Resident of Michiganwho won $30 million in the lottery, when he divorced his wife, will have to give her half.
Rich Zelasko from Pontiac (Michigan) won $30 million, buying a lottery ticket Mega Millions to the dollar in 2013.
At this stage, he and his ex-wife Mary-Beth Zelasko were in the process of divorce. The woman and her lawyers believed that she was entitled to half the winnings, and a judge ruled in favor of Mary Beth.
Rich Zelasko appealed the district court’s decision, but the Michigan court of appeals also sided with the woman and decided that the ex-husband should give her $15 million.
According to judge John mills, lottery jackpot at the moment of victory was considered a «family asset», as the divorce of Zelasko has not yet been completed.
«Dollar spent on the ticket was probably married money and, as such joint investments,» said judge mills, the Associated Press reports.
The divorce process Zelasko were completed in 2018. The couple married in 2004 and they have three children.
Attorney rich Zelasko did not agree with the decision of the court of appeal.
«The rich are lucky, it is true, but it was luck, not Mary, brought him the jackpot,» said the lawyer after the trial.
A similar case was and in the UK. There’s a man named Nigel page won the EuroMillions jackpot in the amount of 56 million pounds ($89 million) in 2009, and his ex-wife Wendy, left him for another man, sued, and eventually received 2 million pounds ($3.2 million).
