Background
The couple have been in a de facto relationship for 12 years. They have one child who was 10 years old at the time of the separation.
At the beginning of their relationship, the husband had only $1,000 in his bank account, while the wife possessed a Toyota vehicle valued at $2,000 and furniture worth $8,000. Throughout their relationship, the husband battled heroin addiction, and the wife supported him during his recovery, resigning from her job to provide care and assistance. Once the husband achieved sobriety, he pursued education and business endeavours, with the wife working part-time as a nurse while caring for their child and supporting his ventures. Upon separation, they had no significant assets, and both eventually remarried.
However, the following year after their separation, the husband struck a stroke of luck, winning a lottery jackpot worth $5 million. He then arranged an agreement with his mother, contending that the funds were purchased for her and intending to exclude the winnings from the joint assets. The money was subsequently deposited into an account held solely in his mother's name.
Dispute and results
A dispute arose, with the wife seeking a $1 million settlement from the husband, asserting that the lottery winnings should be included in the asset pool. The husband was only willing to pay her $250,000, claiming that the winnings either belonged to his mother or, if considered his own, were acquired after their separation, thereby negating the entitlement for the wife. Finally, the court awarded $750,000 to the wife.
The above case shouldn't be blindly applied, as the court has arrived at opposite outcomes in similar cases. See Lottery dispute, wife keeps all winnings? #Property dispute #divorce #lottery dispute
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