Helping Good People At Their Worst Times

Are lottery winnings a marital asset?

On Behalf of | Jul 14, 2015 | Family Law

It depends on when the ticket was bought. If it was bought before the filing of the petition for divorce, the proceeds if any are considered a marital asset and subject to equitable distribution. If however, the ticket was bought after the petition was filed even if the final order of divorce had not been entered (assuming it was not bought with prior earnings of a party), it is a non-marital asset. That isn’t to say that the other spouse couldn’t make a request for alimony and cite the winning proceeds as a source the Court could pull from to award it. The article below shows the differences that can occur with the same circumstances dependent on state law.

https://www.courthousenews.com/2015/05/19/court-defeat-for-ct-man-who-hid-lotto-from-ex.htm