References: [1995] FamCA 135
Links: Austlii
Coram: Nicholson CJ, Fogarty and Baker JJ
Austlii (Family Court of Australia) Property Settlement – Global or asset by asset approach – Treatment of lottery winnings The wife appealed against orders for the alteration of the property interests. The husband was aged 69 at trial, and the wife aged 63. The period of cohabitation was approximately 8 years.
The wife owned assets of a substantially higher value than did the husband at the date of marriage and some of the assets of each were retained at separation.
About two years after the marriage the husband had a lottery win of approximately $95,000. He had been involved in a syndicate prior to the marriage, and the wife had had no involvement in the lottery purchases but the winnings were used by the parties for joint purposes. During most of the marriage both parties worked and throughout shared income and expenses. His Honour treated the winnings as a contribution by the husband. Otherwise he treated their contributions as equal.
Taking that win into account as a contribution by the husband, his Honour assessed the parties’ contributions arising from their initial contribution at 72/28 in the wife’s favour, made a 2% adjustment to the husband for provision the wife had made for her children, a further 3% for contributions during marriage, and 2% for s.75(2) factors, arriving at a 65/35 division of the parties’ assets in the wife’s favour.
This case is cited by:
- Cited – S -v- AG (Financial Remedy: Lottery Prize) FD (Bailii, [2011] EWHC 2637 (Fam))
The court considered how to treat a lottery win of £500,000 in the context of an ancillary relief application on a divorce.
Held: The answers in such cases must be fact specific. ‘In the application of the sharing principle (as opposed . .
