Two routes
By mutual consent. The two of you agree not only that you are divorcing, but on everything else: where the children live, how the other parent sees them, maintenance, how property is divided. The court checks that the agreement serves the children’s interests and approves it.
Faster, cheaper and far less exhausting. It requires agreement on every point, not only on the divorce.
Through contested proceedings. Where there is no agreement, or one spouse does not take part. It takes longer and runs through evidence.
Many people assume the second route is the only one available because they are in conflict. It often turns out the conflict is about two things rather than everything, and that the rest can be agreed.
What is decided alongside the divorce
A divorce is rarely only a divorce. At the same time it settles parental rights and contact arrangements, maintenance, use of the family home, the surname, and the division of property.
Whatever is not settled now gets settled later, in fresh proceedings.
If one of you is abroad
This is more common than it looks, and it raises two separate questions.
Which court has jurisdiction. Not always the one in the country where you live. It depends on the circumstances and is checked before anything is filed, because filing in the wrong place costs months.
Whether it will be recognised. A divorce granted in one country does not always take effect automatically in another. If you already have a foreign judgment that has to take effect in Bulgaria, that is a separate matter: recognition of a foreign divorce.
You do not need to be in Bulgaria for the whole process. It is handled through a power of attorney, and by mutual consent much of it runs on documents.
About the children
I will say one thing plainly, although it is not legal advice. Children are not parties to the argument between their parents, and anything that draws them into it tends to rebound on whoever did it.
The legal part is run on documents and facts, not on who is more aggrieved.
What I will need
The marriage certificate. The children’s birth certificates. Whatever you know about property acquired during the marriage. If an agreement or a proposal has come from the other side, bring it before you reply to it.
This page provides general information and does not constitute legal advice on any specific case. Rights and deadlines depend on the facts and the applicable law.