Wife would not automatically become 50% owner of the sole proprietorship, but if Wife had been made 50% owner and the sole proprietorship had a $20k loss in total, as I see it Husband and Wife would each have a $10k loss and Husband could use $20k of the NOL carryforward; Husband's total net income before applying the carryover would be $30k - $10k = $20k. If Wife had been made 100% owner of the sole proprietorship, Husband could use $30k of the NOL carryforward.
