---
title: "New Inheritance Law 2026 – What Is Changing"
description: "A new draft law rewrites the Bulgarian rules on wills, property powers of attorney and title by prescription. What lies ahead and why it matters."
url: "https://www.da-law.eu/en/insights/new-inheritance-law-2026-what-is-changing"
lang: en
author: "Desislava Arsenova"
published: 2026-09-07
category: "Civil Law"
---

# New Inheritance Law 2026 – What Is Changing

Author: Desislava Arsenova · Published: 7 September 2026

*A new draft law rewrites the rules on wills, property powers of attorney and title by prescription. What lies ahead and why it matters.*

## Key points

- The draft is under public consultation until 21 September 2026, and its texts may still change.
- A holographic will handed to the notary by another person will be opened publicly, with a one-month period for objections to its authenticity.
- A notarial deed of title by prescription will also require documentary evidence, public announcement of the procedure and the examination of witnesses no earlier than 30 days afterwards.
- A power of attorney to dispose of property will have to describe the property and the type of transaction, and the notary will read and explain it.

The Ministry of Justice is proposing a package of amendments to inheritance and notarial law aimed mainly at property fraud. It includes a new procedure for opening holographic wills with the possibility of objection, a stricter procedure for establishing title by prescription, new requirements for property powers of attorney and broader duties for notaries. The draft is under public consultation until 21 September 2026 and may still be amended, but it already sets the direction in which the protection of owners and heirs will develop.

On 21 August 2026, the Ministry of Justice published for public consultation a draft [Act amending and supplementing the Inheritance Act](https://lex.bg/laws/ldoc/2121542657), together with amendments to the Civil Procedure Code, the Family Code, the Obligations and Contracts Act, the Property Act and the Notaries and Notarial Activity Act. The main aim is to curb property fraud through a stricter procedure for opening holographic wills, for acquiring title by prescription and for drawing up powers of attorney to dispose of property. The deadline for comments on the draft is 21 September 2026, after which the texts may be amended further before adoption.

## Who Is Affected and Why Now?

The package was prepared by a working group with representatives of the Chamber of Notaries, the Supreme Bar Council, the Supreme Court of Cassation and the prosecution service, and the reason is clearly stated in the explanatory memorandum, namely the increase in property fraud committed through forged holographic wills, declaratory notarial deeds based on false witness statements and broadly worded powers of attorney. According to the [annual report of the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Bulgaria for 2025](https://prb.bg/upload/96434/%D0%93%D0%94+2025+%D0%9F%D0%A0%D0%91.pdf), recorded document offences rose from **2,535 in 2023 to 2,805 in 2025**, and since the beginning of 2025 alone the Sofia District Prosecutor's Office has been handling more than **60 reports of property fraud**, 33 of which have already led to pre-trial proceedings.

The draft affects practically anyone who expects an inheritance, holds a holographic will, plans to grant a power of attorney to dispose of property or intends to obtain a notarial deed of title by prescription. Here is what actually changes.

## A New Procedure for Opening Holographic Wills

At present, under the [Inheritance Act](https://lex.bg/laws/ldoc/2121542657), anyone holding a holographic will must request a notary to open it as soon as they learn of the testator's death. The current rules, however, do not provide for the statutory heirs to be notified in advance, nor any mechanism for them to challenge the authenticity of the will before a copy is issued. It is precisely this gap that has repeatedly been exploited to misappropriate property through forged wills.

The draft draws a distinction according to how the will reached the notary.

- Where the testator hands it to the notary in person, the notary records in a protocol the testator's express statement that the envelope contains their will. This provides an additional guarantee of the document's origin.
- Where the will is handed in by another person, the notary publishes a notice of its opening on the website of the Chamber of Notaries. Within **one month**, any person with a legal interest may inspect the will and object to its authenticity. If an objection is made, the dispute is resolved through claim proceedings, and a certified copy is issued only after the objection is withdrawn or the court judgment becomes final.

One weakness that the draft leaves open for now is that publication on the website of the Chamber of Notaries is formal publicity but does not guarantee that a particular heir will actually learn of the will, since there is no express personal notification of the known statutory heirs.

## A Centralised Information System for Wills

The draft provides for data on opened and notarial wills, and on their revocation, to be entered in an information system maintained by the Chamber of Notaries. Searches will be possible only after the succession has opened, which is a logical protection of the testator's wishes during their lifetime.

The usefulness of the register will depend on refinements that the draft does not yet sufficiently address, such as who exactly is entitled to search it, how the opening of the succession is proven, how incorrect or incomplete data is corrected, the status of revoked or destroyed wills and how personal data is protected in the system.

## Special Protection for Wills in Favour of Staff of Institutions

A new ground of nullity is introduced. A testamentary disposition made by a person staying in a healthcare facility or in a residential care home for the elderly in favour of a manager, employee or person connected with them will be void. The only exception is for the testator's spouse or a relative within a degree specified by law. A similar prohibition is introduced for gifts by an amendment to the [Obligations and Contracts Act](https://lex.bg/laws/ldoc/2121934337).

The aim is understandable, since the institutional setting creates a real opportunity to influence vulnerable people. The problem is that nullity leaves no room for assessing the specific case. The disposition will be invalid even where it was made entirely freely and with full knowledge, for example in favour of a long-standing, close employee outside the statutory circle of relatives. A further challenge is that the terms “employee” and “connected person” are not yet clearly defined, which creates a risk of inconsistent application and of circumvention through a formally unconnected person.

## A Stricter Procedure for Acquiring Title by Prescription

One of the most significant amendments concerns [Art. 587 of the Civil Procedure Code](https://lex.bg/laws/ldoc/2135558368), which governs the issue of a declaratory notarial deed following a circumstantial inquiry. The current provision allows an owner with no document of title to obtain a notarial deed after the notary has examined three witnesses nominated by the mayor of the municipality, district or village, preferably neighbours of the property.

The draft adds several new requirements.

- The notary will collect not only witness statements but also **documentary evidence** of the period and nature of possession.
- The **personal attendance** of the applicant and a declaration of the truthfulness of the circumstances stated may be required.
- The mayor will have to verify the current address of the witnesses and give reasons for their selection where they are not neighbours of the property.
- The start of the procedure will be announced publicly on the website and notice board of the municipality, district or village.
- The witnesses may be examined **no earlier than 30 days** after the announcement.

The measure directly addresses the problem of declaratory deeds issued on the basis of false witness statements and gives interested persons a real chance to learn of the procedure and object in time. The price is a slower and more expensive procedure, since not every genuine possessor has neighbours who have observed the property for decades, especially in urban areas or holiday zones with frequent changes of occupants. There is also a risk that municipalities, which do not have equal administrative capacity, will become a bottleneck in the chain.

The draft also provides for the registration of older title documents that were not subject to registration when they were issued, mainly contracts and deeds of state or municipal property. This will spare many owners the need to obtain a declaratory notarial deed solely for the purpose of registration.

## The New Institution of the Trusted Person

An amendment to the [Family Code](https://lex.bg/laws/ldoc/2135637484) introduces the possibility for a person with full legal capacity voluntarily to restrict their own ability to carry out certain dispositions or to assume certain obligations without the consent of a trusted person they designate. The restriction must be specific, made with notarial certification of the signature and content, and entered in the relevant register and in the electronic personal registration record. An act carried out without the required consent will be voidable.

The idea behind this construct is understandable. It offers an intermediate mechanism for people who feel vulnerable but do not wish to be placed under full guardianship. The legal construct is, however, not yet fully clarified. It has not been decided whether it amounts to a restriction of legal capacity, a contractual self-restriction or a special form of invalidity, nor how third parties acting in good faith who could not have known of the registered restriction will be protected.

## New Requirements for Property Powers of Attorney

In practice, one of the most noticeable changes for property owners is the new requirement that a power of attorney to dispose of a right in rem over real property must contain a description of the property and the type of disposition. The notary will have to read the power of attorney aloud, explain its content and legal effect, and expressly record that this has been done.

The measure aims to limit the risk that the principal does not understand that they are enabling the sale, gift or creation of rights in rem over their property, which is a typical scheme with broadly worded general powers of attorney. The question remains open as to when the description of the property is deemed “sufficiently” specific, and how powers of attorney for future or not yet determined transactions will be handled.

## Broader Duties for Notaries

The amendments to the [Notaries and Notarial Activity Act](https://lex.bg/laws/ldoc/2133897733) expressly broaden the notary's duties, to establish the will and actual situation of the parties, to ask specific questions, to check whether they understand the effect and consequences of the transaction, to search the registry office for the current owner, to explain the encumbrances and restrictions on the property to the acquirer and to check the power of attorney in the information system, including whether it has been revoked.

The likely result is that every risky transaction will take longer and be more thoroughly documented, with more refusals and more documents required. This is a price the draft consciously accepts in exchange for more secure civil dealings.

## Will the Draft Achieve Its Aims?

The proposed measures could genuinely make it harder to use forged holographic wills, limit the abuse of general powers of attorney and make circumstantial inquiries more transparent and harder to manipulate. They will not, however, eliminate the risk of property fraud entirely, because in practice fraud rarely relies on a single method. It usually combines forged documents, deception, abuse of representation and subsequent transfers to nominees.

The other side of stricter formalism is real, slower and more expensive lawful transactions, a greater burden on people living abroad or in remote areas, and the likelihood of uneven application of the new rules until consistent notarial and judicial practice develops.

## What to Watch During the Public Consultation

The deadline for comments on the draft is **21 September 2026**, and the texts may be substantially supplemented before final adoption. Until then, it is sensible

- if you have made a holographic will, to check exactly where it is kept and whether the people you rely on know of its existence;
- if you are planning a power of attorney to dispose of property, to wait, if possible, for the clearer rules, or to make it as specific as possible now;
- if you are in the process of obtaining a declaratory notarial deed of title by prescription, to gather as much documentary evidence of possession as possible now, not just witness statements;
- to follow the official publication of the adopted texts in the State Gazette, since the transitional provisions will determine exactly when the new rules apply to proceedings already under way.

If you have questions about an inheritance matter, making a will or a power of attorney, or a property transaction, [contact us](https://www.da-law.eu/en/contact). We advise on your specific case under the rules currently in force and, where necessary, follow the changes in the draft law.

## Legal basis

- [Inheritance Act (Закон за наследството)](https://lex.bg/laws/ldoc/2121542657)
- [Civil Procedure Code (Гражданско-процесуален кодекс): Art. 587 (circumstantial inquiry)](https://lex.bg/laws/ldoc/2135558368)
- [Obligations and Contracts Act (Закон за задълженията и договорите)](https://lex.bg/laws/ldoc/2121934337)
- [Family Code (Семеен кодекс)](https://lex.bg/laws/ldoc/2135637484)
- [Notaries and Notarial Activity Act (Закон за нотариусите и нотариалната дейност)](https://lex.bg/laws/ldoc/2133897733)
- Draft Act amending and supplementing the Inheritance Act (public consultation until 21 September 2026)

## Frequently asked questions

### Are the amendments to the Inheritance Act already in force?

No. At the date of this article, it is a draft under public consultation until 21 September 2026. The amendments will apply once adopted by the National Assembly and published in the State Gazette, and the transitional provisions will specify when they apply to proceedings already under way.

### What changes in the opening of a holographic will?

If the will is handed to the notary by another person rather than the testator, the notary will publish a notice on the website of the Chamber of Notaries. Within one month, anyone with a legal interest may object to its authenticity. A certified copy will be issued only once the objection is withdrawn or the dispute is resolved by the court.

### What must a power of attorney to sell property contain under the draft?

A description of the property and the type of disposition. The notary will have to read the power of attorney aloud, explain its content and legal effect, and record that this has been done.

### How will a notarial deed based on a circumstantial inquiry be issued?

In addition to witness statements, the notary will collect documentary evidence of possession. The procedure will be announced publicly by the municipality, district or village, and the witnesses will be examined no earlier than 30 days after the announcement.

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*The information on this website is not legal advice and does not create an attorney–client relationship. Every case has its specifics and requires an individual approach. For a professional opinion and a tailored strategy, please contact us.*

Source: https://www.da-law.eu/en/insights/new-inheritance-law-2026-what-is-changing