Who, as between spouses, owns what? You might think this would be an easy legal question to answer, but it’s not.

Take the big screen TV, for example. The husband bought it by writing a check on his personal checking account and the money in the account came from his paycheck. So, does he alone own the TV? Probably not. Under Colorado’s dissolution of marriage act, with a few limited exceptions, “all property acquired by either spouse subsequent to the marriage is marital property,” meaning the wife would have an interest in the TV. If, however, husband had purchased the TV using money he received as a gift or inheritance, it would likely be his alone. That’s because gifts and inheritances are not considered marital property.

And what about the vintage Corvette in the garage? The husband owned the car before he ever met the wife and titled it in his name. But, since the marriage, the car has gone up in value by $50,000. Here the law would say the wife owns an interest in the car equal to half its appreciation occurring during the marriage — $25,000.

And what about the house? The wife owned it before the marriage. However, a few years into the marriage, in connection with a refinancing, the wife signed a quitclaim deed to the husband and herself as joint tenants. And, the house has tripled in value since the marriage. Now, who owns what interest in the house? This would depend on whether the quitclaim deed was intended to be a gift of an interest in the house to the husband. For sure, even without the deed, husband would have an interest in the house equal to half of the appreciation during the marriage.

It might me reasonable to ask: Who cares? They’re married. They both watch the TV. They both live in the house. Wife doesn’t like cars and wishes the Corvette would go live somewhere else so she could park her SUV in the garage. Etc.

True, who owns what between spouses may not matter most of the time. But occasionally it matters a lot — for example, at the time of a divorce where each spouse gets to keep separately owned property but the court must divide marital property. Same thing at the death of a spouse. What property will pass under a deceased spouse’s will, or by intestacy, can be a hotly contested issue among numerous parties.

There is also the question of who has authority to sell or mortgage assets. Can the husband alone sell the Corvette even though wife owns an interest in the car due to appreciation? The answer in this example is yes, but that’s because it is titled only in husband’s name. But the answer is probably not with the TV, because there is no title certificate.

Asset ownership can become important if one spouse gets in trouble with creditors, who then try to collect debts.

So what are the lessons? It’s a good idea for married folks to pay attention to, and document, who owns what, and they may need a lawyer’s help. Otherwise, selling things, debts to creditors, divorce and death can all trigger be legal trouble.

Who, as between spouses, owns what? You might think this would be an easy legal question to answer, but it’s not.

Take the big screen TV, for example. The husband bought it by writing a check on his personal checking account and the money in the account came from his paycheck. So, does he alone own the TV? Probably not. Under Colorado’s dissolution of marriage act, with a few limited exceptions, “all property acquired by either spouse subsequent to the marriage is marital property,” meaning the wife would have an interest in the TV. If, however, husband had purchased the TV using money he received as a gift or inheritance, it would likely be his alone. That’s because gifts and inheritances are not considered marital property.

And what about the vintage Corvette in the garage? The husband owned the car before he ever met the wife and titled it in his name. But, since the marriage, the car has gone up in value by $50,000. Here the law would say the wife owns an interest in the car equal to half its appreciation occurring during the marriage — $25,000.

And what about the house? The wife owned it before the marriage. However, a few years into the marriage, in connection with a refinancing, the wife signed a quitclaim deed to the husband and herself as joint tenants. And, the house has tripled in value since the marriage. Now, who owns what interest in the house? This would depend on whether the quitclaim deed was intended to be a gift of an interest in the house to the husband. For sure, even without the deed, husband would have an interest in the house equal to half of the appreciation during the marriage.

It might me reasonable to ask: Who cares? They’re married. They both watch the TV. They both live in the house. Wife doesn’t like cars and wishes the Corvette would go live somewhere else so she could park her SUV in the garage. Etc.

True, who owns what between spouses may not matter most of the time. But occasionally it matters a lot — for example, at the time of a divorce where each spouse gets to keep separately owned property but the court must divide marital property. Same thing at the death of a spouse. What property will pass under a deceased spouse’s will, or by intestacy, can be a hotly contested issue among numerous parties.

There is also the question of who has authority to sell or mortgage assets. Can the husband alone sell the Corvette even though wife owns an interest in the car due to appreciation? The answer in this example is yes, but that’s because it is titled only in husband’s name. But the answer is probably not with the TV, because there is no title certificate.

Asset ownership can become important if one spouse gets in trouble with creditors, who then try to collect debts.

So what are the lessons? It’s a good idea for married folks to pay attention to, and document, who owns what, and they may need a lawyer’s help. Otherwise, selling things, debts to creditors, divorce and death can all trigger be legal trouble.

Jim Flynn is with the Colorado Springs law firm of Flynn & Wright LLC. Contact him at moneylaw@jtflynn.com.