§708-834 Defenses: unawareness of ownership; claim of right; household belongings; co-interest not a defense. (1) It is a defense to a prosecution for theft that the defendant:
(2) If the owner of the property is the defendant's spouse or reciprocal beneficiary, it is a defense to a prosecution for theft of property that:
(3) "Household belongings" means furniture, personal effects, vehicles, money or its equivalent in amounts customarily used for household purposes, and other property usually found in and about the common dwelling and accessible to its occupants.
(4) In a prosecution for theft, it is not a defense that the defendant has an interest in the property if the owner has an interest in the property to which the defendant is not entitled. [L 1972, c 9, pt of §1; am L 1979, c 106, §8; am L 1980, c 232, §41; gen ch 1993; am L 1997, c 383, §69]