Wife Sues Husband for Lottery Winnings

A Florida wife recently sued her husband for hiding $10.2 million in lotter earnings from her. She became suspicious of her husband when he started to keep the television turned off and disconnected the phone line. Her suspicions rose when she found a postcard about a new home purchase. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312197,00.html

Until she Googled her husband's name and lottery number she was unaware of his great fortune. Apparently, the husband, being an avid gambler, pitched in for the winning ticket with 17 other individiuals.

In Iowa, the winnings would be marital property and most likely equally divided. In the event of divorce, the earnings would also be divided but the court may weigh factors, like whether the parties were separated at the time of the winning, in allocating the funds.

Splitting Up Money is Hard to Do

The Des Moines Register recently ran an article about how divorcing couples should take steps to ensure fair division of assets and debts. This is how the Iowa Court approach the subject too and follows an "equitable distribution" scheme. Despite avoiding the "community property" label, famous in states such as California and whereby the parties automatically each receive 50%, "equitable distribution" usually ends up at the same place but takes into consideration many factors and allows the Courts discretion to award one spouse a bit more than the other.

The article states that one of the worst mistakes couples make is to drag out the divorce in hopes of securing more money. Another mistake is to hang onto the house at all costs. This can be a huge economic noose around your neck especially if you are relying on alimony or child support to pay the mortgage. If the payor falls behind you are placed into a precarious position.

Other mistakes include failing to make a clean financial break. Order your credit report to make sure all debts are accounted for and allocated. Finally, forgetting to change your Will , power of attorney and beneficiaries on life insurance or retirement accounts can perilous especially if you remarry.