Ownership Of Shares Bought With Spouses´ Jointly-Held Funds

Shares bought by a married person using money owned jointly with their spouse belong to both spouses, according to the Supreme Court of Poland.

The Supreme Court's ruling has resolved the debate whether shares purchased by a married person whose property is owned jointly with his/her spouse should be counted as owned by them alone or jointly with their spouse. Legal doctrine allowed for a number of different possibilities.

The decision that the shares are joint property of the spouses resolves an issue that until now has been very controversial and has important ramifications.

Before 20 January 2005 (the date of a major change in Polish family law), any sale of shares by a married person which (by virtue of this decision) were owned jointly with his/her spouse would have required their spouse's consent if the sale was beyond the scope of ordinary management of joint property.