A 50-year-old man from Michigan who won $80 million in the lottery during divorce was ordered to give half of his winnings to his estranged wife.
Richard Anthony Zelasko has been ordered to give half of the money to his estranged wife, 48-year-old Mary Elizabeth as an arbitrator handling their case deems it marital property.
The couple from Pontiac were married since 2004 and it was in 2011 when the wife filed for divorce.
While negotiating it in 2013, Richard won $80 million in Mega Millions lottery. After fees and taxes, he had over $38 million.
Mary Elizabeth claimed that she was the breadwinner, earning up to $120,000 yearly throughout their marriage while Richard only earned $36,000. They have three children together.
Arbitrator John Mills said that it wasn’t the first ticket Richard purchased during their marriage. He often used shared money to buy it.
“As losses throughout the marriage were incurred jointly, so should winnings be shared jointly,” he expressed.
“It’s true that defendant spent $1.00 to purchase the winning lottery ticket, however the dollar spent was arguably marital money and, as such, a joint investment,” he added.
He also said that since they decided to separate, Richard didn’t give his wife any financial support for their children.
In 2013, Mary Elizabeth was awarded $15 million of the winnings.
The court also awarded her monthly child support payments from estranged husband of over $7,000 in 2014. However, the arbitrator who made that decision passed away without issuing Mary’s award.
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