What if I win the Lotto?

Couple fights over Powerball winnings in property settlement

If you are fortunate enough to win Lotto or pick the Powerball you should be aware that if you break up with your spouse, it is likely that the winnings will be shared between you in any property settlement.

In 2011 a Court had to decide just that question.  In 2008 a couple, recently arrived from Sierra Leone, Africa, won $3 million on Powerball.  The couple however split up only a few months later and commenced legal proceedings over who had claim to the Powerball winnings.

The de facto wife, who earned $35,000, per year had purchased the winning ticket from a local newsagency.  Because of her limited English she gave the ticket to her de facto husband to collect the winnings.  He deposited them into his bank account and from that point it becomes unclear as to what exactly happened to the money.  The parties bought several homes, cars and gave some money away to relatives.  When they separated they could not agree on how to divide the winnings, or even what happened to them, so legal proceedings commenced. 

The de facto wife’s view was that she had purchased the ticket and so the winnings should be entirely hers.

In Court the de facto wife alleged that she had never received any of the Powerball winnings, however the Magistrate found, after considering all of the evidence, that she had received approximately $800,000.

The Courts have dealt with the question of who gets lottery winnings in a number of previous well known cases, and these cases provided guidance as to how the couple’s winnings would be distributed under the Family Law Act 1975.

The Court’s view is that when a ticket is purchased by either of a couple, they are risking part of their joint earnings to win the prize.  The chance of winning the prize may be very remote but they purchased a ticket in the expectation that they may win.  As the ticket was purchased from joint funds, the contribution of the lottery winnings is seen as a contribution by the parties equally and so should be shared by both of them after taking into account all other contributions by the parties to the relationship.

In the present case, the Magistrate found that the de facto wife and husband were each entitled to one half of the winnings.  The Magistrate held that the de facto husband already had $913,511 and should receive a further $586,911 from the de facto wife in order to receive approximately 50% of the winnings from Powerball. 

If you wish to read the case in further detail, please click the following link:- Kneen & Crockford [2011] FMCAfam 372