. For example: you can agree that the child will spend 2 weeks with their father and 2 weeks with their mother; that for one school holiday they will be with one parent, and for the other – with the other, etc. You are free to agree on all these issues yourself, but only in the interest of your child;
- if you cannot reach an agreement yourself, it is possible that the court will assign parental rights to one parent, and the other will have the right to personal relations with the child. This does not mean that the other parent is deprived of parental rights! But the child will live only with one parent, and the other parent will have the right to take them on certain days of the month. For example: the parent will be able to take the child every first and third weekend of the month, as well as for a certain number of days during the holidays, etc.
When deciding whether parental rights will be shared and with which parent the child will live (or with both), the child’s wishes and opinions as well as his relationship with each of the parents are always taken into account. If the child is 10 years old or over, he or she may be heard by the court on this issue.
Important! When the exercise of parental rights is assigned to only one parent, the other parent has the obligation to pay child support. The minimum monthly child support for 2025 is 270 BGN.
Important! The parental rights and personal relations with the child assigned by the divorce decision are not final. At any time until the child reaches the age of 18, each parent may request from the court a change in the allocated parental rights and personal relations with the child, when there are important reasons for this.
VI. How are parental rights exercised in the event of separation?
If you and your partner have lived together as a family without being married and you separate, you must again arrange between yourself who and how will exercise parental rights over your child and where he or she will live.
Again, you can reach a written agreement between you, in which you agree whether parental rights will be assigned to one parent or shared between the two (see point V above). This written agreement is presented to the court, which must approve it.
If you cannot reach an agreement, each parent can file a claim for parental rights with the court, which will rule on the following issues:
- where the child will live;
- which of the parents will exercise parental rights;
- what will be the personal relationship of the other parent with the child;
- what child support will the parent who has not been granted parental rights owe.
Important! The agreement reached or the court's decision is subject to subsequent change in the event that there are new facts and circumstances relevant to the exercise of parental rights by either parent.
VII. Limitation and deprivation of parental rights
At the request of one parent, the prosecutor or the Social Assistance Directorate, the court may limit or deprive the other parent of parental rights.
Your parental rights may be limited when:
- your behavior poses a danger to the health, upbringing or property of the child;
- you cannot take care of the child and exercise your parental rights due to mental illness or for another objective reason.
You may be deprived of parental rights:
- when without a good reason you permanently do not take care of the child and do not provide him with support;
- in particularly serious cases of behavior that endangers the health, upbringing or property of your child or you cannot permanently take care of him;
When the court considers that parental rights should be limited, it may set conditions for the exercise of some of them or assign them to another person.
When limiting or depriving parental rights, the court may change the child's place of residence and even determine that he or she be placed outside the family. This is permissible when there is no other parent or the exercise of parental rights by him or her is not in the child's best interest.
Important! When the child is placed outside the family, the court:
- determines the child's maintenance;
- may order measures for personal relations between a parent and a child. For example: order that you will only be able to see the child in the presence of another person or only in a designated safe place for the child.
Important! When circumstances change, the court may change the measures for limiting or depriving parental rights. As a parent, you also have the right to request that the court restore your parental rights when the reason for which you were deprived of them has ceased to exist.
In all cases of restriction or deprivation of parental rights, as well as in their restoration, the court notifies the Social Assistance Directorate so that it can, if necessary, take measures to establish guardianship (for children up to 14 years of age) or custody (from 14 to 18 years of age) of the child or place him/her outside the family.
On all issues related to parental rights in the event of divorce or separation, disagreements between parents, as well as in the event of restriction or deprivation of parental rights, we advise you to consult a lawyer:
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