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Fri, Feb 10 2012
Cohabitation is not marriage, Parliament decides
Photo: Reuters
Cohabitation will not have the same legal footing as marriage, Parliament decided on June 11 2009 after adopting texts of the new Family Code on second reading.
The recognition of cohabitation as the legal equivalent of marriage was backed by one of the ruling coalition partners, the National Movement for Stability and Progress, but lacked support from other parties.
According to various data, about 300 000 couples currently cohabit in Bulgaria outside of marriage, leaving their children disadvantaged compared to the children of married couples. The amendment would have addressed that by automatically granting children of unmarried couples the same rights as those of married couples.
Currently, men who are not married to the mother of their child must formally recognise the child as their own, while married couples don’t have to do that. That way many children face the possibility of not being recognised by their fathers.
This, according to Bulgarian-language Dnevnik daily, makes Bulgaria only the third country in Europe, alongside Russia and Moldova, that fails to recognise cohabitation as a legal equivalent to marriage.
Parliament also adopted changes to international adoptions. This amendment gives authorities the right to put a child up for adoption in case biological parents have withheld contact for six months.
The amendment was put forward by the Justice Ministry and the Association of organisations accredited to serve as intermediaries in international adoption procedures. It also had the support of the Social and Labour Policy Ministry.
It is aimed at solving problems faced by many children currently abandoned in homes who lack parental consent for being put up for adoption, an obstacle that stalls or eliminates the process of their adoption.
Another amendment was the introduction of pre-nuptial contracts that regulate which of the spouses will have to pay alimony in case of divorce and who will get custody of children and possession of the family home.
Under current Bulgarian law, all family property and assets acquired after a marriage must be divided equally in case of divorce. This tends to turn divorce cases into prolonged processes. With the introduction of pre-nuptial agreements, the plan is for cases to last no longer than one court sitting.
Parliament also enabled fast-track divorces. Currently, in order to get a divorce on grounds of mutual consent a couple could apply for one only after three years of marriage. The new amendment makes it possible to get a divorce a day after the wedding.
The amendments are the first substantial revisions to the Family Code since the current version was introduced in 1985, after some minor tinkering in 2003.
The recognition of cohabitation as the legal equivalent of marriage was backed by one of the ruling coalition partners, the National Movement for Stability and Progress, but lacked support from other parties.
According to various data, about 300 000 couples currently cohabit in Bulgaria outside of marriage, leaving their children disadvantaged compared to the children of married couples. The amendment would have addressed that by automatically granting children of unmarried couples the same rights as those of married couples.
Currently, men who are not married to the mother of their child must formally recognise the child as their own, while married couples don’t have to do that. That way many children face the possibility of not being recognised by their fathers.
This, according to Bulgarian-language Dnevnik daily, makes Bulgaria only the third country in Europe, alongside Russia and Moldova, that fails to recognise cohabitation as a legal equivalent to marriage.
Parliament also adopted changes to international adoptions. This amendment gives authorities the right to put a child up for adoption in case biological parents have withheld contact for six months.
The amendment was put forward by the Justice Ministry and the Association of organisations accredited to serve as intermediaries in international adoption procedures. It also had the support of the Social and Labour Policy Ministry.
It is aimed at solving problems faced by many children currently abandoned in homes who lack parental consent for being put up for adoption, an obstacle that stalls or eliminates the process of their adoption.
Another amendment was the introduction of pre-nuptial contracts that regulate which of the spouses will have to pay alimony in case of divorce and who will get custody of children and possession of the family home.
Under current Bulgarian law, all family property and assets acquired after a marriage must be divided equally in case of divorce. This tends to turn divorce cases into prolonged processes. With the introduction of pre-nuptial agreements, the plan is for cases to last no longer than one court sitting.
Parliament also enabled fast-track divorces. Currently, in order to get a divorce on grounds of mutual consent a couple could apply for one only after three years of marriage. The new amendment makes it possible to get a divorce a day after the wedding.
The amendments are the first substantial revisions to the Family Code since the current version was introduced in 1985, after some minor tinkering in 2003.
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Not a level playing field
Bulgaria is the only EU country that fails to recognise cohabitation as a legal equivalent to marriage
Bulgaria a step closer to equating living together with marriage
Bulgaria's Parliament approved the first reading of changes to the Family Code on October 2, including giving a nod to putting cohabitation on the same legal footing as marriage and changing the rules for foreign adoptions. The amendments were approved in spite of objections by major church groups including the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church. However, Bulgarian news website mediapool.bg said that it was likely that the bill would undergo "major changes" before the second reading, taking account of religious and conservative objections to equating living together with marriage.
Controversy as Bulgarian Parliament debates new Family Code
The proposed new Family Code proposed by the Bulgarian Cabinet sought to deal with many issues at the same time - cohabitation, ending lengthy divorce procedures, foreign adoptions and even, seemingly if only by being silent on the issue, gay marriage. Reaching Parliament this past week, the proposals descended into controversy
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A project for a new Family Code was approved by the Council of Ministers on March 26 2008, mediapool.bg said. The project, which is to be approved by Parliament, will ease the adoption process and introduce prenuptial agreements for the first time in Bulgaria's legal history. Another radical change is the introduction of a definition of non-marital cohabitation, a situation that has triggered legal consequences
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i am unmarried and lived with my partner for 20 years will they recognise him asa my spouse should i die
This comment has been removed by the moderator because it contained
Another major flaw with this legislation is that if an unmarried couple dissolve their relationship say after 10 years, neither parties assets are divided by 50/50. This effectively means say a women or even a man could contribute to the wealth of another person but at the end receive nothing as the partner is not vested with marriage equity rights.
Is there a reason?
I'm reading the article and trying to understand why is a problem recognizing cohabitation as an equal to marriage.
What does the government/people win by not joining the trend set with other democracies?...
This is a form of direct or indirect discrimination. Many modern democracies recognise that unmarried couples should share the same or similar rights as married ones.
Many people do not want to get married but this doe snot mean they should be deprived of any rights.
And what about the Children who are born from "unmarried couples", the lack of community rights vested with unmarried couples can also effect the children's rights and so forth.
Typical twisted illogical Bulgarian mentality!