During the marriage, one of the spouses may purchase shares in a public limited company. As a rule, they enter the joint property of the spouses (judgment of the Supreme Court of January 21, 2009 reference number II CSK 446/08) and as such are subject to division. This does not change the fact that only one of the spouses is a shareholder.

Unlike shares in a limited liability company, the value of shares is usually widely known. This applies especially to listed companies. In this case, the courts adopt the current stock exchange prices for the purposes of the division of joint property or the estate. In the case of bearer shares, it is also possible to divide them in kind (granting a specific number of shares to individual parties to the proceedings. The situation is different with registered shares of companies not listed on the stock exchange. In this case, similar principles should be applied to valuation of such shares as with the shares of the company

With a simple joint-stock company, the articles of association may limit or exclude joining the company of heirs to the place of the deceased shareholder. In this case, the articles of association should specify the terms of repayment of heirs not joining the company, under pain of ineffectiveness of limitation or exclusion. Repayment due to heirs should take into account the ratio of the value of the contribution made to the value of the contribution not made. In the event of the death of a shareholder entitled from shares subscribed for for a contribution whose object is the rendering of work or services which has not been paid in full, joining the heirs' company requires the consent of the company, unless the articles of association provide otherwise. The articles of association may exclude or limit the distribution of shares between heirs in a specific manner.