In a recent case in the High Court, additional guidance has been given as to how lottery winnings should be treated in the context of divorce proceedings, showing us that where the money came from to buy the ticket can make a difference as can how the winnings are used.
The case SG –v- AG was notable in that neither party was particularly wealthy before the wife won £500,000, being her one half share of a lottery win as part of a syndicate with her friend. Apparently only one ticket was ever purchased at a cost of £2.
The Court made it clear that these cases must always be considered individually and are fact specific. The Judge was interested in the source of the funds, making the distinction between tickets which were purchased out of joint income or capital and cases such as this where the husband was not aware that the wife had purchased the ticket and formed a syndicate with her friend.
The Court will also be interested in how the lottery winnings are applied. In this instance, the wife purchased a mortgage free property in her own name but subsequently resided in the property with her husband, allowing him to make some claim over its value.
As in all matrimonial cases, needs are at the forefront of the Court's mind when determining who should get what, whatever the source of the finance. The Judge felt that the husband's housing needs were adequately provided for but was concerned that he was in need of some capital provision upon his retirement. The result in this case is that the husband was awarded the sum of £85,000 in order to meet his retirement needs. The Order was, in some way, rationalised by the Court by the fact that the money had been invested in a property in which both parties lived. The husband's share in that property was limited to only 15%- 20% on the basis that he had not lived there for very long.
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